Here S How Our Al Rookie Of The Year Ballots Played Out As Athletics

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 1:46 PM

here s how our al rookie of the year ballots played out as athletics

MLB awards season is officially underway, with the announcement of this year’s top rookies Monday serving as the opening act in a week celebrating baseball’s best from the 2025 season. The Athletics’ Nick Kurtz took home the Jackie Robinson AL Rookie of the Year Award unanimously. His teammate, shortstop Jacob Wilson, finished second with 23-second place votes. The Red Sox’s Roman Anthony finished third in the race with three second-place votes and 15 votes for third. Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin was also named NL Rookie of the Year on Monday. This year’s Rookie of the Year ballot came with a new wrinkle, as it was expanded from three to five spots, affording voters the opportunity to recognize a few more rookies from the season...

(For reference, MVP ballots have long featured 10 spots, and Cy Young ballots expanded from three to five in 2010). Each award’s electorate is made up of two representatives from each of the 15 chapters of the Baseball Writers Association of America coinciding with the 15 markets in each league, amounting to a total... This year, two of the 30 voters for AL Rookie of the Year were members of our MLB team: Russell Dorsey from the Chicago chapter and Jordan Shusterman from the Cleveland chapter. The American League Rookie of the Year award is one of the most exciting honors in baseball, representing the emergence of the game’s future stars. This year, however, the voting process felt less like a debate and more like a simple acknowledgment of greatness. Across all of our ballots, the result was a resounding, uncontested consensus: [Player’s Name, e.g., “Tyler Kurtz”] of the [Team Name, e.g., “New York Aviators”] was our unanimous selection for the award.

In a season that saw a solid crop of new talent emerge, [Kurtz] didn’t just stand out—he eclipsed the field. His performance wasn’t just good for a rookie; it was elite by any standard. When a player earns a unanimous vote, it means they didn’t just fill a box score; they redefined expectations for a first-year player. Here is the statistical and impact breakdown that made [Kurtz] undeniable: Statistics are only half the story. The consensus among our voters also came from how [Kurtz] affected winning.

While the race for first place was nonexistent, the competition for the remaining spots was fierce, highlighting the depth of AL talent this year. Nick Kurtz of the Athletics was unanimously selected as the 2025 American League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year. Kurtz is the 14th player to win the AL award by a unanimous vote and the second for the A’s, joining Mark McGwire (1987). Other unanimous winners in the AL: Carlton Fisk (1972), Sandy Alomar Jr. (1990), Tim Salmon (1993), Derek Jeter (1996), Nomar Garciaparra (1997), Evan Longoria (2008), Mike Trout (2012), Jose Abreu (2014), Aaron Judge (2017), Kyle Lewis (2020) and Gunnar Henderson (2024). There have been 13 unanimous winners in the National League.

This election marks the ninth time an A’s player has been honored, the second most in the AL to the Yankees’ 10. Other A’s winners: McGwire, Harry Byrd (1952), Jose Canseco (1986), Walt Weiss (1988), Ben Grieve (1998), Bobby Crosby (2004), Huston Street (2005) and Andrew Bailey (2009). Kurtz is the eighth first baseman to win the AL award. He joins a list featuring McGwire, Abreu, Walt Dropo (1950), Chris Chambliss (1971), Mike Hargrove (1974), Eddie Murray (1977) and Alvin Davis (1984). The 1-2 finish by Kurtz and Jacob Wilson in the voting is the fifth time in the AL and the ninth time overall that teammates were the winner and runner-up in balloting. Others to do so were the Orioles’ Ron Hansen and Chuck Estrada in 1960, the White Sox’ Gary Peters and Pete Ward in 1963, the Red Sox’ Fred Lynn and Jim Rice in1975 and...

