Mariners' Rodriguez, Braves' Harris II win Rookie of the Year honors

Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners and Michael Harris II of the Atlanta Braves won respective American League and National League Rookie of the Year awards, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced.

The outfielders were revealed as the winners of the awards Monday night on MLB Network. Rodriguez earned 29 of 30 possible first-place votes. Harris received 22 first-place votes.

Adley Rutschman, Steven Kwan, Bobby Witt Jr., Jeremy Pena and George Kirby were among the other finalists in the American League. Spencer Strider, Brendan Donovan, Jake McCarthy, Alexis Diaz, Nick Lodolo and Oneil Cruz were the other National League finalists.

Rodriguez, 21, hit .284 with 28 home runs, 75 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 132 games for the Mariners. He was the first player in MLB history with at least 25 homers and 25 stolen bases in his first season. Rodriguez, who also claimed a Silver Slugger Award, was instrumental in helping the Mariners end the longest playoff drought (20 years) in North American sports.

"There were just so many things that I didn't know about being in the big leagues," Rodríguez told MLB Network. "I feel like it definitely served as a learning experience, and I'm happy that I went through everything I went through in 2022, because it's definitely going to build up a good foundation for 2023."

Harris, 21, hit .297 with 19 homers, 64 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in just 114 games in 2022. He led all National League rookies with a 5.3 bWAR (wins above replacement calculated by Baseball Reference).

"Overall, I want to improve on everything," Harris said. "There is always room for improvement."

American League and National League Manager of the Year Award winners will be announced at 6 p.m. EST Tuesday on MLB Network.

Terry Francona of the Cleveland Guardians, Brandon Hyde of the Baltimore Orioles and Scott Servais of the Seattle Mariners are the American League finalists. Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Buck Showalter of the New York Mets and Brian Stitker of the Atlanta Braves are the National League finalists.

Cy Young Award winners will be announced Wednesday night on MLB Network. MVP Award winners will be announced Thursday on MLB Network.