Baseball Awards

1999 National League

2012-01-09T17:42:00.001-05:00

The Atlanta Braves won the pennant, then got swept in the Series. The Braves won 103 regular season games, ahead of the Mets, who won 97 counting the playoff with the Reds to earn the Wild Card spot. Houston won 97 in regulation to take the Central, and Arizona won 100 to take the West. San Francisco, with 86 wins, was the only other team above .500. Florida's Marlins fell from World Champions to the worst team in the league at 98 losses, after selling off their players.

Larry Walker led the league in the percentage categories: batting average, on-base, slugging, OPS, from altitude-aided Colorado. Walker batted .379, Luis Gonzalez .336, Bobby Abreu .335, Sean Casey .332. Mark McGwire led in HR and RBI, belting 65 homers while Sammy Sosa hit 63. McGwire had 147 RBI to 142 for Matt Williams and 141 for Sosa. Jeff Bagwell in walks and runs, Craig Biggio in doubles, Luis Gonzalez in hits, Tony Womack in steals. McGwire led in adjusted OPS+, just ahead of Chipper Jones, who led in runs created. Jones won the MVP.

Mike Hampton led in wins, winning 22 with Houston teammate Jose Lima winning 21 and Greg Maddux winning 19. Randy Johnson led in ERA with a 2.48 mark, followed by Kevin Millwood at 2.68 and Hampton at 2.90. Johnson also led in strikeouts with 364, while Kevin Brown had 221 and Pedro Astacio 210. Ugueth Urbina led in saves with 41, Trevor Hoffman had 40 and Billy Wagner 39. Johnson won the Cy Young.

Win Shares leaders, players; Jeff Bagwell (Houston) 37, Chipper Jones (Atlanta) 32, Craig Biggio (Houston) 31, Robin Ventura (New York) and Mark McGwire (St. Louis) 30, Edgardo Alfonzo (New York) 29, Andruw Jones (Atlanta) and Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal) 28, Brian Giles (Pittsburgh) 27, Luis Gonzalez and Matt Williams (Arizona), Sammy Sosa (Chicago), John Olerud (New York) and Bobby Abreu (Philadelphia) 26, Carl Everett (Houston) 25, Steve Finley (Arizona), Barry Larkin and Greg Vaughn (Cincinnati), Larry Walker (Colorado), Gary Sheffield (Los Angeles) and Ellis Burks (San Francisco) 24.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Randy Johnson (Arizona) and Mike Hampton (Houston) 26, Kevin Millwood (Atlanta) 22, Billy Wagner (Houston) 20, Pedro Astacio (Colorado), Kevin Brown (Los Angeles) and Armando Benitez (New York) 19, John Smoltz (Atlanta) and Jose Lima (Houston) 18, Greg Maddux (Atlanta) and Scott Williamson (Cincinnati) 17.

WARP3 scores: Bagwell 9.3, C. Jones 8.4, Biggio 7.1, Ventura 9.2, McGwire 9.1, Alfonzo 7.7, A. Jones 9.1, Guerrero 6.7, Giles 9.3, Gonzalez 7.7, Williams 8.2 (last good year), Sosa 7.6, Olerud 9.1, Abreu 6.9, Everett 7.6 (best season), Finley 7.0, Larkin 9.0 (last big season), Vaughn 5.8, Walker 7.9, Sheffield 7.6, Burks 5.8.

Pitchers, Johnson 9.7, Hampton 10.3, Millwood 8.6 (best year), Wagner 7.2, Astacio 6.6 (best year), Brown 7.9, Benitez 5.6, Smoltz 7.5, Lima 6.8 (career year), Maddux 7.1, Williamson 7.0 (rookie, career year).

WAR leaders, players: Bagwell 8.2, Ventura and C. Jones 7.7, A. Jones 7.3, Giles 7.0, Gonzalez 6.9, Abreu 6.7, McGwire 6.4, Alfonzo 6.3, Olerud 6.2, Everett 6.1, Sosa 5.7. Pitchers: Johnson 9.8, Brown 6.8, Reynolds 6.2, Maddux 5.8, Millwood 5.7, Smoltz and Astacio 5.5, Hampton 5.1, Lima 4.9, Lieber 4.5, Glavine 4.4, Hermanson 4.2.