It occurred four times in the NL: the Phillies’ Jack Sanford and Ed Bouchee in 1957, the Cubs’ Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith in 1989, the Braves’ Craig Kimbrel and Freddie Freeman in 2011... Athletics' first baseman Nick Kurtz won this year's American League Rookie of the Year, while Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin won the award for the National League. Kurtz was the unanimous winner to beat out teammate Jacob Wilson and Roman Anthony of the Boston Red Sox. Baldwin received .css-wrcrjw{margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova Fallback Helvetica,Proxima Nova Fallback Arial;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;letter-spacing:0rem;line-height:1.92rem;color:var(--br--palette-foreground__link__secondary__default-mainChannel);font-size:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:normal;}.css-3nqh9c{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-color:rgba(var(--br--palette-primary-mainChannel) / 0.4);margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova Fallback Helvetica,Proxima Nova Fallback Arial;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;letter-spacing:0rem;line-height:1.92rem;color:var(--br--palette-foreground__link__secondary__default-mainChannel);font-size:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:normal;}.css-3nqh9c:hover{text-decoration-color:inherit;}.css-lu48cp{margin:0;font:inherit;color:var(--br--palette-primary-main);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-color:rgba(var(--br--palette-primary-mainChannel) / 0.4);margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova Fallback Helvetica,Proxima Nova Fallback Arial;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;letter-spacing:0rem;line-height:1.92rem;color:var(--br--palette-foreground__link__secondary__default-mainChannel);font-size:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:normal;}.css-lu48cp:hover{text-decoration-color:inherit;}21 of 30 first-place votes to beat... Kurtz is the ninth player in A's history to win the Rookie of the Year award. He is the first to accomplish the feat for the organization since Andrew Bailey in 2009.

There was already a lot of hype for Kurtz after the Athletics selected him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft. He entered his first full season in professional baseball as the 37th-ranked prospect by MLB.com. Major League Baseball kicked off its annual awards week festivities on Monday night by announcing the winners of the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year award in each league. (The Manager of the Year awards will be handed out on Tuesday, the Cy Young awards on Wednesday, and the Most Valuable Players on Thursday.) These awards are voted on by 30 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (that's two per MLB city in each league).

Votes were submitted before the beginning of the playoffs, meaning that only regular-season contributions are taken into account. Here are MLB's 2025 Rookie of the Year award recipients. Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz took home the honors in the American League, topping teammate and Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson and Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony. He is the 14th AL player to win the award unanimously and the second A's player, joining Mark McGwire (1987). Kurtz is the first Athletics player to win Rookie of the Year since closer Andrew Bailey in 2009. He's the first position player to do it since shortstop Bobby Crosby in 2004.

Overall, Kurtz is the ninth Athletics player to ever claim the award, though that accounting includes the franchise's time in Philadelphia and Oakland. Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz, less than a week removed from taking home the American League Silver Slugger award, added the American League Rookie of the Year award to his trophy cabinet. Kurtz unanimously beat out finalists Roman Anthony and teammate Jacob Wilson to secure the award, which marked the first time an A's player had won the award since Andrew Bailey in 2009. Both Anthony and Wilson put up spectacular seasons — both maintaining a batting average over .290 and an OPS of .800 or higher — but Kurtz placed himself among baseball's elite with a monstrous... More news: Blue Jays’ Max Scherzer Sends Clear Message Ahead of Free Agency The A's called Kurtz up after just 32 games in the minor leagues, and while he got off to a slow start — going 16 games without a home run — he put up...

Athletics slugger Nick Kurtz is the unanimous winner of the American League Rookie of the Year award after putting together an impressive season at the plate. The 22-year-old Kurtz batted .290 with 36 homers, 86 RBIs and a 1.002 OPS in 117 games this year. The first baseman became the eighth rookie since 1901 to finish with an OPS over 1.000 while making at least 400 plate appearances. (Watch the full press conference with Nick Kurtz in the video player above.) A’s teammate Jacob Wilson was second in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America that was announced on Monday night. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony was third.

