By Zane Miller

11. Butch Metzger (1976)

Metzger was co-Rookie of the Year in 1976, sharing the award with Pat Zachry, with the San Diego Padres as he scored 11 wins, 89 strikeouts and a 2.92 ERA in 123.1 innings pitched. Despite this strong start, Metzger would only pitch one more full season and would be out of the MLB after the 1978 season with 18 career wins, 175 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.74 in 293.1 total innings pitched.

10. Earl Williams (1971)

Williams captured RotY honors in 1971 with the Atlanta Braves, getting a career-high 33 home runs and 87 RBIs while also nabbing 129 hits in 145 games played. Williams spent most of his career with the Braves, hitting 138 home runs, 457 RBIs and 756 hits over the course of 889 games played before retiring after the 1977 season.

9. Bob Horner (1978)

Horner earned RotY in 1978 while also with the Braves, as he contributed 23 home runs, 63 RBIs and 86 hits in just 89 games played. Horner played nearly all of his career in Atlanta, getting a total of 218 home runs, 685 RBIs and 1,047 hits in 1,020 games before his 1988 retirement, though he is perhaps best known for being on of just 16 MLB players to hit four home runs in a single game, doing so on July 6th, 1986.

8. Carl Morton (1970)

Morton took the RotY trophy in 1970 as a member of the Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals), pitching his way to a career-best 18 wins and 154 strikeouts in almost 285 innings pitched, claiming a 3.60 ERA. Morton split his career between the Expos and the Braves, eventually scoring 87 wins and 650 strikeouts in 1,648.2 innings pitched for a career ERA of 3.73 before playing his final MLB game in 1976.

7. Gary Matthews (1973)

Matthews was the 1973 RotY while on the San Francisco Giants, smacking 12 home runs, 58 RBIs and 162 hits in 148 games. Matthews spent most of his career split between several teams, those being the Giants, Braves (again), Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, where he would secure a total of 234 home runs, 978 RBIs and 2,011 hits in 2,033 games played before retiring in 1987. His best season occurred in 1984 with the Cubs, hitting 14 home runs, 82 RBIs and 143 hits in 147 games played to earn the fifth spot in NL MVP voting that season.

6. Pat Zachry (1976)

Zachry claimed RotY honors in 1976 (shared with Butch Metzger) with the Cincinnati Reds, getting a career-high 14 victories, 143 strikeouts and 204 innings pitched for an impressive 2.74 ERA. Despite a strong start in Cincinnati in which he also won a World Series ring in his rookie season, Zachry played most of his career with the New York Mets, picking up 69 career wins with 669 strikeouts in 1,177.1 innings pitched to take a career ERA of 3.52 before retiring in 1985.

5. John Montefusco (1975)

Montefusco picked up the RotY title in 1975 with the Giants, as he pitched to a 15-win season with a career-best 215 strikeouts and 243.2 innings pitched, getting a 2.88 ERA in the process to also finish inside the top-five in the NL Cy Young race. Playing the majority of his career in San Francisco, Montefusco picked up 90 career wins, 1,081 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.54 over the course of 1,652.1 innings before retiring after the 1986 season. In 2008, Montefusco was named as one of the inaugural inductees to the San Francisco Giants Wall of Fame.

4. Jon Matlack (1972)

Matlack captured RotY in 1972 with the Mets, as he pitched to 15 wins and 169 strikeouts in 244 innings for a solid 2.32 ERA. Matlack’s career was split between the Mets and Rangers, which saw him win 125 games with 1,516 strikeouts and 2,363 innings pitched for a career ERA of 3.18. After retiring following the 1983 campaign, Matlack would eventually be inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 2021.

3. Bake McBride (1974)

Photo Credit: Old Images of Philadelphia

McBride scored the RotY title in 1974 with the St. Louis Cardinals, swatting six home runs, 56 RBIs and 173 hits in 150 games played. After spending the first half of his career in St. Louis, McBride found his way to the Philadelphia Phillies for most of the second half, most notably earning the team’s first World Series in 1980. He finished his career in 1983 with a total of 63 home runs, 430 RBIs and 1,153 hits over the course of 1,071 games, later joining the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame in 2022.

2. Rick Sutcliffe (1979)

Sutcliffe nabbed the 1979 RotY crown as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, claiming 17 wins and 117 strikeouts for a 3.46 ERA in 242 innings pitched. Although he certainly had a strong start with the Dodgers, Sutcliffe pitched most of his career with the Cubs, making his presence known immediately in 1984 after an early season trade to the Cubs from the Cleveland Indians (now Cleveland Guardians) saw him go 16-1 with 155 strikeouts and 2.69 ERA in over 150 innings pitched to capture the NL Cy Young Award. In addition, Sutcliffe finished runner-up for the award in 1987 and top-five for the AL CYA in 1982. Sutcliffe collected 171 career victories, 1,679 strikeouts and a total ERA of 4.08 in 2,697.2 innings pitched before retiring in 1994. In 2021, Sutcliffe was entered into the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame.

1. Andre Dawson (1977)

Dawson scored the RotY trophy in 1977 with the Expos, getting 19 home runs, 65 RBIs and 148 hits in 139 games played. Dawson played most of his career with the Expos with a significant portion also spent with the Cubs, where he would win the 1988 NL MVP award thanks to a league-leading 49 home runs and 137 RBIs while also nabbing 179 hits in 157 games played. This came after nearly winning the award twice in Montreal, finishing second in both 1981 and 1983. Dawson would collect a total of 438 home runs, 1,591 RBIs and 2,774 hits in 2,627 games before announcing his retirement after the 1996 season. Dawson’s #10 jersey was retired by the Expos in 1997, though it was unretired in 2005 following the franchise’s relocation to Washington. In 2010, Dawson would be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, while also joining the inaugural class of the Washington Nationals Ring of Honor during that same year. Dawson would also later be inducted into the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame along with Sutcliffe in 2021.

MLB / rick sutcliffe

Ranking Every MLB Rookie of the Year (1970s NL)

Ranking Every MLB Rookie of the Year (1970s NL)

Ranking Every MLB Rookie of the Year (1970s NL)