Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America ( BBWAA ).

In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is annually given to one player from each league as voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America ( BBWAA ).

The award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA, which selected an annual winner from 1940 through 1946.

The award, created by the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America ( BBWAA ) in honor of Babe Ruth, was first awarded in 1949, one year after Ruth's death.

Rice was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26, 2009, as the 103rd member voted in by the BBWAA.

Nonetheless, Hodges was the prototype of the modern slugging first baseman, and while the post-1961 expansion era has resulted in numerous players surpassing his home run and RBI totals, he remains the only one of the 21 players who had 300 or more home runs by the time of his retirement who has not yet been elected ( all but Chuck Klein and Johnny Mize were elected by the BBWAA ).

He did, however, collect 3010 votes cast by the BBWAA during his initial eligibility period from 1969 to 1983 – a record for an unselected player.

After failing to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America ( BBWAA ), the Veterans Committee elected Bancroft in 1971.

The winner is voted on by 28 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America ( BBWAA ).

This award should not be confused with the identically named J. G. Taylor Spink Award that is the highest award given by the Baseball Writers Association of America ( BBWAA ) to its members.

* Ballots were screened by two groups – a 60-member panel drawn from the membership of the BBWAA, and a panel of six living Hall of Famers selected by the Hall of Fame Board.

Snider did, however, win the Sporting News National League Player of the Year Award for 1955, and the Sid Mercer Award, emblematic of his selection by the New York branch of the BBWAA as the National League's best player of 1955.

The annual J. G. Taylor Spink Award is the highest award given by the Baseball Writers Association of America ( BBWAA ) to its members.

In 2007, the BBWAA opened its membership to web-based writers employed on a full-time basis by " websites that are credentialed by MLB for post-season coverage.

* Kenesaw Mountain Landis Most Valuable Player Award ( one for each league ) ( voted on by the national BBWAA )

* Cy Young Award ( one for each league ) ( voted on by the national BBWAA )

* Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award ( one for each league ) ( voted on by the national BBWAA )

* Manager of the Year Award ( one for each league ) ( voted on by the national BBWAA )

In 1947, the award became an official MLB award ( voted on by the national BBWAA ), with Jackie Robinson as its first recipient.

By the 1970s, writers who were willing to score games for MLB were required to have attended 100 or more games per year in the prior three years and to be chosen by the local chapter chairman of the Baseball Writers Association of America ( BBWAA ).

Official scorers are not required to meet the old BBWAA requirements, and are also no longer required to pass a written test, which was once administered by the National League before it was phased out in the mid-1990s.

In his first year of eligibility,, he appeared on just three ballots, disqualifying him from future BBWAA voting.

Because the initial goal for the Hall's opening of selecting 10 players from the 20th century had now been met, it was further decided to delay the next election until 1942, even though observers widely believed that electing three players per year ( 12 had been elected in four regular BBWAA elections ) had turned out to be an ideal rate.

The Baseball Writers Association of America ( BBWAA ) had determined to vote every three years rather than annually, although it had voted in special election to consider Lou Gehrig.

There was no regular election in 1944 to select inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame ; in 1939 the Baseball Writers Association of America ( BBWAA ) had moved to hold elections every three years rather than annually, and the next scheduled election was to be in 1945.

On August 4, 1944, baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis named three new members to the Hall of Fame Committee, in addition to the four already named ; he instructed them to put aside any delay and choose at least 10 individuals from the period 1876-1900 when they met early in 1945, in order that those selected might be honored concurrently with any elected by the BBWAA in their regular election in January.

For the first time in the three BBWAA elections, no candidate received at least 75 % of the vote.

Because the Baseball Writers Association of America ( BBWAA ) had failed to elect any candidates in 1945, and had elected only one player since 1939, the previous delay of three years between elections had been eliminated in September 1945 by the Hall of Fame Committee, and annual elections restored.

After the 1994 – 95 Major League Baseball strike cut the season short and cancelled the post-season, the BBWAA writers named the managers of the Yankees ( Buck Showalter ) and Montréal Expos ( Felipe Alou ), who led the leagues in winning percentage, Managers of the Year.

All writers with 10 years of membership in the BBWAA are eligible to vote for the Hall of Fame.

( Similar arguments were made for the inclusion of Web-based journalists, before the BBWAA added Web writers to its ranks in December, 2007.

From 1947 through 1956, each BBWAA voter used discretion as to who qualified as a rookie.

The BBWAA also votes annually for the Kenesaw Mountain Landis Most Valuable Player Award, Cy Young Award, Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award, and Manager of the Year Award in each of the two major leagues.

In addition, the BBWAA is responsible for voting on several annual awards in each major league, including:

In or about 2000, the BBWAA took over the voting responsibility for the Edgar Martínez Award, given each year to the outstanding designated hitter in the American League.

From 1953 to 1962, the BBWAA presented a " Sophomore of the Year Award " in each league.

Members of the BBWAA again had the authority to select any players active in the 20th century ( after 1900 ), provided they had not appeared in a major league game in 1944.

Members of the BBWAA again had the authority to select any players active in the 20th century ( after 1900 ), provided they had not appeared in a major league game in 1945.

The BBWAA now considered major league players retired no more than 25 years.

Members of the BBWAA now had the authority to select any players active in 1922 or later, provided they had not appeared in a major league game in 1946.

He led the league in runs scored with 121 and in triples with 20 while batting. 349 with 112 RBI, and he finished third in the new BBWAA NL MVP voting.

He finished 8th in the league MVP voting by the BBWAA.