Braves catcher Drake Baldwin, Cubs pitcher Cade Horton and Brewers infielder Caleb Durbin are the finalists for National League Rookie of the Year. Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz added another trophy to his quickly growing case Monday night: AL Rookie of the Year. Of surprise to few, if anyone, the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) announced Kurtz as the unanimous 2025 winner. He is the second player from the Athletics to win the award unanimously, joining Mark McGwire (1987). This comes days after Kurtz became the only rookie to be among the 2025 Silver Slugger Award winners. Kurtz is the ninth Rookie of the Year in Athletics franchise history.

This is second in the American League to the 10 from the New York Yankees. The previous eight are McGwire, Harry Byrd (1952), Jose Canseco (1986), Walt Weiss (1988), Ben Grieve (1998), Bobby Crosby (2004), Huston Street (2005) and Andrew Bailey (2009). Additionally, Kurtz is the eighth AL first baseman to win the award. The others are McGwire, Walt Dropo (1950), Chris Chambliss (1971), Mike Hargrove (1974), Eddie Murray (1977), Alvin Davis (1984), and Jose Abreu (2014). Kurtz slashed .290/.383/.619 (122-for-420) across 117 games in 2025. He had 26 doubles, two triples, 36 homers, and 86 RBI.

Notably, he had a 1.002 OPS — one of three hitters in the majors with at least 400 plate appearances to break the 1.000 OPS barrier. The others are familiar even to non-baseball fans: Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. The capstone of Kurtz’s season came July 25 in Houston. That night, Kurtz went 6-for-6 with four homers and a double. Additionally, he had 19 total bases, eight RBI, and a record-tying six runs scored. His 19 total bases tied the single-game record set by Shawn Green in 2002.

In addition to being the first rookie to score six times in a game, Kurtz was the first Athletics player and first rookie to have a four-homer game. Since no one has ever hit five in a game, Kurtz tied that record as well. His teammate, shortstop Jacob Wilson, finished second in the voting. This marked the fifth time in the AL that teammates were the winner and runner-up. The others were Ron Hansen and Chuck Estrada (Orioles, 1960), Gary Peters and Pete Ward (White Sox, 1963), Fred Lynn and Jim Rice (Red Sox, 1975), and Alvin Davis and Mark Langston (Mariners, 1984). It has happened far more recently in the NL, where it has occurred four times.

The four pairs are Jack Sanford and Ed Bouchee (Phillies, 1957), Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith (Cubs, 1989), Craig Kimbrel and Freddie Freeman (Braves, 2011), and Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider (Braves, 2022). Nick Kurtz was unanimously named American League Rookie of the Year by the BBWAA after what was a historic season in the green and gold. Kurtz becomes the ninth A’s player ever to win the award and the first Athletic since Andrew Bailey in 2009. Alongside Kurtz, Jacob Wilson came in 2nd with 107 votes. That was ahead of Roman Anthony (BOS), Noah Cameron (KCR) and Colson Montgomery (CWS). Neither Denzel Clarke nor Jacob Lopez placed, but Luis Morales earned one vote from a local writer.

He now joins the likes of Harry Byrd (1952), Jose Canseco (1986), Mark McGwire (1987), Walt Weiss (1988), Ben Grieve (1998), Bobby Crosby (2004), Huston Street (2005), and Andrew Bailey (2009) as A’s to... When Kurtz was called up ahead of his debut on April 23, he played just 32 games in the minor leagues since being drafted in 2024, and it took him just 283 days to... The “Big Amish” immediately found his groove and would go on to lead all rookies in home runs (36), RBIs (86), extra-base hits (64), runs (90), slugging percentage (.619) and OPS (1.002). According to MLB.com, Kurtz becomes “the eighth rookie since 1901 to post an OPS over 1.000 (min. 400 plate appearances) and first since Aaron Judge in 2017.”

Here S How Our Al Rookie Of The Year Ballots Played Out As Athletics

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