Mike Soroka’s memorable first full season will not earn him distinctive hardware.
Soroka was announced Monday as the runner-up in the NL’s Rookie of the Year Award, given to New York slugger Pete Alonso. San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. was the third finalist.
Alonso led the majors with 53 home runs and earned 29 of 30 first-place votes in Baseball Writers’ Association of America balloting revealed Monday night. Soroka received one first-place vote. Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez took all 30 first-place votes in the AL, becoming the 24th unanimous pick.
After his 2018 debut season was cut short after five starts, Soroka emerged into an ace during his first full season in 2019. Despite missing spring training due to a shoulder issue, the 22-year-old made 29 starts. Soroka posted a 2.68 ERA — including a 1.54 road mark that led the majors — and earned a 142:41 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 174-2/3 innings.
Opponents hit .236 against the Canadian righty, which includes a .203 average for right-handers. Hitters posted a collective .288 on-base percentage against Soroka.
Soroka's teammate, Ronald Acuna, was last year's top NL rookie.
Since the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966 six players have been named Rookie of the Year — Earl Williams (1971), Bob Horner (1978), David Justice (1990), Rafael Furcal (2000), Craig Kimbrel (2011) and Acuna (2018).
This is how this year's votes by baseball writers were tallied (First-, second- and third-place votes and total points on a 5-3-1 basis):
The manager of the year award winner is announced Tuesday. The Braves' Brian Snitker is among the finalists for the National League.