Actual award winners:
MVP: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+---+
1 Chipper Jones ATL 29 432 448 0.96 | 567 181 45 .319 1.074 25|
2 Jeff Bagwell HOU 1 276 448 0.62 | 562 171 42 .304 1.045 30|
3 Matt Williams ARI 2 269 448 0.60 | 627 190 35 .303 .880 2|
4 Greg Vaughn CIN 0 121 448 0.27 | 550 135 45 .245 .881 15|
5 Mark McGwire STL 0 115 448 0.26 | 521 145 65 .278 1.120 0|
6 Robin Ventura NYM 0 113 448 0.25 | 588 177 32 .301 .908 1|
7 Mike Piazza NYM 0 109 448 0.24 | 534 162 40 .303 .936 2|
8 Edgardo Alfonzo NYM 0 88 448 0.20 | 628 191 27 .304 .886 9|
9 Sammy Sosa CHC 0 87 448 0.19 | 625 180 63 .288 1.002 7|
10 Larry Walker COL 0 35 448 0.08 | 438 166 37 .379 1.168 11|
11 Vladimir Guerrero MON 0 34 448 0.08 | 610 193 42 .316 .978 14|
12 Craig Biggio HOU 0 32 448 0.07 | 639 188 16 .294 .843 28|
13 Jay Bell ARI 0 31 448 0.07 | 589 170 38 .289 .931 7|
14 Sean Casey CIN 0 23 448 0.05 | 594 197 25 .332 .938 0|
15 Randy Johnson ARI 0 21 448 0.05 | 97 12 0 .124 .289 0| 17-9 272 2.48 1.02 364
16 Billy Wagner HOU 0 19 448 0.04 | | 4-1 75 1.57 0.78 124 39
17 Carl Everett HOU 0 15 448 0.03 | 464 151 25 .325 .969 27|
18 Luis Gonzalez ARI 0 12 448 0.03 | 614 206 26 .336 .952 9|
19 Brian Giles PIT 0 11 448 0.02 | 521 164 39 .315 1.032 6|
19 Brian Jordan ATL 0 11 448 0.02 | 576 163 23 .283 .811 13|
21 Mike Hampton HOU 0 10 448 0.02 | 74 23 0 .311 .806 0| 22-4 239 2.90 1.28 177
22 Barry Larkin CIN 0 7 448 0.02 | 583 171 12 .293 .810 30|
23 Bobby Abreu PHI 0 6 448 0.01 | 546 183 20 .335 .995 27|
24 Barry Bonds SFG 0 3 448 0.01 | 355 93 34 .262 1.006 15|
24 Matt Mantei TOT 0 3 448 0.01 | + 1 0 0 .000 .000 0|+ 1-3 65 2.76 1.35 99 32
26 Jeff Kent SFG 0 2 448 0.00 | 511 148 23 .290 .877 13|
26 Kevin Millwood ATL 0 2 448 0.00 | 78 12 1 .154 .393 0| 18-7 228 2.68 1.00 205
28 Trevor Hoffman SDP 0 1 448 0.00 | 3 1 0 .333 1.000 0| 2-3 67 2.14 0.94 73 40

Bagwell was a distant second, just behind Chipper in hitting. But Bagwell was a good first baseman, while Jones was a bad third baseman.

Cy Young: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Randy Johnson ARI 20 134 160 0.84 | 17-9 272 2.48 1.02 364
2 Mike Hampton HOU 11 110 160 0.69 | 22-4 239 2.90 1.28 177
3 Kevin Millwood ATL 1 36 160 0.22 | 18-7 228 2.68 1.00 205
4 Jose Lima HOU 0 3 160 0.02 | 21-10 246 3.58 1.22 187
4 Billy Wagner HOU 0 3 160 0.02 | 4-1 75 1.57 0.78 124 39
6 Kevin Brown LAD 0 1 160 0.01 | 18-9 252 3.00 1.07 221
6 Trevor Hoffman SDP 0 1 160 0.01 | 2-3 67 2.14 0.94 73 40

Hampton's 2.90 ERA in Houston was actually more impressive than Johnson's 2.48 in Phoenix.

