Kirby Puckett
Kirby puckett
In Major League Baseball, a player is considered a rookie if they've been on an Active Roster for 45 days, if a pitcher has pitched less than 50 innings or if a batter has less than 130 at bats.
Kirby Puckett Kirby Puckett totaled 12 solid seasons with the Minnesota Twins and led the Twins to a pair of World Series titles in 1987 and 1991.
1984 Rookie YearKirby Puckett made his major League debit on May 8, 1984, and had 557 at bats during his 1984 rookie season.
Babe Ruth's first year in MLB was 1914. There was no Rookie of the Year award at that time nor any rules and regulations as to how much a player could play before he lost his rookie status. In 1914, Ruth had 10 at bats and pitched 23 innings which, by today's regulations, would not have caused him to lose his rookie status. Therefore, it could be said that 1915, when he pitched 217 2/3 innings, was his rookie season.
MLB considers a player to be a rookie if they have not had 130 at-bats or pitched 50 innings in the major leagues and/or have not spent more than 44 days on a 25-man roster for an MLB team. Players that are called up to the majors on or after the 1st of September do not have their at-bats or innings pitched count towards the 130/50.
According to MLB, a rookie is "A player who hasn't accumulated 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in previous seasons and hasn't spent 45 or more days on 25-man active rosters, not including times when the active list is expanded to 40." I do not believe there are any hard numbers as far as how many at bats or how many innings pitched a player must have to qualify for selection of ROY. The only qualification is what is listed above for a player to be considered a rookie.
Juan Samuel with 701 at bats in the 1984 season.
Babe Ruth's rookie season was 1915 as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He went 18-8 with a 2.44 ERA, 16 complete games, and 1 shutout. He got 92 at bats that season, hitting .315 with 4 home runs.
Derek Jeter won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1996after playing in his first full season. He played only 15 games in 1995.
A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the major leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a major league club or clubs during the period of a 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service). Source: MLB Rulebook
Your typical starting position player figures to get about 500 at bats, assuming they play most of the season.