Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena was named American League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year.
Arozarena played in 25 postseason games the previous two seasons but maintained his rookie status in 2021. The previous Rookie of the Year winner with the most postseason games prior to his official rookie season was St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Todd Worrell, who had seven relief appearances totaling 11 innings in 1985 and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1986.
This marks the fourth time a Rays player has been honored. The others were Wil Myers in 2013, Jeremy Hellickson in 2011 and Evan Longoria in 2008. Arozarena is the sixth AL left fielder to win the award, joining Marty Cordova (1995), Jose Canseco (1986), Joe Charboneau (1980), Al Bumbry (1973) and Lou Piniella (1969). Left fielders have won the NL award eight times.
Five different players received first-place votes, the most since a similar number occurred in 2011, the year of Hellickson’s election. The record for the most first-place vote-getters in AL Rookie of the Year voting is six, which happened four times, in 1949, 1961, 1973 and 1979. In NL voting, there were eight first-place vote-getters in 1973 and seven in 1953.
No player was named on every ballot.
Ballots, submitted prior to postseason play, were cast by two writers representing each league city. They are tabulated on a system that awards five points for first place, three points for second place, one point for third place.
2021 AL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randy Arozarena, Rays | 22 | 4 | 2 | 124 |
| Luis Garcia, Astros | 2 | 15 | 8 | 63 |
| Wander Franco, Rays | 2 | 5 | 5 | 30 |
| Adolis Garcia, Rangers | 3 | 1 | 9 | 27 |
| Emmanuel Clase, Indians | 1 | 2 | 11 | |
| Ryan Mountcastle, Orioles | 2 | 4 | 10 | |
| Shane McClanahan, Rays | 1 | 3 | ||
| Alek Manoah, Blue Jays | 2 | 2 |
Below is a breakdown of the 30 individual ballots, submitted by two writers representing each city in the American League. For more information on the voting, see our Voting FAQ.
| Name | Affiliation | Chapter | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Schmuck | At Large | BAL | A.Garcia | Mountcastle | L.Garcia |
| Joe Trezza | MLB.com | BAL | Arozarena | L.Garcia | Mountcastle |
| Jason Mastrodonato | Boston Herald | BOS | Arozarena | L.Garcia | Franco |
| Jen McCaffrey | The Athletic | BOS | Arozarena | Mountcastle | A.Garcia |
| Jesse Rogers | ESPN | CHI | Arozarena | L.Garcia | Manoah |
| Bruce Levine | WSCR writer / reporter | CHI | Clase | Arozarena | L.Garcia |
| Anthony Castrovince | MLB.com | CLE | Arozarena | Franco | L.Garcia |
| Chris Assenheimer | The Chronicle-Telegram | CLE | L.Garcia | A.Garcia | Arozarena |
| Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press | DET | Arozarena | L.Garcia | Franco |
| Cody Stavenhagen | The Athletic | DET | Arozarena | L.Garcia | Franco |
| Alyson Footer | MLB.com | HOU | Arozarena | L.Garcia | A.Garcia |
| Richard Justice | Texas Monthly | HOU | Arozarena | L.Garcia | A.Garcia |
| Dan Hirsch | Baseball-Reference.com | KC | Arozarena | Franco | A.Garcia |
| Vahe Gregorian | The Kansas City Star | KC | L.Garcia | McClanahan | Mountcastle |
| Hideki Okuda | Sports Nippon Newspaper | LA | Franco | Arozarena | L.Garcia |
| Tomohiko Yasuoka | Jiji Press | LA | Arozarena | Clase | A.Garcia |
| Aaron Gleeman | The Athletic | MIN | Arozarena | Franco | L.Garcia |
| Brian Hall | Associated Press | MIN | Arozarena | Clase | L.Garcia |
| Bryan Hoch | MLB.com | NY | Arozarena | L.Garcia | A.Garcia |
| Tom Verducci | SI.com | NY | Arozarena | L.Garcia | A.Garcia |
| Steve Kroner | San Francisco Chronicle | OAK | Arozarena | L.Garcia | Mountcastle |
| Melissa Lockard | The Athletic | OAK | Franco | L.Garcia | Arozarena |
| Lauren Smith | The News Tribune | SEA | Arozarena | L.Garcia | A.Garcia |
| Tim Booth | The Associated Press | SEA | Arozarena | Franco | L.Garcia |
| Marc Topkin | Tampa Bay Times | TB | Arozarena | L.Garcia | Mountcastle |
| Adam Berry | MLB.com | TB | Arozarena | L.Garcia | A.Garcia |
| Kevin Sherrington | Dallas Morning News | TEX | A.Garcia | Arozarena | L.Garcia |
| Stefan Stevenson | Fort Worth Star-Telegram | TEX | A.Garcia | Arozarena | Franco |
| Kaitlyn McGrath | The Athletic | TOR | Arozarena | L.Garcia | Franco |
| Rob Longley | Toronto Sun | TOR | Arozarena | Franco | Manoah |