Rookie: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+-
1 Scott Williamson CIN 17 118 160 0.74 | 7 0 0 .000 .125 0| 12-7 93 2.41 1.04 107 19
2 Preston Wilson FLA 9 88 160 0.55 | 482 135 26 .280 .852 11|
3 Warren Morris PIT 6 69 160 0.43 | 511 147 15 .288 .787 3|
4 Kris Benson PIT 0 5 160 0.03 | 65 10 0 .154 .391 0| 11-14 197 4.07 1.36 139
5 Joe McEwing STL 0 3 160 0.02 | 513 141 9 .275 .730 7|
6 Kevin McGlinchy ATL 0 1 160 0.01 | 2 0 0 .000 .000 0| 7-3 70 2.82 1.36 67

Manager:
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Jack McKeon CIN 17 115 160 0.72 | 96-67 2
2 Bobby Cox ATL 10 98 160 0.61 | 103-59 1
3 Larry Dierker HOU 4 48 160 0.30 | 97-65 1
4 Buck Showalter ARI 1 17 160 0.11 | 100-62 1
5 Bobby Valentine NYM 0 10 160 0.06 | 97-66 2

Top player: Jeff Bagwell, who tops both the WS and WARP lists. It was a matter of defense, mostly the poor glove of Chipper. He loses status in the meta systems because he doesn't play good defense.
#1 Jeff Bagwell, #2 Chipper Jones, #3 Robin Ventura, #4 Mark McGwire, #5 Andruw Jones, #6 Brian Giles.

Top pitcher: Randy Johnson, still rolling on.
#1 Randy Johnson, #2 Mike Hampton, #3 Kevin Millwood, #4 Kevin Brown, #5 Greg Maddux.

Top rookie: Scott Williamson leads a field of future journeymen. Williamson had 19 WS, Warren Morris 16, Wilson 13, Benson 12.

Top manager: Bobby Cox, another pennant.

1999 American League

2012-01-09T17:40:00.001-05:00

The Yankees won the pennant and then swept the World Series. New York won 98 regular season games, down from the previous year but still enough. Boston was 2nd in the East with 94 wins and took the Wild Card. Toronto won 84. Cleveland won the Central with 97 victories and was the only team in the division with a .500 record. Kansas City and Minnesota each lost 97. Texas won the West with 95 victories, eight games ahead of Oakland. In the playoffs, New York topped Texas and Boston overcame Cleveland, then the Yankees beat the Red Sox to make the Series against the Braves.

Nomar Garciaparra won the batting title at .357; Derek Jeter was second at .349, Bernie Williams third with a .342 mark. Ken Griffey led in homers 48, Rafael Palmeiro had 47, Manny Ramirez and Carlos Delgado had 44. Manny Ramirez led in RBI (165), slugging and OPS. Palmeiro had 148 RBI, Delgado and Griffey each 134. Jeter led in hits with 219 (B.J. Surhoff had 202), Roberto Alomar in runs with 138, Shawn Green in total bases and doubles, Brian Hunter in steals with 44 followed by Omar Vizquel with 42. Edgar Martinez edged Manny in on-base. Ivan Rodriguez won the MVP.

Pedro Martinez led in wins, ERA and strikeouts and took the Cy Young. Martinez won 23 while second place was Aaron Sele, Mike Mussina, and Bartolo Colon with 18. Martinez's 2.07 ERA was trailed badly by David Cone at 3.44 and Mussina at 3.50. Strikeouts weren't any closer, as Martinez had 313 while Chuck Finley was second with 200. David Wells led with seven complete games and 232 innings. Mariano Rivera led in saves with 45, Roberto Hernandez and John Wetteland had 43.

Win Shares leaders, players; Roberto Alomar and Manny Ramirez (Cleveland) and Derek Jeter (New York) 35, Bernie Williams (New York) 33, Nomar Garciaparra (Boston) 32, Ken Griffey Jr. (Seattle) and Rafael Palmeiro (Texas) 31, Jason Giambi (New York) 30, Ivan Rodriguez (Texas) 28, Jim Thome (Cleveland) 26, Chuck Knoblauch (New York) 25, Albert Belle (Baltimore), Fred McGriff (Tampa Bay), Juan Gonzalez and Rusty Greer (Texas) and Shawn Green (Toronto) 24, Brady Anderson (Baltimore) and Alex Rodriguez (Seattle) 23, Omar Vizquel (Cleveland), John Jaha (Oakland) and Edgar Martinez (Seattle) 22, Carlos Delgado (Toronto) 21.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Pedro Martinez (Boston) 27, Derek Lowe (Boston) 19, Jaime Moyer (Seattle) 18, Mike Mussina (Baltimore), Brad Radke (Minnesota) and Mariano Rivera (New York) 17, Keith Foulke (Chicago), Bartolo Colon (Cleveland) and Freddy Garcia (Seattle) 16, Dave Burba (Cleveland) and David Cone (New York) 15.

