Orioles 22-year-old infielder Gunnar Henderson was officially named the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year, and he won it unanimously.
With Henderson being the seventh Rookie of the Year winner in an Orioles uniform, it got me thinking about the other six winners and how their Rookie campaigns went.
There are some different things I took into consideration when it came to ranking these seasons. With that being said, let’s rank all seven Orioles ROTY winners.
7. Ron Hansen 1960
Ron Hansen was the first ever ROTY to win as an Oriole, and honestly, 1960 was a time when any Oriole could have won. Hansen actually debuted for the Orioles in 1958 and played 14 MLB games before being rookie eligible in 1960.
Hansen played in 153 games that year and slashed .255/.342/.440 with a .781 OPS. He ended the season with 135 hits, 22 doubles, five triples and 22 home runs, which would be a career-high. He also had 86 RBIs to his name and walked 69 times.
Hansen earned 22 out of the 24 first place votes for ROTY and was up against his teammates Chuck Estrada and Jim Gentile. Gentile had a statistically better season than Hansen, but Gentile played 15 fewer games than Hansen, which could have been the deciding factor.
6. Curt Blefary 1965
The second ever Oriole to win ROTY is sixth on this list. Utility man Curt Blefary had a decent rookie season in 1965.
In 144 games, he slashed .260/.381/.470 with a .851 OPS. He collected 120 hits, 22 home runs, 23 doubles, four triples and 70 RBIs. It was a solid rookie season, but he won because it was really just a two person race.
Blefary received 12 first place votes out of 20, with the other eight going to California Angels rookie Marcelino Lopez, who had a 2.93 ERA in 35 games during the 1965 season.
5. Eddie Murray 1977
Now, I completely understand that Eddie Murray is an Orioles legend, but remember, this is just rookie seasons that we’re talking about.
In 160 games, Murray slashed .283/.333/.470 with a .803 OPS, finishing with 173 hits, 29 doubles, two triples, 27 home runs and 88 RBIs. All were impressive stats, but Murray had close competition for this award.
Murray received 12 of 20 first place votes and just barely beat out Oakland Athletics rookie Mitchell Page, who received nine votes. Murray actually had the lowest WAR between the four players that received votes with a 3.2 WAR (for reference, the next lowest was 5.4).
4. Al Bumbry 1973
I think people forget how good Al Bumbry’s rookie season was in 1973. He debuted during the 1972 season but only played nine games.
Bumbry, in 110 games, slashed .337/.398/.500 with a .898 OPS, compiling 120 hits, 15 doubles, a career-high 11 triples and seven home runs. He also stole 23 bases.
Bumbry received 12 votes for first place, and I believe the only reason he didn’t receive more is because he only played 110 games. Second place recipient Pedro Garcia of the Milwaukee Brewers played in 50 more games and had only 22 more hits than Bumbry, who had more than double the WAR of Garcia.
3. Cal Ripken Jr. 1982
Ranking second and third place was extremely difficult. But, I decided to go with Cal Ripken Jr. as the third best ROTY in Orioles history.
Ripken’s 1982 rookie season was downright incredible. In 160 games, he slashed .264/.317/.475 with a .792 OPS and finished with 158 hits, 32 doubles, five triples, 28 home runs and 93 RBIs.
This is the first year on the list that there were 28 teams, and there were different voting points that correspond with what we have today, minus the Marlins and Rays. Ripken received 132 voting points with 24 first place votes. The only other person to receive a first place vote was Minnesota twins rookie Kent Hrbek, who also had an incredible season.
2. Gregg Olson 1989
Gregg Olson’s 1989 ROTY campaign is one of the best of all time. Remarkably, it doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.
The Otter pitched in 64 games and had a 1.69 ERA in 85 innings pitched. He earned 27 saves, held batters to a career-best .188 batting average, gave up just 57 hits, 16 earned runs and struck out 90 batters.
Olson received 26 first place votes and had 136 voting points, which was double what rookie Tom Gordon, who finished in second, earned. Olson has the lowest ERA by a rookie to win ROTY in a full 162-game season (Devin Williams had a 0.33 ERA during the 2020 season).
1. Gunnar Henderson 2023
Was there an argument for anyone else to be number one? Gunnar Henderson put together an unforgettable Rookie season that even the BBWAA understood just how beautiful it was.
In 150 games, Henderson slashed .255/.325/.489 with a .814 OPS. He collected 143 hits, 29 doubles, nine triples, 28 home runs and 82 RBIs and also stole 10 while walking 56 times.
Henderson was voted unanimously to be the AL ROTY, as all 30 writers gave him a first place vote. The 22-year-old also put up a 6.2 WAR and finished eighth in MVP voting for 2023.
Which Oriole do you think had the most impressive rookie season? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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