{"id":16905,"date":"2025-11-10T20:10:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T04:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/?p=16905"},"modified":"2025-11-10T20:11:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T04:11:51","slug":"drake-baldwin-wins-2025-nl-rookie-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2025\/11\/10\/drake-baldwin-wins-2025-nl-rookie-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Drake Baldwin Wins 2025 NL Rookie of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Atlanta Braves<\/a> catcher Drake Baldwin<\/a> won 2025 National League Rookie of the Year on Monday. Baldwin secured 21 of the 30 first place votes. Chicago Cubs<\/a> starting pitcher Cade Horton<\/a>, the runner-up, received the final nine. Milwaukee Brewers<\/a> Caleb Durbin<\/a> and Isaac Collins<\/a> finished third and fourth, respectively.<\/p>\n

Baldwin\u2019s 2025 Season<\/h3>\n

Baldwin, due to Sean Murphy<\/a> starting the year on the Injured List, was thrust into the starting catcher role on opening day. Baldwin excelled, as his lowest full month OPS-wise was .741 in the month of June.<\/p>\n

The 2022 third-round pick out of Missouri State finished with 19 home runs and 80 RBI. His slash line on the year was .274\/.341\/.469 for an .810 OPS and a 126 OPS+.<\/p>\n

Baldwin ranked first in average exit velocity among catchers according to Baseball Savant.<\/a> He also ranked in the 91st percentile in bat speed and 85th percentile in hard-hit percentage.<\/p>\n

Past Braves Winners<\/h3>\n

Baldwin is the second Braves catcher to win Rookie of the Year, joining Earl Williams<\/a>, who won the award in 1971. He is also the third Brave in the last decade to win the award, joining Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr.<\/a> (2018) and Michael Harris II<\/a> (2022), and 10th Brave overall. The Braves are also the third franchise to have double-digit Rookie of the Year winners. They are tied with the New York Yankees<\/a> for second-most winners (10) behind the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> (18).<\/p>\n

Past Catcher Winners<\/h3>\n

Only 10 catchers have won Rookie of the Year since the award’s inception in 1947. The first was Hall of Famer Johnny Bench<\/a> in 1968, and the last before Baldwin was Buster Posey<\/a> in 2010. Other notable names include Hall of Famers Mike Piazza<\/a> (1993) and Carlton Fisk<\/a> (1972).<\/p>\n

Scoring System<\/h3>\n

For the first time in history of the award, voters submitted five names instead of three. It had been three names from 1980 to 2024. According to the BBWAA<\/a>, first place votes were worth seven points, while second place votes were worth four. Third place was worth three points, fourth was two points, and fifth was one point.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>