The Rookie of the Year Award has a chaotic history. Arising from a Chicago BBWAA chapter award begun in 1940, it went national in 1947, officially named the J. Louis Comiskey Memorial Award after the former White Sox executive who was the son of Hall of Famer Charles Comiskey. The first winner was Jackie Robinson; during the fortieth-anniversary celebration of his career in 1987, the award was renamed the Jackie Robinson Award. It has been presented to the top rookie in each league since 1949, after being given to only one player in both 1947 and 1948.

It took ten years before "rookie" was officially defined, and the definition would change twice; in 1989 it stands as a player who has not, in previous seasons, had 130 at-bats, 50 innings, or 45 days on a major league roster. The voting structure has also changed several times; it currently consists of two writers for each team voting for three players each with votes weighted 5-3-1. (SFS)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » November 21, 1956: Don Newcombe, who won the 1949 Rookie of the Year Award, wins the National League MVP and the first-ever Cy Young Award. » November 27, 1970: Carl Morton, who was 18-11 for the last-place Expos, receives the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Morton beats out Reds OF Bernie Carbo, 11 votes to 8. Both Rookies of the Year will be dead by 1983. » November 22, 1971: Indians 1B Chris Chambliss outpolls four other vote-getters to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Chambliss, who batted .275 in 111 games, receives 11 of 24 votes. » November 27, 1973: Gary Matthews outpolls eight other vote-getters, receiving 11 of 24 nominations for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. The Giants OF batted .300 in 145 games. » November 27, 1974: Cardinal OF Bake McBride wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award. » November 22, 1977: Montreal's Andre Dawson wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award by one vote over New York's Steve Henderson. » November 21, 1978: Brave Bob Horner edges Padre Ozzie Smith to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Horner batted .266 with 23 home runs in just 323 at bats. » November 26, 1979: 3B John Castino, who batted .285 for the Twins, and SS Alfredo Griffin, who hit .287 for the Blue Jays, tie for the AL Rookie of the Year award, each receiving seven of the 28 votes. The two rookies share one other distinction: both of them hit their first ML homers inside-the-park. The deadlock precipitates a change in the voting system, effective in 1980. » March 8, 1980: While waiting for the team bus outside his hotel during the Cleveland Indians 3-game exhibition series against the Mexico City Reds, rookie OF Joe Charboneau is stabbed by a crazed fan wielding a ballpoint pen. The pen penetrates one inch and strikes a rib, sidelining Charboneau for four days, but he will recover to win the American League Rookie of the Year award. » December 1, 1980: Dodgers pitcher Steve Howe wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award, edging the Expos Bill Gullickson and the Phillies Lonnie Smith. Howe was 7-9 with a 2.65 ERA and 17 saves. » November 30, 1981: Yankees P Dave Righetti (8-4, 2.06 in 1981) wins the American League Rookie of the Year Award. » December 2, 1981: Fernando Valenzuela becomes the 3rd consecutive Dodger to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Expos OF Tim Raines, who hit .304 with 71 stolen bases, is 2nd. » November 21, 1983: Darryl Strawberry becomes the first non-Dodger since 1978 to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Strawberry hit .257 for the Mets with 26 home runs and 74 RBI and also stole 19 bases. » November 22, 1983: White Sox OF Ron Kittle, who hit .254 with 35 home runs and 100 RBI, but also struck out a league-leading 150 times, wins the American League Rookie of the Year Award. Cleveland's Julio Franco and Baltimore's Mike Boddicker finish 2nd and 3rd. » November 20, 1984: Four days after his 20th birthday, Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden becomes the youngest player ever to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Gooden was 17-9 with a 2.60 ERA and a ML-leading 276 strikeouts. » November 22, 1984: Seattle's Alvin Davis easily wins the American League Rookie of the Year Award over Mark Langston and Kirby Puckett. » December 6, 1984: The White Sox trade 1983 American League Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt and two minor leaguers to the Padres for P Tim Lollar, IF-OF Luis Salazar, and minor leaguers Ozzie Guillen and Bill Long. SS Guillen will win the AL Rookie of the Year Award next season and hold down the Sox shortstop spot till the end of the 1990s. Workhorse Hoyt will be out of baseball in two years, amidst rumors of drug use. » November 27, 1985: Vince Coleman, who stole 110 bases for the Cardinals, joins Frank Robinson, Orlando Cepeda, and Willie McCovey as the only unanimous winners of the National League Rookie of the Year Award. » November 25, 1986: Jose Canseco wins the American League Rookie of the Year Award, becoming the first A's player to do so since Harry Byrd in 1952. » July 14, 1987: The BBWAA votes to rename the Rookie of the Year Award in honor of Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball's color barrier on the way to winning the first Rookie of the Year Award in 1947. » November 3, 1987: Oakland 1B Mark McGwire wins the American League Rookie of the Year Award, now called the Jackie Robinson Award, joining Carlton Fisk (1972) as the only player to win that league's award unanimously. McGwire set a rookie record with 49 homers and was the first rookie to lead the majors in homers since Al Rosen in 1950. » November 1, 1988: Chris Sabo, who hit .271 with 11 home runs and 46 stolen bases as the Reds 3B, wins the National League Rookie of the Year award. Chicago's Mark Grace is runner-up. » November 2, 1988: Oakland SS Walt Weiss becomes the 3rd consecutive A's player to win the American League Rookie of the Year award, joining sluggers Jose Canseco (1986) and Mark McGwire (1987). » November 7, 1989: Baltimore's Gregg Olson becomes the first relief pitcher to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award. » November 8, 1989: Cubs OF Jerome Walton wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award, collecting 22 of 24 first-place votes to defeat teammate Dwight Smith. They are the first NL teammates to finish 1-2 in the voting since the Phillies Jack Sanford and Ed Bouchee in 1957. Walton is the first Cub to win rookie honors since Billy Williams, in 1961. » November 6, 1990: Braves OF Dave Justice wins the National League Rookie of the Year award. He hit .282 with 28 home runs, 20 coming after he replaced Dale Murphy in RF in early August. » November 7, 1990: Cleveland's Sandy Alomar Jr. wins the American League Rookie of the Year Award unanimously, joining Carlton Fisk and Mark McGwire as the only players to do so. » October 22, 1994: Bob Hamelin, KC outfielder, easily outpaces Manny Ramirez to win the American League Rookie of the Year award. Hamelin hit .282 with 24 homers in 101 games, the most he'll play in his ML career. » November 6, 1998: Cubs fireballer Kerry Wood, with a 13–6 record, wins the National League Rookie of the Year award. Wood held batters to a NL best .196 average and was 3rd in the NL in strikeouts with 233 in just 166 2/3 innings. » November 6, 2000: Mariners relief P Kazuhiro Sasaki wins the AL Rookie of the Year award. He is the second-oldest player to ever win rookie honors; only Sam Jethroe, who played in the Negro Leagues before the Braves, was older. » November 7, 2000: Braves SS Rafael Furcal wins the NL Rookie of the Year award.