Michael Harris II is the National League Rookie of the Year.
The star Atlanta Braves outfielder earned the award officially on Monday evening. Harris beat out an outstanding group of finalists including teammate Spencer Strider and St. Louis Cardinals utilityman Brendan Donovan.
2022 NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year: Michael Harris II, Braves
Full voting details: https://t.co/gfXsuGfNw2
— BBWAA (@officialBBWAA) November 15, 2022
Harris wasn’t a unanimous selection but still blew the completion away. He received 22 first-place votes. The other eight went to his teammate Strider. Harris finished no worse than second place on any ballot. Donovan received 22 third-place votes and appeared no higher than third. The only other player to receive higher than a third-place vote was Alexis Diaz of the Cincinnati Reds. Diaz received one second-place vote from Jim Alexander of the Southern California News Group.
Jake McCarthy (Arizona Diamondbacks), Nick Lodolo (Reds), and Oneil Cruz (Pittsburgh Pirates) also received votes.
Harris wowed fans and the pollsters with his amazing outfield defense and well-rounded offense. He led all rookies in slugging percentage (.514) and all NL rookies in batting average (.297). In 114 games, he hit 19 home runs and stole 20 bases. So he fell one home run short of a 20-20 season, an astonishing near-feat.
The MLB world reacted in unison with a celebration for the news that Harris won the NL Rookie of the Year award.
Let's gooooo 💸💰 Congrats 23 https://t.co/lJ27TVPljt pic.twitter.com/dzfjJJ7114
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 15, 2022
Shout out to Kirk Fredriksson, the scout who signed Michael Harris, Kirk was on @MoneyyyMikeee early and never wavered, great scout! https://t.co/O3mYv7Hj9p
— Keith Lockhart (@klocky7) November 15, 2022
Good for him, man. Could've easily gone to Strider as well but also HELL YEAH MONEY MIKE LET'S GET IT https://t.co/GkA4jGxcBv
— local bIogger (@fergoe) November 15, 2022
— Marquis Grissom Jr. (@MarquisJr9) November 15, 2022
Congrats to @MoneyyyMikeee, who did play at Coolray Field as part of the @Braves Alternate Training Site in 2020, but skipped the @GoStripers in his award-winning rookie campaign in 2022. https://t.co/am16GQWFKJ
— Dave Lezotte (@DaveLezotte) November 15, 2022
[BBWAA]
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022