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Top 10 Rookie of the Year performances in the 2000s

By Ryota Nishino

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 03: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Aaron Judge of the Yankees in action. He is a former MLB rookie of the year. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 03: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Aaron Judge of the Yankees in action. He is a former MLB rookie of the year. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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Mike Trout of the Angels runs to first. He is a former MLB rookie of the year.
(Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Mike Trout – 2012 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Trust me, I was really debating on whether Mike Trout or Ichiro Suzuki deserves to be my number one Rookie of the Year performance. Trout was pretty darn good in his rookie season just like Ichiro, but a big differentiator was the number of awards Ichiro received in 2001. Trout finished second in MVP voting which is outstanding, but could not clinch it as Ichiro did. Trout also did not win a Gold Glove in his rookie season, and actually has not won one yet to my amazement.

In 2012, Trout led the league with 49 stolen bases, and a 168 OPS+. During his Rookie of the Year campaign, he also hit 30 home runs and drove in 83 runs. Trout had a .326 batting average, and .564 slugging percentage. His wins above average was a whopping 10.5. Besides Trout, no ROY Award winner posted a double-digit WAR.

As mentioned earlier, Trout finished second in MVP voting behind Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers. Trout was also an All-Star selection and took home a Silver Slugger trophy. There is no doubt that Trout is one of the best players, if not the best, in the MLB right now. It is amazing that Trout is only 29-years-old. He won his ROY Award before he was legally allowed to drink alcohol in the U.S.

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