Tampa Bay outfielder Rocco Baldelli finished third in the AL voting with 51 points, followed by Cleveland outfielder Jody Gerut (20).
"I'm happy that Matsui didn't win," Gerut said. "I don't want to take anything away from Berroa and it's nothing against Matsui, but I think if you asked Matsui, I don't think he would qualify himself as a rookie."
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner thought Matsui should have won.
"As far as I'm concerned, the person who plays left field for the Yankees was the Rookie of the Year," he said in a statement. "All year round, New Yorkers cheered him, and he gave great inspiration to our fans."
Pitcher Hideo Nomo won the NL award for Los Angeles in 1995. Seattle reliever Kazuhiro Sasaki won the AL award in 2000, and teammate Ichiro Suzuki took it home the following year.
"Rookies are rookies, regardless of the age," said Willis, who doesn't think older players such as Matsui should be ineligible.
Willis received 17 first-place votes and 118 points, while Podsednik got eight firsts and 81 points.
"I never thought I would make it to the big leagues so soon, let along have success," said Willis, who signed out of high school in 2000.
Willis, 21, went 14-6 with a 3.30 ERA, slumping in the second half of the season. The high-kicking left-hander went 9-1 with a 2.08 ERA in making the All-Star team, then went 5-5 with 4.60 ERA as the Marlins earned the wild-card spot.
Willis was dropped from the Marlins' rotation after two postseason starts, limited to relief appearances during Florida's World Series win against the Yankees.
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