WARP3 scores: Alomar 10.7, Ramirez 10.5, Jeter 11.0, Williams 10.8, Garciaparra 11.0, Griffey 9.0, Palmeiro 8.7, Giambi 7.8, I. Rodriguez 10.6, Thome 8.4, Knoblauch 6.5 (last big season), Belle 10.3, McGriff 6.3, Gonzalez 7.0, Greer 6.4 (last good season), Green 9.3, Anderson 8.8 (last big season), A. Rodriguez 8.1, Vizquel 6.2, Jaha 6.7 (best year), Edgar 7.2, Delgado 7.4.

Pitchers, P. Martinez 12.7, Lowe 6.3, Moyer 8.5, Mussina 7.7, Radke 9.2, Rivera 8.1, Foulke 5.5, Colon 7.1, Garcia 8.0 (rookie), Burba 7.0, Cone 6.7 (last big season).

WAR leaders from Fangraphs: (position players) Ramirez and Jeter 7.5, Alomar 7.4, Rodriguez 6.9, Garciaparra 6.3, Velarde and Vizquel 6.1, Green 6.0, Ordonez and Palmeiro 5.5, E. Martinez 5.4, Anderson 5.3, Giambi 5.2, Griffey and Williams 5.0.

Pitchers: P. Martinez 12.1, Mussina 5.9, Sele 5.2, Finley 4.7, Moyer 4.6, Wells and Radke 4.4, Milton 4.2, Heredia and Rosado 4.1, Colon and Sirotka 4.0.

Actual award winners:
MVP: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+---+----
1 Ivan Rodriguez TEX 7 252 392 0.64 | 600 199 35 .332 .914 25|
2 Pedro Martinez BOS 8 239 392 0.61 | 2 0 0 .000 .000 0| 23-4 213 2.07 0.92 313
3 Roberto Alomar CLE 4 226 392 0.58 | 563 182 24 .323 .955 37|
3 Manny Ramirez CLE 4 226 392 0.58 | 522 174 44 .333 1.105 2|
5 Rafael Palmeiro TEX 4 193 392 0.49 | 565 183 47 .324 1.050 2|
6 Derek Jeter NYY 1 177 392 0.45 | 627 219 24 .349 .989 19|
7 Nomar Garciaparra BOS 0 137 392 0.35 | 532 190 27 .357 1.022 14|
8 Jason Giambi OAK 0 49 392 0.12 | 575 181 33 .315 .975 1|
9 Shawn Green TOR 0 44 392 0.11 | 614 190 42 .309 .972 20|
10 Ken Griffey SEA 0 42 392 0.11 | 606 173 48 .285 .960 24|
11 Bernie Williams NYY 0 21 392 0.05 | 591 202 25 .342 .971 9|
12 Carlos Delgado TOR 0 16 392 0.04 | 573 156 44 .272 .948 1|
13 Juan Gonzalez TEX 0 10 392 0.03 | 562 183 39 .326 .980 3|
14 Mariano Rivera NYY 0 9 392 0.02 | | 4-3 69 1.83 0.88 52 45
15 Alex Rodriguez SEA 0 4 392 0.01 | 502 143 42 .285 .943 21|
16 Omar Vizquel CLE 0 3 392 0.01 | 574 191 5 .333 .833 42|
17 Matt Stairs OAK 0 2 392 0.01 | 531 137 38 .258 .899 2|
18 John Jaha OAK 0 1 392 0.00 | 457 126 35 .276 .970 2|
18 B.J. Surhoff BAL 0 1 392 0.00 | 673 207 28 .308 .839 5|
One of the most unusual MVP votes in history. Only 19 players received votes, and the most deserving finished 6th, although that in itself is not unheard of. Six players got first-place votes, which is a lot.

Cy Young: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Pedro Martinez BOS 28 140 140 1.00 | 23-4 213 2.07 0.92 313
2 Mike Mussina BAL 0 54 140 0.39 | 18-7 203 3.50 1.27 172
3 Mariano Rivera NYY 0 27 140 0.19 | 4-3 69 1.83 0.88 52 45
4 Bartolo Colon CLE 0 14 140 0.10 | 18-5 205 3.95 1.27 161
5 Aaron Sele TEX 0 4 140 0.03 | 18-9 205 4.79 1.53 186
6 David Cone NYY 0 3 140 0.02 | 12-9 193 3.44 1.31 177
6 Jamie Moyer SEA 0 3 140 0.02 | 14-8 228 3.87 1.24 137
6 John Wetteland TEX 0 3 140 0.02 | 4-4 66 3.68 1.30 60 43
9 Freddy Garcia SEA 0 2 140 0.01 | 17-8 201 4.07 1.47 170
10 Keith Foulke CHW 0 1 140 0.01 | 3-3 105 2.22 0.88 123 9
10 Roberto Hernandez TBD 0 1 140 0.01 | 2-3 73 3.07 1.38 69 43
There, that was easy.

