There were so many great rookie campaigns in 2024, but only one player from each league can take home the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award. This year¡¯s winners were announced Monday night on MLB Network, with the Pirates¡¯ Paul Skenes winning the NL Rookie of the Year and the Yankees¡¯ Luis Gil capturing the AL Rookie of the Year.

It is the first time both Rookie of the Year winners have been starting pitchers since Fernando Valenzuela and Dave Righetti in 1981. The only other two instances were in 1976 (Mark Fidrych in the American League, Pat Zachry and Butch Metzger in the National League) and 1952 (Harry Byrd in the AL, Joe Black in the NL).

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In the NL, Skenes¡¯ historic season edged out the clutch performance of the Padres¡¯ Jackson Merrill and the breakout of Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio. In the AL, Gil beat out his batterymate, Austin Wells, and an AL East rival in O¡¯s outfielder Colton Cowser.

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National League winner: Paul Skenes

Paul Skenes was rewarded on Monday night for his historic debut season with the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year Award.

The 22-year-old Pirates righty burst onto the big league scene less than one year after being selected first overall by Pittsburgh in the 2023 Draft. He made his MLB debut on May 11 and not only lived up to his massive expectations, but somehow exceeded them en route to going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts. His 170 strikeouts were a Pirates rookie record.

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¡°This is cool,¡± Skenes said. ¡°I think the coolest part is that it just puts a bow on this past year and we can kind of look forward to next year. ¡­ I think the biggest thing is to just stay present through it all. It¡¯s helped me this year and I¡¯ve surrounded myself with good people, I think. I¡¯ve been super lucky to experience all the things I have. So I¡¯m just gonna try to continue to stay present and enjoy the ride.¡±

The ROY Award is just the latest honor for Skenes, who earlier this year became the first rookie pitcher to start the All-Star Game since 1995 (Hideo Nomo). Skenes¡¯ 1.96 ERA led MLB rookies (minimum 100 innings pitched) and he finished just four strikeouts behind Shota Imanaga for the rookie lead, while the Cubs lefty pitched 40 1/3 more innings.

Skenes became the first rookie pitcher to record at least 170 strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA since earned runs became official in 1913. He also joined late Marlins star Jos¨¦ Fern¨¢ndez as the only rookies in the past 35 seasons with double-digit wins, at least 150 strikeouts and a sub-2.50 ERA.

Skenes is just the second Pirate to claim Rookie of the Year honors, joining outfielder Jason Bay (2004). He's also just the fifth No. 1 overall pick to win the award, joining Carlos Correa (2015), Bryce Harper (2012), Darryl Strawberry (1983) and Bob Horner (1978).

¡°It¡¯s been awesome,¡± Skenes said about playing in Pittsburgh. ¡° ¡­ Just seeing the fans and seeing what sports mean to this city -- obviously we saw it a little bit over the summer and it gives us hope, I think, to what we can do next year and have the city unite around us as the Pirates next year.¡±

American League winner: Luis Gil

Luis Gil put a cap on his breakout 2024 season in the second-closest Rookie of the Year election in league history, with Gil winning over Cowser by just five points. The only balloting with a more narrow margin came in 2003, when Royals shortstop Angel Berroa defeated Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui by four points.

¡°It means so much to me,¡± Gil said through an interpreter. ¡°It¡¯s incredible. I¡¯m so happy and excited about this. Thank God for allowing me to be here. A big thank you to the team, too, for giving me this opportunity, and to be able to pitch the whole year and have a healthy year.¡±

Gil made brief big league appearances in 2021 and '22, but the latter campaign was cut short by Tommy John surgery, which also caused him to miss the entire ¡¯23 season. As a result, he maintained his rookie eligibility until '24 -- and he made sure to stick around this time. The righty established himself as a key member of the Yanks' rotation in May, when he went a perfect 6-0 with a 0.70 ERA and 44 strikeouts over 38 2/3 innings.

While Gil experienced some ups and downs over his first full big league season, he still finished with a 3.50 ERA and a 26.8% strikeout rate over 29 starts for New York.

¡°When I showed up to camp [in Spring Training], the first thing on my mind was that I was hungry to play baseball,¡± he said. ¡°I missed almost two full years and I was really anxious to get back on the field, to be able to do what I love. Things worked out very well for me ¡­ I¡¯m very happy the way things turned out.¡±

Gil becomes the 10th Yankees player to win the ROY Award, and the first since Aaron Judge in 2017. New York's 10 winners are the second most by any franchise, trailing only the Dodgers (18).

¡°When you come up as a young player, as a rookie player, first of all your dream is to make it to the big leagues,¡± Gil said. ¡°But once you get there, you want to contribute, you want to do your job. You want to help the team.

¡°And to be in the same line as [Judge and Derek Jeter, the only other Yankees to be named Rookie of the Year in the Wild Card era], those guys are legends. I¡¯m very excited and happy for the opportunity. It¡¯s incredible.¡±