Ronald Acuña Jr. has been named National League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year, marking the eighth time a Braves player has been honored. Previous winners were Alvin Dark in 1948, Sam Jethroe in 1950, Earl Williams in 1971, Bob Horner in 1978, David Justice in 1990, Rafael Furcal in 2000 and Craig Kimbrel in 2011.
Acuña is the eighth left fielder to win the NL award. The others were the Reds’ Frank Robinson in 1956, the Cubs’ Billy Williams in 1961, the Giants’ Gary Matthews in 1973, the Cardinals’ Vince Coleman in 1985, the Dodgers’ Todd Hollandsworth in 1996, the Pirates’ Jason Bay in 2004 and the Marlins’ Chris Coghlan in 2009. There have been six left fielders who won in the AL.
Acuña is the third native Venezuelan to be named Rookie of the Year, and the first in the NL. The two AL winners were Luis Aparicio in 1956 and Ozzie Guillen in 1985, both shortstops for the White Sox.
Acuña was the only player named on every ballot.
Ballots, submitted prior to postseason play, were cast by two writers in each league city. They are tabulated on a system that rewards five points for first place, three points for second place and one point for third place.
2018 NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year
Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ronald Acuña, Jr., Braves | 27 | 3 | 144 | |
Juan Soto, Nationals | 2 | 26 | 1 | 89 |
Walker Buehler, Dodgers | 1 | 1 | 20 | 28 |
Brian Anderson, Marlins | 4 | 4 | ||
Jack Flaherty, Cardinals | 2 | 2 | ||
Harrison Bader, Cardinals | 1 | 1 | ||
Yoshihisa Hirano, Diamondbacks | 1 | 1 | ||
Jeff McNeil, Mets | 1 | 1 |
Below is a breakdown of the 30 individual ballots, submitted by two writers representing each city in the National League. For more information on the voting, see our Voting FAQ.
Name | Affiliation | Chapter | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Matthew Leach | MLB.com | ATL | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
JJ Cooper | Baseball America | ATL | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
David Venn | MLB.com | AZ | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Jesse Sanchez | MLB.com | AZ | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Jesse Rogers | ESPN | CHI | Soto | Acuña | Buehler |
Patrick Mooney | The Athletic | CHI | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Mark Schmetzer | Reds Report | CIN | Acuña | Soto | Anderson |
Hal McCoy | Dayton Daily News | CIN | Acuña | Soto | Anderson |
Nick Groke | The Athletic | COL | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Pat Graham | Associated Press | COL | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Mikako Niwa | Sankei Sports | LA | Buehler | Acuña | Hirano |
Ken Gurnick | MLB.com | LA | Acuña | Buehler | Soto |
Marcos E. Hernandez | AFP | MIA | Acuña | Soto | Anderson |
Jorge Morejon | ESPNDeportes.com | MIA | Acuña | Soto | Anderson |
Adam McCalvy | MLB.com | MIL | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Tom Haudricourt | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | MIL | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Tim Healey | Newsday | NY | Acuña | Soto | Bader |
Tom Verducci | SI.com | NY | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Mike McGarry | Press of Atlantic City | PHI | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Jack McCaffery | Delaware County Daily Times | PHI | Acuña | Soto | McNeil |
Alan Saunders | At Large | PIT | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Stephen J. Nesbitt | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | PIT | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Bryce Miller | San Diego Union-Tribune | SD | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Jeff Sanders | San Diego Union-Tribune | SD | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Kerry Crowley | San Jose Mercury News | SF | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Eno Sarris | The Athletic | SF | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |
Ben Frederickson | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | STL | Acuña | Soto | Flaherty |
Rob Rains | STLSportsPage.com | STL | Acuña | Soto | Flaherty |
Todd Dybas | The Sports Capitol | WAS | Soto | Acuña | Buehler |
Tim Kurkjian | ESPN | WAS | Acuña | Soto | Buehler |