Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams won the 2020 National League Rookie of the Year, the Baseball Writers' Association of America announced Monday.
Williams dominated out of the bullpen with a 0.33 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and 53 strikeouts over 27 innings of work this summer. The only run he allowed all year came on a solo home run in his second appearance of the season. Williams then went 20 straight games without another run crossing the plate.
It’s official: Devin Williams is your 2020 NL Rookie of the Year!
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) November 9, 2020
Congrats @DTrainn_23 on a remarkable season.#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/zvZfRkRh8d
He's the first Brewers player to win a Rookie of the Year award since Ryan Braun took home the hardware in 2007.
Armed with a ferocious changeup, Williams was borderline unhittable for most of the season.
Water 💧 Earth 🍃 Fire 🔥 Devin Williams’ change-up 💨
— Cut4 (@Cut4) November 9, 2020
Congrats to the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year, Devin Williams! pic.twitter.com/DPOk0IrHkV
Even though it was an unprecedented and abbreviated campaign, Williams doesn't think his work should be judged any differently.
"To me, it holds the same weight," Williams said, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "There are some who may argue with that but everyone had the same number of games this year. What you did with them is what you did with them."
In addition to being named the Senior Circuit's top rookie, Williams won the NL Reliever of the Year award in late October.
Williams received 14 first-place votes and was the clear winner ahead of fellow finalists Alec Bohm and Jake Cronenworth, who finished tied with 74 points apiece.
| Player | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devin Williams | MIL | 14 | 6 | 7 | 95 |
| Alec Bohm | PHI | 9 | 8 | 5 | 74 |
| Jake Cronenworth | SD | 6 | 12 | 8 | 74 |
| Tony Gonsolin | LAD | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| Dustin May | LAD | 2 | 2 | 8 | |
| Ke'Bryan Hayes | PIT | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
| Andres Gimenez | NYM | 1 | 1 | ||
| Sixto Sanchez | MIA | 1 | 1 | ||
| Ian Anderson | ATL | 1 | 1 |
Bohm hit .338 with an .881 OPS, four home runs, and 11 doubles in 44 games with the Philadelphia Phillies. His ascent to the majors has been relatively quick as the 24-year-old was selected third overall by the Phillies in the 2018 draft.
Meanwhile, Cronenworth proved to be a savvy offseason pickup. He slashed .285/.354/.477 with four home runs, 15 doubles, and three triples in 54 games after being acquired alongside outfielder Tommy Pham in exchange for Xavier Edwards and Hunter Renfroe.
It was a tightly contested vote as there wasn't one player who was named on every single ballot.
