A rookie in Major League Baseball is roughly defined as a player who is in his first year of service with a team in the big leagues. However, a player can still be considered a rookie even if he played a portion of the previous season in the big leagues. The player's classification has to do with the number of games played, total at-bats, or innings pitched.
Position Players
When a position player is called up from the minor leagues to the major leagues for the first time, he is considered a rookie player. That player may continue to have rookie status if he has not had 130 at-bats, or been on a big-league team's 25-man roster for 45 days. If the player does not reach either of those milestones, he will be considered a rookie the following season. A player who has had 120 at-bats and was on a roster for 40 days in one season may still be considered for rookie-of-the-year honors the following season.
Pitchers
A pitcher called up to the big leagues for the first time is considered a rookie. If he does not accumulate 50 innings pitched during the season, or if he is not on a big-league 25-man roster for 45 days or more, he will be considered a rookie again the following season. A pitcher may be considered for the rookie-of-the-year award, as the honor does not just go to hitters.
September Call-Ups
Big-league teams expand their roster from 25 to 40 on Sept. 1. Time spent on the big-league roster after Sept. 1 does not affect a player's rookie status for the following season. However, if a player called up Sept. 1 gets 130 or more at-bats during September, those at-bats count against his rookie status. As soon as he completes at-bat No. 130, he is ineligible for the rookie-of-the-year award the following season. The same holds true for a pitcher who throws more than 50 innings in that month. While it is possible for a rookie hitter to get that many at-bats in a month, it's quite unusual for rookie pitchers to throw more than 50 innings in that span.
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