PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm didn’t win the 2020 Jackie Robinson National League Rookie of the Year Award, but he came pretty close.
Milwaukee Brewers reliever Devin Williams finished with 95 points, including 14 first-place votes. Bohm and San Diego Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth tied for second with 74 points, but Bohm had nine first-place votes, while Cronenworth had six.
Bohm told MLB Network he didn’t expect to be a Rookie of the Year finalist when he made his debut in mid-August.
“Man, I was just trying to figure out how to tie my shoes at that point, honestly,” Bohm said. “I was just looking forward to getting out and playing every day, to be honest. I didn’t really give that any thought.”
Bohm hit .338 in 44 games this season, with a .400 on-base percentage and a .452 average with runners in scoring position, according to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
“To hit .338 your rookie year in the NL East is not easy to do, considering the pitchers that you faced,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi told MLB Network well before the award announcement on Monday.
In fairness, Williams also had an outstanding season, sporting a .33 ERA for Milwaukee out of the bullpen, with 53 strikeouts in 27 innings.
If 24-year-old Bohm — the third overall pick in the 2018 MLB Amateur Draft — would have won, it would have been the first time a Phillie won NL Rookie of the Year since franchise icon Ryan Howard did so in 2005.
Nonetheless, Bohm is on the path to becoming a big part of the Phillies’ future for years to come.