Colton Cowser entered the offseason with the chance to become the first player since Ichiro Suzuki to win a Gold Glove and the Rookie of the Year Award in the same season.
He fell short for both.
Cowser on Monday finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced. New York Yankees right-hander Luis Gil won the award after winning 15 games for the AL champions.
Gil won the vote with 106 points to Cowser’s 101. Since the BBWAA moved to a three-player ballot in 1980, that difference marks the second-closest election for the AL Rookie of the Year Award. The only vote closer was in 2003 when Kansas City Royals shortstop Angel Berroa beat Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui, 88-84.
Cowser received 13 first-place votes, 11 second-place votes and three third-place votes. That means three voters did not have Cowser on their ballot.
The 24-year-old outfielder hit .242 with a .768 OPS while leading all AL rookies with 24 homers and being a Gold Glove finalist in left field. He lost out on winning the Gold Glove Award to the Cleveland Guardians’ Steven Kwan.
Despite losing, Cowser will receive $500,000 from the pre-arbitration player bonus pool. Gil will get $750,000.
Had Cowser earned the honor, it would have given the Orioles back-to-back winners after Gunnar Henderson took home the award in 2023. It also would have netted the Orioles an extra draft pick at the end of the first round next year as part of MLB’s prospect promotion incentive program. Baltimore earned the PPI pick in the 2024 draft — the No. 32 overall selection they used to take Virginia shortstop Griff O’Ferrall — after Henderson won. The Yankees will not receive a PPI pick for Gil winning because the 26-year-old wasn’t considered a top prospect by the program’s criteria.
Cowser would have been the eighth Oriole to win the award, joining Henderson, Gregg Olson (1989), Cal Ripken Jr. (1982), Eddie Murray (1977), Al Bumbry (1973), Curt Blefary (1965) and Ron Hansen (1960).
San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill, a Severna Park native, finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting, losing to Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes. Merrill, who received seven first-place votes to Skenes’ 23, burst onto the scene in 2024 with a .292 average and .826 OPS at just 21 years old.
This article will be updated. Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 667-942-3337 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.