The New York Yankees reached the World Series in 2024. Dominican-born starter Luis Gil was a big part of the Yankees’ success last season. Gil’s contributions were recognized as he was named the American League Rookie of the Year.
According to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, Gil earned 15 first-place votes, ten second-place votes, and one third-place vote. He beat out Baltimore Orioles’ Colton Cowser and teammate Austin Wells. Gil was honored to win the award.
“It means so much to me,” Gil said through an interpreter, according to Hoch. “I’m so happy about being able to win this award. Everybody in my corner, they’re so happy for me right now and so proud. I’m also proud of the opportunity that was given to me by the team. It turned out to be a great season for me, a great experience.”
Gil had a 3.56 ERA in 29 starts for the Yankees in 2024. He also struck out 171 batters. Gil has been in the Yankees organization since 2018 when he was acquired from the Minnesota Twins in a trade for Jake Cave. He made his debut in 2021, but 2024 was his first full season in the big leagues.
On his way to the Majors, Gil played in the Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana (LIDOM). He played one season with the Tigres del Licey. Although he only played in two games, he was still able to play in the Winter League hosted by his home country.
He made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League with a 4.63 ERA in 23.1 innings. He missed the 2016 season but came back in 2017, again for the Dominican Summer League Twins. That season, he had a 2.59 ERA in 14 starts.
Gil signed with the Twins as an international free agent in 2015, when he was just 16 years old. He has come a long way since then and has officially established himself as a big leaguer with a long career ahead of him.
