Yankees’ Luis Gil wins 2024 American League Rookie of the Year award in tight race

No rookies in the American League were over the Gil. New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil was voted as the American League Rookie of the Year on Monday night. Over 29 starts, he went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA, riding a fastball that averaged 96.6 mph and an in-your-face throat tattoo that reads, “GOD BLESS ME.” The last time a Yankees player won Rookie of the Year honors was in 2017 when Aaron Judge clubbed 52 home runs. Before that, it was Derek Jeter in 1996. Dave Righetti in 1981 was the Yankees’ last pitcher to win the honor. Gil received 15 first-place votes and 106 total points from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s scoring system, finishing ahead of Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser in second place (101 points and 13 first-place votes) and Yankees catcher Austin Wells in third place (17 points, no first-place votes). Two relievers each received one first-place vote: Athletics closer Mason Miller and Cade Smith of the Cleveland Guardians. Few expected Gil to have a chance at the award at the start of the season. The Dominican Republic-born flamethrower was thrust into the Yankees’ rotation on Opening Day due to Gerrit Cole’s elbow injury, which kept the ace out of action until June. Gil won seven straight starts from May 1 through June 4, pitching to a 0.60 ERA (three earned runs in 44 2/3 innings). He was named AL Pitcher of the Month and AL Rookie of the Month for May, becoming the fifth pitcher in MLB and fourth in the AL to win both awards in the same month. He allowed three runs or fewer in 22 of his 29 starts and two runs or fewer in 18 of them. His 17 starts of one or zero runs allowed were tied with the Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal and the Chicago White Sox’s Garrett Crochet for the most in the majors. Among major-league pitchers who notched at least 150 innings, Gil ranked second in opponents’ batting average at .189, third in hits per nine innings at 6.17 and tied for seventh in wins. Among AL pitchers with 150 innings, he was ranked fourth in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.15. Gil struck out a career-high 14 batters over six innings in a win over the White Sox on May 18, giving him the most strikeouts in a game by a Yankees rookie in franchise history, beating Orlando Hernandez’s mark of 13 set in 1998. The Yankees didn’t forecast such a big season from Gil in 2024. In spring training, the Yankees cut him early from major-league camp. At the time, it wasn’t a controversial decision. Gil needed Tommy John surgery in May 2022, and he made just two minor-league appearances in 2023. But the demotion seemed to spark something in Gil, who honed his skills quickly in minor-league camp and eventually beat out fellow highly regarded prospect Will Warren for the big-league job. In the middle of the season, Gil appeared to slow down, and he went on the 15-day injured list with a lower back strain from Aug. 21 to Sept. 5. In the playoffs, Gil didn’t pitch in the AL Division Series but he allowed two runs over four innings in a Yankees victory in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians. In the World Series, he started Game 4 in a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving up four earned runs over four innings.