Athletics slugger Nick Kurtz was accompanied by a good friend as he joined one exclusive club on Monday night.
Kurtz was a unanimous choice for American League Rookie of the Year, and Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin won the National League award.
“It’s a great honor that I’m going to be put up with some of baseball’s greats who won the award,” Kurtz said. “It puts some finishing touches on the year, look back on it and enjoy what I’ve done a little bit.”
The 22-year-old Kurtz is the 14th unanimous selection for the AL honor and the second from the A’s franchise, joining Mark McGwire in 1987. Finishing right behind Kurtz was A’s teammate Jacob Wilson, and Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony was third.
It was the fifth time in the AL and ninth time overall that teammates finished in the top two spots in Rookie of the Year balloting. The last time it happened in the AL was the Mariners’ Alvin Davis and Mark Langston in 1984.
“It’s awesome. He was actually in the same room with me 30 minutes ago or so,” Kurtz said of Wilson.
“That’s something that we really wanted to do together. It shows the kind of teammates we are and how we strive to make each other better.”
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.
For winning Kurtz will be credited with a full year of major league service instead of 159 days, under the collective bargaining agreement. If he isn’t sent back to the minor leagues and there isn’t a work stoppage that costs him service days, he would become eligible for free agency after the 2030 season.
Baldwin, 24, stepped up for Atlanta after No. 1 catcher Sean Murphy was sidelined by a cracked rib in spring training. While Murphy was limited by injuries for much of the year, Baldwin hit .274 with 19 homers, 80 RBIs and an .810 OPS in 124 games.
Baldwin’s win secured an extra selection for Atlanta after the first round in next year’s amateur draft under the collective bargaining agreement’s prospect promotion incentive.
“I was just going into it with an open mind, kind of realizing how cool it is to even be a finalist for it,” Baldwin said. “But I didn’t know how it was going to turn out. I know it’s tough to rank or try to judge who had a better year between a pitcher and a hitter or a catcher.”
Baldwin received 21 of 30 first-place votes. Cubs right-hander Cade Horton got the other nine first-place votes and finished second, followed by Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin. The balloting was conducted before the postseason.
Baldwin said Horton had a fantastic year.
“Either way, even if he would’ve won, I would have had all the respect in the world for him and I’d have understood why,” he said.
Baldwin and Kurtz each get $750,000 from a pre-arbitration bonus pool, and runners-up Horton and Wilson each receive $500,000.
The Manager of the Year for each league will be announced on Tuesday, followed by the Cy Young Award winners on Wednesday.
Kurtz, 22, starred at Wake Forest University before he was selected by the A’s with the No. 4 pick in the 2024 amateur draft. The 6-foot-5 slugger began this season in the minors, but he hit an RBI single in his first big league at-bat on April 23 against Texas.
It was a sign of things to come.
He hit a solo drive off Dodgers reliever J.P. Feyereisen for his first big league homer on May 13. He belted four more homers in a span of four days that same month, including his first career multihomer game on May 21 against the Angels.
He had his signature performance on July 25 at Houston, becoming the youngest player in major league history and the first rookie to hit four home runs in one game. He went 6 for 6 with eight RBIs while matching an MLB record with 19 total bases.
Kurtz is the ninth winner for the A’s overall, second in the AL behind the Yankees’ 10.
Baldwin was a third-round pick in the 2022 draft out of Missouri State University. He started on opening day for Atlanta and got his first major league hit on March 29 at San Diego.
Baldwin had one of his biggest days of the season on July 21, driving in six runs in a 9-5 victory over San Francisco. He went deep twice and finished with five RBIs in his first career multihomer game on Aug. 7, an 8-6 win over Miami.
Baldwin is the seventh catcher to win the NL honor and the second from the Braves, joining Earl Williams in 1971. He is the 10th winner from the Braves franchise overall, second in the NL behind the Dodgers with a record 18.
Baldwin’s new manager, Walt Weiss, was the 1988 AL Rookie of the Year with the A’s. Weiss had been the Braves’ bench coach since 2018.
“The last game of the year he told me good luck,” Baldwin said. “Even being on the same list as him is pretty cool. Everyone respects him. He’s a great guy.”
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
