Corbin Carroll Discusses 2023 Rookie of the Year Honors
When Corbin Carroll was announced as the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year, it put the exclamation point on a storybook rookie season. Not only was it the first Rookie of the Year in Diamondbacks history, but also coincided with the team's first World Series trip in 22 years.
Not only did Carroll win the award, but did so unanimously. In fact, this year marked the first time since 2017 that both the National and American League Rookie of the Year winners were unanimous, with Gunnar Henderson winning in the AL. Both players were selected early in the 2019 draft, a year headlined by budding superstar talents such as Adley Rutschman and Bobby Witt Jr., who both finished in the Top 4 of last year's Rookie of the Year vote.
"Some of those 2019 guys who were playing together in the summer of '18, whether it be the Under Armour games, All-American games, the USA circuit. Got to play with the likes of him, Bobby Witt, Anthony Volpe, and so many of the young exciting players in our league just happen to be from that year."
After playing the Baltimore Orioles in September, Carroll did a jersey swap with Henderson. The D-backs rookie wants his wall filled with players who play the game the right way and with 110% percent.
Carroll grew up idolizing Ichiro Suzuki, who may have been the best pure hitter in the game's history, when the latter was shattering hitting record with the Seattle Mariners. With his Rookie of the Year honors, he got to join Ichiro on a prestigious list of players that won the award. He modeled his own game similarly to the Mariners star hitter.
"Seemed like his goal was to have no weaknesses in the game and at the same time he wasn't drawn away from his strength to chase more power. He wanted to be who he was as a player and he was confident in that. Growing up watching a player like that be able to impact the game in so many ways, that inspired me to want to play a similar brand of baseball."
Carroll was selected with the 16th overall pick by the D-backs in the 2019 draft due to his similar ability to impact the game in many ways. Teams passed on him due to his 5'10" 165-lb. frame concerned about his ability to hold up physically and continue to hit for power in his career. So far the questions have been answered, with Carroll's work ethic putting him on the precipice of developing in one of baseball's brightest young stars.
Before the season, Major League Baseball adopted rule changes that limited the number of pickoff throws and increased the size of the bases. Carroll had played under those rules in the minor leagues the previous year, so he had an idea of what to expect. As one of the fastest and most intelligent baserunners in baseball, he perfectly exploited them to record one of the best baserunning seasons in MLB history. Baseball Reference credited him with +12 baserunning runs above average, the highest total since Willy Taveras put up similar numbers for a pennant-winning Colorado Rockies team in 2007.
"I think going into the year my perspective having played with them was let people see. I think they're going to enjoy it, this athletic and fast brand of baseball is going to be good for the game."
As a result of his first place finish, the D-backs will receive a compensatory draft selection after the first round in next year's draft. That pick is projected to be the No. 31 overall selection, which carried a $2.67 million value from this year's draft. Not only does that give them an additional opportunity to land a potential impact talent, but allows for more creative flexibility with their bonus pool despite their first pick coming at No. 29. Carroll's hoping he sticks around long enough in Arizona for the player the team selects with that draft pick to develop and share the field with him, which seems likely given his status as the face of the franchise and star player.
Carroll's pursuit of the award was less about personal glory, but being able to reward the organization's belief in him as a player. The team not only took a chance on him as an undersized but tooled up player out of high school after 15 teams passed on him, but also signed him to a $111 million extension after only 32 big league games. Carroll describes the feeling of rewarding that belief in the way he did as special. The D-backs will be looking forward to more special moments as he continues his career.
