FILE – Atlanta Braves’ Drake Baldwin (30) celebrates Marcell Ozuna (20) in the second inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, file)
ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves congratulate Catcher Drake Baldwin on winning the 2025 National League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year award. Baldwin captured 21 of 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), which has given the award nationally since 1947.
Baldwin, 24, compiled a .274/.341/.469 line with an .810 OPS in his debut season, with 18 doubles, 19 homers and 80 RBI over 124 total games. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound native of Madison, WI, became just the seventh rookie in franchise history to plate 80 runs in his debut campaign, and the first since Hall of Famer Chipper Jones in 1995. He also became just the seventh rookie catcher in history to reach the milestone, and the first since Geovany Soto in 2008.
The backstop entered the season tabbed by MLB.com as the club’s top overall prospect and made Atlanta’s Opening Day roster, and started his Major League debut in the Braves’ first game of the season. Baldwin was the first Braves position player to start his debut on Opening Day since Tyler Pastornicky opened at short in 2012, and the only such player to do so as catcher in Atlanta franchise history (since 1966). Among all 19 National League rookies with at least 200 plate appearances, Baldwin ranked first in RBI (80), second in homers (19) and total bases (190), and third in average (.274), slugging (.469), OPS (.810) and extra-base hits (39). His 3.3 bWAR this season were also the most by any rookie in the NL.
He became the 10th Braves player to win the Rookie of the Year award and the first since OF Michael Harris II did so in 2022. He is the second Atlanta catcher to earn the honor, joining Earl Williams in 1971.
Dating to the 1947 season, when the first national Rookie of the Year award was presented by the BBWAA, Baldwin is just the sixth rookie to reach 39 extra-base hits and 80 RBI while playing over half his games behind the plate, and the first to do so since Soto in 2008. Of the six such catchers to reach Baldwin’s counting stats in their rookie seasons, five have now been named Rookie of the Year. Balwin joined Johnny Bench in 1968, Williams in 1971, Mike Piazza in 1993 and Soto in 2008 in earning the honor. Bench and Piazza would go on to fashion Hall of Fame careers.
Baldwin earned a single Rookie of the Month honor during the season, winning the award for the month of May. Over 19 games and 12 total starts in the month, he went 21-for-54 and paced all NL rookies with as many plate appearances in average (.389), on-base (.411) and slugging percentage (.593). The award was the first by a Braves rookie backstop since Evan Gattis won back-to-back honors in April and May of 2013.
On July 21 vs. San Francisco, he became the 10th rookie in franchise history with at least six RBI in a single game, going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles. It was the first six-RBI game by an Atlanta rookie since the 2005 season. On August 7 vs. Miami, he collected his only multi-homer game of the season while going 3-for-5 with five RBI, and became the first Braves rookie catcher with a two-homer game since Javy López in 1994. He is the only rookie in Atlanta-era franchise history with multiple games of at least five RBI.
Along with Harris II and Williams, the other seven Braves to win the Rookie of the Year award are OF Ronald Acuña Jr. (2018), RHP Craig Kimbrel (2011), SS Rafael Furcal (2000), OF David Justice (1990), 3B Bob Horner (1978), OF Sam Jethroe (1950) and SS Alvin Dark (1948).
Ballots from two writers in each league city prior to postseason play are tabulated on a system that rewards five points for first place, three points for second place and one point for third place. Atlanta has now had at least one major award winner in five of the last six seasons, dating to Freddie Freeman’s MVP honors in 2020. Harris II was named Rookie of the Year in 2022, Ronald Acuña Jr. won MVP in 2023, and Chris Sale won the Cy Young Award last year.
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