In one of the closest American League Rookie of the Year votes in recent memory, New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil etched his name in franchise history after narrowly winning the honor on Monday night.
“It means so much to me,” Gil said. “I’m so happy about being able to win this award. Everybody in my corner, they’re so happy for me right now and so proud. I’m also proud of the opportunity that was given to me by the team. It turned out to be a great season for me, a great experience.”
The 26-year-old right-hander, who was shelved most of the last two seasons due to injury and was demoted to the minors roughly three weeks before Opening Day, becomes the first Yankees pitcher since Dave Righetti in 1981 to win AL Rookie of the Year honors and the first Bronx Bomber since Aaron Judge won the award in 2017.
Gil is also the 10th Yankee to ever win the award, which is the most amongst all American League teams. He went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 151.2 innings of work.
“Congratulations to Luis on an amazing season. He worked so hard to put himself in a strong position heading into spring training after coming back from Tommy John surgery,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Without a guarantee of a Major League spot, he absolutely kicked in the door this spring and went on to have a phenomenal rookie season. Luis continued to mature and develop all year and was one of the pillars of our rotation. I can’t wait to see what’s next for such a talented, young pitcher.”
In the voting conducted by members of the Baseball Writers’ Associated of America (BBWAA), Gil received 106 total points (15 first-place votes, 10 second-place votes, one third-place vote). Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser finished with 101, making the five-point margin of victory the closest in Rookie of the Year voting since 2003 when Angel Berroa of the Kansas City Royals beat New York’s Hideki Matsui by four points.
