Jackie Robinson Award Winners 2023

Rookie of the Year Winners : Gunnar Henderson & Corbin Carroll

By David A. Avila

No doubt about this year’s Jackie Robinson Award Rookie of the Year winners.

Both Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson were voted in unanimously by the Baseball Writers Association of America as the best rookies in their respective leagues.

Henderson, the hard-hitting shortstop of the Baltimore Orioles won the American League Award and Carroll the fast-moving and big hitting outfielder of the Arizona Diamondbacks took the National League award.

Both spent time together on the same team in the minor leagues and remembered each other fondly.

“We swapped jerseys,” said Carroll of their 2019 time with Henderson.

“Both winning our rookie years is pretty special,” said Henderson via telephone.

It was a special year for baseball with rule changes that allowed time limits on at bats and the amount of throws by a pitcher with men on base. Suddenly, a new style of baseball was re-introduced. It was a style that encompassed speed and quickness over size and power.

“It was interesting. I had played with those rules last year in the minor leagues,” said Carroll who expected push back from the fans and traditionalists. “My perspective was let people see. They are really going to enjoy this really athletic brand of the game.”

From the first week of the season Carroll was able to showcase his abilities to get on base and then steal any base he chose. He also used his speed to cover the outfield on defense and was chosen to start in the NL All Star team.

Though the D-Backs were unable to catch the Los Angeles Dodgers in the West Division they defeated the perennial winners in the Division playoffs and managed to advance to the World Series.

Carroll was part of the driving force behind the D-Back brand of baseball and set a record for stealing 54 bases and hitting 25 homers in his rookie season.

In the American League it was Henderson who was the pre-season consensus to win the AL Rookie of the Year before it even started. But injuries happen and early in the season it did not go smoothly for the Baltimore Oriole shortstop.

“I had a wrist injury at beginning of season. Went through a struggle,” recalled Henderson about his slow start. “Once I got through that process the ball started to fall in the outfield and never looked back.”

Henderson led the Oriole attack that surprised almost everyone and helped Baltimore win the powerful Al East with 100 wins with 28 homers, 82 RBIs and 100 runs scored while playing shortstop.  

It was a magical year and Henderson was a large part of that success.

Both Henderson and Carroll received first place votes from every baseball writer. The last time two rookies won unanimously was in 2017 when Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger both were voted in.

This was Arizona’s first time having a Rookie of the Year winner. This was Baltimore’s eighth.