LAS VEGAS — The Athletics' first baseman Nick Kurtz was the unanimous American League Rookie of the Year, while Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin took the National League award, Major League Baseball announced Monday night.
Kurtz, 22, collected all 30 first-place votes after putting up a .290 batting average with 36 home runs and 86 RBIs. His 1.002 OPS ranked third in MLB behind Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, although he did not qualify for the batting title because he was promoted in late April. Kurtz finished the season with 4.6 fWAR, 25th among major leaguers.
His standout moment came on July 25 against the Houston Astros, when he belted four home runs in one game, becoming the 20th player in history to do so. He also recorded a two-homer game later in the season, again versus Houston. Kurtz led all rookies in homers and RBIs, ranked second in on-base percentage and third in hits.
Calling the award a fitting end to his first big-league season, Kurtz said he plans to use the recognition as motivation to keep improving.
Teammate Jacob Wilson finished second in the balloting, receiving 23 second-place votes, and Boston's Roman Anthony was third. Kurtz and Wilson are the firs
