Rangers' García Named AL Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News

Adolis García broke out as a 28-year-old rookie. Now, he's The Sporting News' American League Rookie of the Year.

ARLINGTON, Texas — It was quite the year for Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis García, who broke out as a 28-year-old rookie. Now, he has been named the winner of 2021 The Sporting News American League Rookie of the Year Award.

The Sporting News' annual baseball awards are selected in voting by Major League players during the final two weeks of the regular season.

García is just the third Texas Ranger to win AL Rookie of the Year honors from The Sporting News, which has been presenting it annually since 1946. The first two Rangers to win the award are Mike Hargrove in 1974 and Pat Putnam in 1979. Though Neftalí Feliz captured the AL Rookie of the Year Award from the Baseball Writer's Association of America (BBWAA) in 2010, Detroit's Austin Jackson won the award from The Sporting News.

From 1961-2003, The Sporting News awarded a Rookie Player and Pitcher Award in each league before returning to a single AL and National League recipients in 2004.

García turned in arguably the most productive rookie season in Rangers history, setting team rookie records for home runs (31), RBI (90) and total bases (264). He became just the 14th rookie in AL history to hit at least 30 homers with 90-plus RBI in a season, the third to do so this century (Chicago's Jose Abreu in 2014 and New York's Aaron Judge in 2017). 

García also led MLB rookies in RBI, total bases, and extra base hits (59), and placed second in homers while topping all AL rookie position players in STATS Inc. WAR (3.9). He is just the eighth rookie in Major League history with at least 30 home runs, 80 RBI, and 10 stolen bases (16) in a season.

He also did plenty with the glove. García tied for the MLB lead with 16 outfield assists, a Rangers rookie record, and led all Major League rookies at any position with 16 Defensive Runs Saved.

This is just another award for García's stellar campaign. He was previously selected as the Texas Rangers Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year for 2021, the first time in club history a player has won both awards in the same season.

García can cap off a memorable year with the BBWAA's Rookie of the Year award. The three finalists for each of the BBWAA's awards will be revealed on Monday, Nov. 8, with the AL Rookie of the Year announcement scheduled for Monday, Nov. 15.

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