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Cubs’ Bryant unanimous pick as N.L. Rookie of the Year

The Chicago Cubs won the World Series last year as N.L. Most Valuable Player Kris Bryant hit .292 with 39 homers and 102 runs batted in. (Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
Mark Gonzales Chicago Tribune

Kris Bryant’s record-setting season was validated Monday night when the Chicago Cubs’ third baseman was named unanimously as the National League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Bryant, 23, set franchise rookie records with 26 home runs, 99 RBIs, 62 extra-base hits and 273 total bases. Bryant also hit 31 doubles, scored 86 runs and drew 77 walks. The only other player in major league history to attain those totals for homers, RBIs, doubles, runs and walks in his rookie season was Hall of Famer Ted Williams with the Boston Red Sox in 1939.

Bryant received first-place votes on all 30 ballots – two from each of the 15 NL cities. Third baseman Matt Duffy of the San Francisco Giants finished second, followed by Jung Ho Kang of Pittsburgh, Noah Syndergaard of the New York Mets and Justin Bour of the Miami Marlins.

“I have a whole offseason to celebrate this and work hard for the ultimate goal, and that’s winning the World Series,” Bryant told the MLB Network from the Southern California offices of agent Scott Boras. “And I sure hope to do that next season with the Cubs.”

Despite not being promoted to the Cubs from Triple-A Iowa until April 17, Bryant compiled arguably the most impressive season by a Cubs rookie while quelling questions about his ability to play third base despite his 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame.

“I play for the love of the game,” Bryant said. “All that (business) stuff takes care of itself.

”I went out there and played as hard as I can with a little chip on my shoulder and things turned out great. We won, went far in the playoffs and surprised a lot of teams. Moving on from this season, I think the future is so bright for this team.“

In addition to starting 136 games at third, Bryant also started five games in right field, four in left, one in center and one at first base. Bryant was charged with only one error in his final 25 games at third.

Bryant, the Cubs’ first pick (fourth overall) in the 2013 draft, becomes the sixth player in franchise history to win the BBWAA’s Rookie of the Year award and the first since catcher Geovany Soto in 2008.

Bryant’s 26 homers surpassed Billy Williams’ rookie mark of 25 in 1961 – when Williams became the first Cubs player to win the BBWAA Rookie of the Year honor. Bryant’s 99 RBIs were the most by an NL rookie since Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals had 110 in 2006.

Bryant became the fifth Cubs rookie named to the All-Star Game, and he became the youngest Cubs third baseman to be named to the NL All-Star team since Ron Santo (23) in 1963.

After an 0-for-4 performance in his major league debut against the San Diego Padres, Bryant batted .378 (14-for-37) with 10 RBIs in his next 10 games. But his biggest improvement occurred after batting only .168 in July.

Bryant batted .323 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs over the final two months to finish with a .275 batting average and .369 on-base percentage and helped carry the Cubs to the playoffs, where they beat Pittsburgh in the NL wild-card game, stunned St. Louis in the NL Division Series before getting swept in four games by the New York Mets in the NL Championship Series.

Bryant batted .292 with runners in scoring position and collected 17 game-winning RBIs. Only other players collected at least 17 game-winning RBIs in their rookie seasons – Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals (21 in 2001) and Hideki Matsui of the New York Yankees (17 in 2003).

Of Bryant’s 26 home runs, two were grand slams, and he became the first player to hit a home run off the left field video board when he hit a game-tying home run against the Nationals on May 26.

Bryant credited some of his comfort to the gradual addition of fellow rookies Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber, along with Jorge Soler (23) and Javier Baez (22).

”You feed off each other,“ Bryant said. ”Everybody struggled through the season, and we leaned on each other. As young guys, we brought ourselves together and learned from one another, and they (the Cubs) made the learning curve a lot easier for us.“

Outfielders Joc Pederson of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Stephen Piscotty of St. Louis each received one third-place ballot.