In his 2001 rookie season, Ichiro Suzuki became the second player in baseball history to win the MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season, joining Fred Lynn in 1975. This past week, Ichiro agreed to a one-year contract to return to his original team, the Seattle Mariners, for the first time since being traded to the New York Yankees at mid-season in 2012. A slam dunk first-ballot Hall of Famer, Suzuki was part of a rookie class that when is all said and done, may go down as one of the most memorable ever. Below is a look at some of the stand out players of the MLB’s group of rookies in 2001, with each player’s rookie stats listed.
Ichiro Suzuki: 8 HR, 69 RBI, .350/.381/.457, 127 R, 242 H, 34 2B, 56 SB, 7.7 WAR
Ichirohas been one of baseball’s best since coming to the US.
The 2001 AL Rookie of the Year and MVP, Ichiro came over from Japan at the age of 27 and led the league in hits, stolen bases, and batting average. One of the best hitters of the millennium, Ichiro is a ten-time All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner, a three-time Silver Slugger, two-time batting champion, and an All-Star Game MVP. In 2004, Ichiro broke George Sisler’s single-season record with 262 hits; for his career, his 3,080 hits rank 22nd all-time, and his 509 stolen bases rank 35th. From 2001-2010, Ichiro had ten straight 200 hit seasons to start his career, leading the league seven times.
Albert Pujols: 37 HR, 130 RBI, .329/.403/.610, 112 R, 197 H, 47 2B, 1 SB, 6.6 WAR
One of the greatest right-handed hitters to ever play the game, Pujols is 32 hits away from becoming the sixth player in baseball history with over 500 HR and 3000 hits. The 2001 NL Rookie of the Year, Pujols is a three-time NL MVP, ten-time All-Star, two-time World Series Champion and Gold Glove Award Winner, six-time Silver Slugger, and the 2003 NL Batting Champion. Pujols’ 99.4 career WAR is 32nd all-time, and he also ranks in the top 25 all-time in intentional walks (2nd) extra-base hits (7th) home runs (7th) RBI (10th) total bases (10th) doubles (12th) SLG (15th) OPS (22nd) and runs scored (25th). With four more years left on his contract with the Angels, there is a decent possibility that Pujols will become the fourth player in baseball history to hit 700 home runs, only needing to average 22 home runs per season to reach the historic mark.
CC Sabathia: 17-5, 4.39 ERA, 180.1 IP, 1.353 WHIP, 171 K, 33 G, 2.9 WAR
Along with Ichiro and Pujols, Sabathia is slated to appear in his 18th MLB Season this year, and is currently the active leader in innings pitched (3,317.0) strikeouts (2846) and complete games (38), and is second in wins (237) and games started (509). The 2007 Al Cy Young Award Winner, Sabathia is a six-time All-Star, has led the AL in wins and innings pitched twice, and won the 2009 ALCS MVP and World Series with the New York Yankees. Sabathia’s 60.7 WAR for Pitchers is 56th all-time, and with 154 strikeouts this season, he will become the 16th pitcher with 3000 career strikeouts, and only the fourth left-handed pitcher to do so, joining Steve Carlton, Randy Johnson, and Walter Johnson.
Adam Dunn: 19 HR, 43 RBI, .262/.371/.578, 54 R, 64 H, 18 2B, 4 SB, 2.1 WAR
One of the game’s most prolific sluggers, Dunn finished his career with six 40 home runs seasons (including five straight from 2004-2008) and an additional three seasons with 34 or more dingers. In total, Dunn hit 462 homers (35th all-time) and had six 100 RBI seasons, averaging 33 HR and 83 RBI per season for his career. Despite his power and high strikeout totals, Dunn also had a keen eye at the plate, leading the league in free passes twice as part of his seven 100-walk seasons, which culminated in 1,317 career walks, 42nd all-time. Had he not retired at the age of 34 in 2014, it is likely that Dunn would have etched his name into the history books as a member of the 500 home run club.
Jimmy Rollins: 14 HR, 54 RBI, .274/.323/.419, 97 R, 180 H, 29 2B, 12 3B, 46 SB, 2.4 WAR
A second-round pick in the 1996 MLB Draft, Rollins burst onto the scene with the Phillies in 2001, leading the NL in triples and stolen bases. The anchor of the Phillies 2008 World Series run at shortstop, Rollins was a 3x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove Award Winner, Silver Slugger, and the 2007 NL MVP after notching 30-40 season with a league-leading 20 triples and 139 runs scored. A unique blend of speed and power, Rollins had four 40 and six 30 stolen base seasons and finished his career with six seasons of 100 runs scored or more. Rollins’ .983 fielding percentage at shortstop is third all-time, and he and Honus Wagner are the only shortstops to finish their careers with over 2455 hits, 230 home runs, and 470 stolen bases.
Alfonso Soriano: 18 HR, 73 RBI, .268/.304/.432, 77 R, 154 H, 34 2B, 43 SB, 0.0 WAR
A member of the 40-40 club and three-time member of the 30-30 club, Soriano successfully transitioned from second base to the outfield to finish his career as a seven-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, and the 2004 All-Star Game MVP. Soriano ranks in the top-100 all-time in home runs (412, 53rd) and doubles (481, 84th) having hit 30 or more home runs in a season seven times. In total, Soriano had four seasons of 100 RBI and 100 runs scored, and three seasons with 40 or more steals. Against the 116-win Mariners in the 2001 ALCS, Soriano announced himself to the world as a rookie, hitting .400/.526/.600 with 1 HR, 2 RBI, and 2 SB in the five-game series win for the Yankees.
Michael Young: 11 HR, 49 RBI, .249/.298/.402, 57 R, 96 H, 18 2B, 3 SB, 0.5 WAR
One of the greatest and most beloved players to have ever played for the Texas Rangers, Young finished his career as a .300 hitter over 14 seasons in the MLB. A seven-time All-Star, Gold Glove Award winner, All-Star Game MVP, and the 2005 AL Batting Champion, Young 2.was the face of the Rangers in the 2000s, leading the team to their first World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011. Young led the AL in hits twice as part of his six 200 hit seasons, which included five straight from 2003-2007, when he also hit over .306 each season. In total, Young hit over .300 in seven different seasons and helped punch the Rangers ticket to the World Series in 2010 by hitting .33 against the Yankees in the ALCS.
Roy Oswalt: 14-3, 2.73 ERA, 141.2 IP, 1.059 WHIP, 144 K, 28 G, 3 CG, 4.7 WAR
A 3x All-Star, Oswalt made an immediate impact with the Astros, leading the NL in winning percentage as a rookie while finishing with an outstanding 2.73 ERA, 1.059 WHIP, and 6.0 K:BB ratio. A two-time 20 game winner, Oswalt led the NL in ERA in 2006, one of five seasons where he had an ERA below 3.00. A true workhorse, Oswalt threw over 200 innings seven times, but still managed to have excellent control with a 3.562 K:BB ratio that ranks 25th all-time. In 2005, Oswalt was named NLCS MVP after helping the Astros reach their only World Series in franchise history by going 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched. In his thirteen seasons in the MLB, Oswalt only finished with a losing record one-time and averaged 4.88 WAR, 15 wins, and 202 innings pitched per season over the first ten years of his career.
