Dodgers Rookie of the Year winners, all 18 of them
Dodgers Rookie of the Year #17
- OF Todd Hollandsworth, 1996
- 12 seasons with eight teams (6 seasons with Dodgers)
- .273/.328/.439, 97 wRC+, 3492 PA
- 5.2 fWAR, 6.5 bWAR
Hollandsworth won his Rookie of the Year Award before advanced metrics like Wins Above Replacement (WAR) were around. It was also a time when defense was mostly judged by the number of errors a player made, without much consideration for range.
In this context, Todd Hollandsworth took the honors with a 1.2-WAR season. For reference, 0 WAR is replacement-level and 2 WAR is average.
The year Hollandsworth won there were 12 other rookies in the NL, both hitters, and pitchers, who had at least 1.2 WAR. The two guys who should have been on the top of most ballots were the Expos’ F.P. Santangelo and the Marlins’ Edgar Renteria, both with 3.5 WAR. Hollandsworth was a better hitter than both, but his defense cut into his value.
One of the things Hollandsworth had going for him that year was playing time. He was third among NL rookies in plate appearances, behind Marvin Benard and Rey Ordonez. Getting that much playing time helped Hollandsworth accumulate the counting stats, like hits, runs, home runs, RBI, and stolen bases. He finished in the top three among NL rookies in all five categories.
Hollandsworth stayed with the Dodgers for another three-and-a-half year, but never got as much playing time as he did in 1996. In fact, he never again had 500 plate appearances in a season after his award-winning campaign.
He spent most of his career as an extra outfielder who rarely played against lefties (87 percent of his career plate appearances were against right-handed pitchers). He also made a memorable mistake when he forgot how many outs there were on a fly out to left and allowed Mark Grace to score from third base and Sammy Sosa to score from second.
As a part-time player who never had a season worth even 2 WAR, and had a few seasons below replacement-level, it’s surprising that Hollandsworth played 12 years in the major leagues. He must have been a good guy in the clubhouse.
He did have two very impressive small-sample size seasons. In 2001, he hit .368/.408/.667 in 125 plate appearances for the Colorado Rockies. A few years later, he hit .318/.392/.547 in 167 plate appearances for the Cubs. After his career ended, Hollandsworth moved up to the broadcast booth. He was the color commentator for the Miami Marlins last season.