Almost certainly, De La Cruz will coast to a Rookie of the Year award. And while he looks like he’s going to be a perennial star, there have been many players who had outstanding first seasons and never came close to repeating them. Let’s take a look at some recent examples:
Chris Coghlan
Coghlan made his debut for the Marlins at the start of the
2009 season, but it was after the All-Star break when he really broke out. He
batted .372 in the second half and was the first rookie to have more than 40
hits in back-to-back months, which led to ROY hardware. But, it all came
crashing down the following year. After an exuberant celebration following a
walk-off win, Coghlan severely damaged his knee, and his career was never the
same.
Geovany Soto
In 2008, Soto had Cubs fans thinking that their 100-year
World Series drought might soon be over. He finished the year batting .285,
with 23 home runs and 86 RBI. Not only did he win ROY, but he finished 13th in
MVP voting. While Soto would play another nine years, he would never approach
those home run or RBI stats, and when the Cubs finally did win the championship
in 2016, he was long gone from Chicago.
Angel Berroa
After hitting .287 with 17 home runs, 73 RBI and 21 stolen
bases in 2003, Berroa took home the AL ROY award, and his future seemed
bright. While he didn’t exactly crash and burn after that season, he would
never again get anywhere near those numbers. Plus, he led the American League
in errors in three straight years.
Bob Hamelin
It looked as though the Royals had a perfect replacement for
the just-retired George Brett when Hamelin made his debut in 1994. During this
strike-shortened season, he hit .282 with 24 home runs and easily beat out
Manny Ramirez for ROY. Sadly, due to injuries and eyesight problems, Hamelin’s
career only lasted another four years, and his rookie campaign would be by far
his best.
Pat Listach
Of all the players on this list, Listach is the one that may
worry Reds fans the most. Like De La Cruz, Listach wowed with his very
impressive speed; in his first season in 1992, he swiped 54 bags. Plus, he
batted .290 and had 168 hits, which propelled him to the AL ROY. But, what
seemed like a promising future was derailed pretty quickly. Listach played
sparingly over the next five seasons, due in part to injuries, and he was never
able to reclaim the glory of his first year. By 1998, his MLB playing days were
over.
De La Cruz will almost certainly come back to Earth at some
point after a blistering start to his career. But for his sake — and the sake
of all baseball fans — hopefully he’ll be able to avoid the one-year wonder label.