Of all the success stories in baseball, only a select few brag ownership of the Rookie of the Year award. Let’s look back on recent Rookies of the Year to see whether their careers panned out after their freshman MLB seasons.
Unlike baseball’s other awards, which can be won at any point in one’s career, the Rookie of the Year award can only be won during during the first season of a ballplayer’s career. The winners are determined by the quality of their rookie season and how they adjust to the increased competition of the major leagues.
Many ballplayers, such as Ichiro Suzuki and Derek Jeter, go on to historic careers after becoming the Rookie of the Year. The success of their rookie seasons sparked Jeter, Suzuki and countless other ballplayers into phenomenal careers.
On the other hand, the Rookie of the Year award does not always ensure future success. For many Rookies of the Year, their freshman season proved to be the peak of their career. Those ballplayers never rekindled the success of their rookie years.
As Corey Seager and Michael Fulmer take home the award in their respective leagues, there is no guarantee they will mature into successful ballplayers. However, the past five seasons provides a wide variety of award-winners. The following slide show details each Rookie of the Year since 2011 and shows how their careers are panning out.