Following his first-place finish in the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year voting, Yankees right-handed pitcher Luis Gil described how he felt taking home the honor after a breakout season.
“It means so much to me,” Gil said through an interpreter. “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 and it turned out to be a good season for me and a great experience. I’m excited. It just means so much to be in this place.”
Coming back from Tommy John surgery in 2022, Gil managed to put together one of the more impressive rookie campaigns as a starter where he went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts, striking out 171 batters in 151.2 innings.
He won a job in the starting rotation out of spring training and quickly became a pitcher that New York could trust and relied upon.
“Coming into spring training [my] mindset was really focused on doing my job in the field and trying to help the team as much as possible,” Gil said. “Eventually, this opportunity started sounding like something that could happen and [I’m] very happy with the results.”
In his rookie highlight reel, Gil’s month of May will surely stand out — when the 26-year-old went 6-0 with a 0.70 ERA. However, helping the Yankees reach their first World Series since 2009 takes the cake for the rookie as the biggest accomplishment.
“The month of May was a really special month overall, but going back and thinking about the whole year it has to be the World Series,” Gil said about his best memory from the entire season. “Just being part of that it was definitely a special moment.”
Although New York wasn’t able to lift the trophy at the end of the season, Gil will return next year as a main contributor to try and help the Yanks get past the finish line.
And even though he won the hardware among AL rookies, Gil knows he has things he needs to improve on to take the next step in his career. Of those are his control as the right-hander walked a league-leading 77 batters.
“I think for me, really, it has to do with control and command I think,” Gil said about where he needs to get better. “It’s really what I really want to take the next step in my career. Given the opportunity to pitch, I think that’s something that I can keep improving [on] as I keep going as a pitcher.”
