Sitting on the injured list for 77 games robbed Fernando Tatis Jr. of the chance to run down Pete Alonso in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

The Padres’ 20-year-old shortstop’s first campaign was still impressive enough to finish third behind Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who led the majors and set a rookie record with 53 homers.

Alonso netted 29 first-place votes in the NL in picking up 148 points. Braves 13-game winner Mike Soroka earned one first-place and 25 second-place votes en route to earning 82 points, while Tatis’ two second-place votes and 20 third-place votes earned him third place in BBWAA voting.

Padres rookie right-hander Chris Paddack did not earn a vote.


It would have been a much stiffer competition had Tatis remained healthy.

Even after missing roughly a month with a hamstring strain, Tatis led all rookies in OPS (.969) and slugging (.590) and ranked second in on-base percentage (.379), average (.317) and steals (16) when his back injury ended his season on Aug. 13.

While Alonso’s 53 homers made him the runaway winner after Tatis was sidelined, the Padres shortstop’s all-around contributions left his 3.6 WAR within striking reach of Alonso’s 4.8 mark, as calculated by Fangraphs.com, despite playing in 77 fewer games that the Mets’ first baseman.

Soroka, who posted a 2.68 ERA over 174 2/3 innings, posted a 4.0 WAR.


Tatis’ season was still plenty noteworthy.

His 22 homers were the most for any shortstop in MLB history in a season before turning 21, topping the 21 that Alex Rodriguez hit in 1996 as a 20-year-old.

Only Tatis and Nomar Garciaparra (1997) have ever paired 20 homers and 15 steals in a season as a rookie shortstop.

In the American League, the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez beat out the Orioles’ John Means and the Rays’ Brandon Lowe. Alvarez, who paired 27 homers with a .313/.412/.655 batting line in 87 games, earned all 30 first-place votes in the AL.

