 | The examples and perspective in this articledeal primarily with the United States and do not represent aworldwide view of the subject. You mayimprove this article, discuss the issue on thetalk page, orcreate a new article, as appropriate.(October 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Arookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, arookie is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with aveteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more training and learning, though they may bring a new outside expertise to a job.
TheOxford English Dictionary states that the origins are uncertain, but that perhaps it is a corruption of the wordrecruit. The earliest example in the OED is fromRudyard Kipling'sBarrack-Room Ballads (published 1892): "So 'ark an' 'eed, you rookies, which is always grumblin' sore", referring to rookies in the sense of raw recruits to the British Army.[1] At least during the beginning of the 20th century, in the British Army the term "rookie" was typically used in place of "recruit" as exemplified inTrenching at Gallipoli by John Gallishaw (New York Century Co.: 1916) and inThe Amateur Army by Patrick MacGill (London, Herbert Jenkins: 1915)
In some sports there aretraditions in which rookies must do things, or tricks are played on them. Examples in baseball include players having to dress up in very strange costumes, or getting hit in the face with a cream pie; a traditional rookie's "hazing" procedure inAmerican football involves taping players to agoalpost and dousing them with ice water, Gatorade, and other substances.[2][3]
In theNational Football League a rookie is any player who is in their first season playing professional football, having never signed a contract with a professional team before.[5] The NFL awards the best rookie with theAssociated Press NFL Rookie of the Year Award, as voted upon theAssociated Press. In the NFL, rookies have special contract rules which limit how much a team can pay them as well as limiting the length of the contract, as per stipulations laid out in theNFL Collective Bargaining Agreement.[6][7]
NASCAR and INDYCAR rookies (and non-rookie NASCAR drivers who are making their first start at a track that is not holding its first race)[8] are denoted by a yellow stripe on sections of the car as prescribed in the respective rule books. In NASCAR, the rookie stripe is located on the tail panel of the race car.[9]
The following rules are for rookie status in a national series:
The following rules are for rookie status in the NTT IndyCar Series:
To qualify as a rookie inMajor League Baseball (MLB), a player must not have exceeded 130at bats or fiftyinnings pitched in the majors, and also fewer than 45 days on the active rosters of major league clubs (excluding time on the disabled list or any time after rosters are expanded on September 1) in their previous seasons.[10] Major League Baseball awards the best rookie with theMajor League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award, as voted upon by theBaseball Writers' Association of America and first bestowed in 1947. Since 2001, MLB also issues theMajor League Baseball Rookie of the Month Award.
In theNational Basketball Association, a rookie is any player who has never played a game in the NBA until that year and the past 1 years. The NBA awards the best rookie with theNBA Rookie of the Year Award, as voted upon by a selected panel of United States and Canadian sportswriters and broadcasters. In the NBA, rookies have special contract rules which limit how much a team can pay them as well as limiting the length of the contract.[11]
To qualify as a rookie in theNational Hockey League, a player must not have played in more than 25 NHL games in any preceding seasons, nor in six or more NHL games in each of any two preceding seasons. Any player at least 26 years of age (by September 15 of that season) is not considered a rookie.[12]
InMajor League Soccer, a rookie is a player who has had no prior professional experience.[13][14] MLS awards the best rookie with theMLS Rookie of the Year Award.
Rookie" means a person who has never before signed a Player Contract with an NFL Club. The first Player Contract signed by such person is a "Rookie Contract.
For this award, "rookie" is defined as a player without previous professional experience who made his MLS debut in 2017
Many of the top young players new to the league, such as Jefferson Savarino of Real Salt Lake, are not eligible due to professional experience prior to their arrival in MLS.