CLEVELAND -- There’s no doubt that starter Tanner Bibee was the rookie who played the most crucial role in assuring the Guardians remained in the AL Central race until August this past season. Unfortunately for the 24-year-old right-hander, he came up just shy of being the most impressive rookie in the American League.

Bibee placed second in the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year Award voting behind Baltimore infielder Gunnar Henderson, as announced on Monday night on MLB Network. Henderson was unanimously named the winner, finishing with a perfect score of 150 points, while Bibee had 20 second-place votes and seven third-place votes, totaling 67 points from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballots. By placing in the top two, Bibee receives a full year of service time.

• Final voting totals

• All-time Rookie of the Year Award winners

Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas, the other finalist, finished third with 25 points (six second-place votes and seven third-place votes).

The Guardians have now gone since 1990 (Sandy Alomar Jr.) without one of their players winning this award. Only the Padres have gone longer without a Rookie of the Year recipient (1987).

No, Bibee doesn’t get the hardware, but a runner-up finish to Henderson is more than enough to be proud of, especially considering how most of the attention has been on flame-throwers like Daniel Espino and Gavin Williams over the last year or two. But Bibee reminded everyone that he’s as much of a star as anyone in this organization.

Among AL rookies who tossed at least 100 innings, Bibee led in ERA (2.98), expected ERA (3.66), FIP (3.52), fWAR (3.0), left-on-base percentage (80 percent) and home runs per nine innings (0.82), while ranking second among AL rookies in innings pitched (142, behind Hunter Brown’s 155 2/3). His results shouldn’t just be compared to rookie hurlers. Of all Major League pitchers in 2023, the righty was one of just six to own a sub-3.00 ERA among those who threw at least 140 innings. His 0.82 HR/9 also ranked seventh amongst such pitchers.

He’ll have to wonder what boost he could’ve gotten in the standings if he could’ve made his final two starts of the season. Instead, he was removed from his last outing on Sept. 16 in the middle of the sixth inning due to hip discomfort that was later diagnosed as inflammation. The Guardians wanted to protect both the injury and his arm, considering he had thrown the most number of innings in his professional career. So, he went on the injured list to end the season.

Whether those two outings could’ve been enough to throttle him past Henderson for the award will never be known, but Bibee can hang his hat on knowing that he not only had as successful of a rookie season as anyone could’ve asked for, but he also has given the organization tremendous comfort that the rotation is -- once again -- in capable hands.