DETROIT — Never a doubt.
Kevin McGonigle has won the American League’s Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year award presented by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The results of the voting were announced on MLB Network on Monday, Nov. 9.
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He is the first Tiger to win the award since Michael Fulmer in 2016 and the first Tiger position player to win it since Lou Whitaker in 1978.
“I hope he’s as proud of his season as we are,” manager A.J. Hinch said after the season. “We’re going to build around him, because we need a lot more of Kevin McGonigle characteristics in and around our club to push our organization forward. He is phenomenal in every way and deserves the hardware he’s about to get.”
More: Kevin McGonigle, likely AL rookie of year, gives Tigers prospects hope
McGonigle, in his age-21 season, put together one of the best rookie seasons in Tigers’ history and in recent MLB history. His 7.1 WAR led the American League and he toppled Harvey Kuenn’s 73-year-old club record, reaching base 266 times in 156 games.
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Only four other players reached base that many times in their rookie season — Ichiro Suzuki, Albert Pujols, Ben Grieve and Aaron Judge. All four won Rookie of the Year honors, and Suzuki was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
McGonigle didn’t lead the American League in any statistical category except WAR, but he filled up the stat sheet like no rookie since Ted Williams in 1939 with 168 hits, 28 doubles, 18 homers, 97 runs, 72 RBI, 95 walks and just 100 strikeouts.
He was the first rookie since Judge in 2017 to walk 95 times and score at least 95 runs.
“I don’t know what to say about him except he’s incredible,” Hinch said after McGonigle tripled, reached base three times and knocked in four runs in the Tigers’ 11-8 win over the White Sox on Sept. 18. “And he’s still learning. He’s got a lot of room to grow and that’s the scary part for the American League. He’s not a finished product yet.”
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The statistic that probably best sums up McGonigle’s rookie season from an offensive standpoint, as researched by Inside Edge, is that 52% of his American League-high 702 plate appearances resulted in quality at-bats.
“Part of why he’s really good is that he’s obsessed with the details,” Hinch said. “When he goes up for a game plan, he’s obsessed with what the guy’s going to do against him. He’s always in the at-bat. He never concedes the at-bat. I know he goes through his peaks and valleys like every hitter, but the ability to get on base when things aren’t going well stops the long stretches of drought for an offensive player.”
Perhaps overlooked was what McGonigle did defensively. He posted a plus-10 defensive runs saved playing both shortstop (plus-2) and third base (plus-8).
“His ability to do that was a huge asset for us,” said president Scott Harris. “He put together one of the best rookie seasons in this organization’s history and he did it while moving positions. … We can’t overlook the value to the organization that his ability to move positions provides us and we need to give him a ton of credit for performing the way he did.”
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McGonigle announced his arrival to the baseball world on March 3 in an exhibition game against the Dominican Republic WBC team in Santo Domingo, when he hit the first pitch of the game from Luis Severino 430 feet into the seats in right-center.
He doubled in his first at-bat and had four hits in his debut in San Diego. He hit his first big-league homer off the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara on April 12. He reached base safely in 27 straight games through April and into May. He homered and delivered a walk-off single in a 5-4 win over the Mariners on June 7.
He reached base safely an MLB-record 53 times before the All-Star break and was one of four players to represent the Tigers at the Midsummer Classic played in McGonigle’s hometown park, Citizens Bank Park.
“I’m living my dream,” he said at the time.
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He posted an OPS over .800 in four of the six months and homered in his final at-bat of the season, which earned him a curtain call when Hinch fittingly removed him from the game in the top of the eighth inning.
“He’s just really good,” Hinch said. “Part of the reason this guy raced through the minor leagues is his ability to adjust and handle the biggest workload of his life and still wow you and our fans and be a big contributor on our team.”
McGonigle was asked before the final game of the season what the hardest part of his rookie season had been and he answered immediately: Losing.
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“Losing sucks,” McGonigle said. “All the guys in this clubhouse hate it. But talking with some of the older guys, they tell me to use it as fuel, use it for the rest of your career. It’s not a good feeling in the stomach, to be honest. It’s been a tough year, but you can use it to get better. You can use it and build from it.”
While this accumulation of awards is impressive — he’s been named top American League rookie by Sporting News, Baseball America and in a vote of his peers (Players’ Choice Award), and he’s a finalist for a Silver Slugger award in two categories — you get the sense that it isn’t enough for McGonigle.
“I just know if I go out and do everything I can to help the team win, good things will happen,” he said. “I’m not chasing anything (statistically). I am just focusing on helping the team win.”
To that end, McGonigle’s Rookie of the Year award earned the Tigers an extra draft pick in 2027. Per the league’s Prospect Promotion Incentive program, because McGonigle, one of the team’s top prospects heading into 2026, played a full season and won rookie of the year honors, the Tigers will get an extra draft pick after the first round.
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This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle wins BBWAA AL Rookie of the Year honors
