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The Rookie of the year award began in 1947, and for the first two seasons it was a Major League wide award. MLB did not award a player from each league until 1949. Last year the Rookie of the year from both the NL and AL played in the World Series. I decided to do a little research and make a list of all the Rookie of the years throughout baseball history that played in the World Series and their team’s result.
League Wide Award
| Year | Player | Team | WS Result |
| 1947 | Jackie Robinson | Brooklyn Dodgers | Lost |
| 1948 | Alvin Dark | Boston Braves | Lost |
American League
| Year | Player | Team | WS Result |
| 1951 | Gil McDougald | New York Yankees | Won |
| 1957 | Tony Kubek | New York Yankees | Lost |
| 1962 | Tom Tresh | New York Yankees | Won |
| 1975 | Fred Lynn | Boston Red Sox | Lost |
| 1981 | Dave Righetti | New York Yankees | Lost |
| 1988 | Walt Weiss | Oakland Athletics | Lost |
| 1991 | Chuck Knoblauch | Minnesota Twins | Won |
| 1996 | Derek Jeter | New York Yankees | Won |
| 2006 | Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers | Lost |
| 2007 | Dustin Pedoia | Boston Red Sox | Won |
| 2008 | Evan Longoria | Tampa Bay Rays | Lost |
| 2010 | Neftali Feliz | Texas Rangers | Lost |
National League
| Year | Player | Team | WS Result |
| 1949 | Don Newcombe | Brooklyn Dodgers | Lost |
| 1951 | Willie Mays | New York Giants | Lost |
| 1952 | Joe Black | Brooklyn Dodgers | Lost |
| 1953 | Jim Gilliam | Brooklyn Dodgers | Lost |
| 1965 | Jim Lefebrve | Los Angeles Dodgers | Won |
| 1976 | Pat Zachry (Tie for 1st) | Cincinnati Reds | Won |
| 1981 | Fernando Valenzuela | Los Angeles Dodgers | Won |
| 1985 | Vince Coleman | St. Louis Cardinals | Lost |
| 2003 | Dontrelle Willis | Florida Marlins | Won |
| 2010 | Buster Posey | San Francisco Giants | Won |
There have been 3 occasions on which the Rookie of the Year from each league faced off against each other in the World Series. We all remember the Buster Posey vs Neftali Feliz showdown in last year’s World Series, but we have to look back to 1981 for the next ROY matchup. Dave Righetti and the Yankees were defeated by Fernando Valenzuela and the Dodgers. The first ever showdown was in 1951. Some guy named Willie Mays and the then, New York Giants, were defeated by Gil McDougald and the Yankees.
Which of this year’s top MLB prospects will splash onto the big league scene and earn the Rookie of the Year award? Will they help lead their team to a World Series? We will just have to wait and find out.
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis Tagged: | A's, Alvin Dark, Braves, Buster Posey, Cardinals, Chuck Knoblauch, Dave Righetti, Derek Jeter, Dodgers, Don Newcombe, Dontrelle Willis, Dustin Pedroia, Evan Longoria, Fernando Valenzuela, Fred Lynn, Giants, Gil McDougald, Jackie Robinson, Jim Gilliam, Jim Lefebrve, Joe Black, Justin Verlander, Marlins, Neftali Feliz, Pat Zachry, Rangers, Rays, Red Sox, Reds, Rookie of the Year, Tigers, Tom Tresh, Tony Kubek, Twins, Vince Coleman, Walt Weiss, Willie Mays, Yankees
That is a cool correlation. I have Jeremy Hellickson and Dominick Brown as ROY and have both teams making the playoffs and a lot of people have the Phillies going to or winning the World Series. We’ll see if Brown is added to this list.