Rookie: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+---+----
1 Carlos Beltran KCR 26 133 140 0.95 | 663 194 22 .293 .791 27|
2 Freddy Garcia SEA 1 45 140 0.32 | 4 1 0 .250 .500 0| 17-8 201 4.07 1.47 170
3 Jeff Zimmerman TEX 0 27 140 0.19 | | 9-3 88 2.36 0.83 67 3
4 Brian Daubach BOS 1 16 140 0.11 | 381 112 21 .294 .921 0|
5 Tim Hudson OAK 0 13 140 0.09 | 4 1 0 .250 .650 0| 11-2 136 3.23 1.34 132
6 Chris Singleton CHW 0 9 140 0.06 | 496 149 17 .300 .818 20|
7 Billy Koch TOR 0 4 140 0.03 | 1 0 0 .000 .000 0| 0-5 64 3.39 1.34 57 31
7 Carlos Lee CHW 0 4 140 0.03 | 492 144 16 .293 .775 4|
9 Trot Nixon BOS 0 1 140 0.01 | 381 103 15 .270 .830 3|

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Jimy Williams BOS 20 115 140 0.82 | 94-68 2
2 Art Howe OAK 5 85 140 0.61 | 87-75 2
3 Joe Torre NYY 0 21 140 0.15 | 98-64 1
4 Johnny Oates TEX 1 18 140 0.13 | 95-67 1
5 Mike Hargrove CLE 2 13 140 0.09 | 97-65 1

Top player: Derek Jeter. Tied for most Win Shares and WAR, and best WARP. It's odd that Jeter could get overlooked, as much attention as he receives, but he was here.
#1 Derek Jeter, #2 Manny Ramirez, #3 Roberto Alomar, #4 Nomar Garciaparra, #5 Ivan Rodriguez, #6 Bernie Williams.

Top pitcher: Pedro Martinez lapped the field. This would have been a good year for a pitcher to win the MVP.
#1 Pedro Martinez, #2 Mike Mussina, #3 Brad Radke, #4 Jamie Moyer, #5 Mariano Rivera.

Top rookie: Carlos Beltran in a strong field. Freddy Garcia also had a strong season, and Tim Hudson, Carlos Lee, and Trot Nixon were among stars to debut here.

Top manager: Mike Hargrove. He was handling a Cleveland mini-dynasty.

Book Review

2011-09-10T11:07:00.001-05:00

Book Review: The Big Show: Charles M. Conlon's Golden Age Baseball Photographs. Published 2011 by Abrams.

It's a picture book: well, more accurately, it's a photography book. Conlon was a newspaper proofreader who dabbled in photography as a hobby, when one day the editor of the New York Telegram asked him to take some shots of baseball games and players, to be published in the newspaper and in the annual Spalding's Guides. What followed was a career that lasted from 1904 to 1942 and produced the most memorable collection of photographs in baseball history.

Many of Conlon's photos were printed in the 1993 book Baseball's Golden Age, but this is a different selection, though by the same authors. Constance McCabe has prepared the photos for publication, and brother Neal McCabe provides the captions. Roger Kahn writes the foreword, as Roger Angell did for the first book.

The photographs are often stark and frequently stunning. Each takes up the better part of a page, with the captioning to the side. The black-and-whites are stunningly reproduced. Most are posed shots, but there are some action pics, and I find those the most compelling. A good photograph reveals much about the subject. That often seems the case here.

In these pages you will find pictures of the well-knowns, like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Rogers Hornsby, and those you have likely never heard of before, like Buddy Gremp, Al Spohrer, and Jackie Hayes. Most are players, but there are also umpires, managers, and a traffic control officer at a Yankees game. You will find Kid Nichols at the end of his career, Amos Rusie in a picture from after his career had ended, and DiMaggio as a rookie.

One of my favorite parts of the book is how the subjects on facing pages often complement each other. Several times we get a set like on pages 66 and 67, one of a young Hank Gowdy in 1911, the other of a veteran Gowdy in 1936 as a coach. We also get sets of Vince DiMaggio and brother Joe on facing pages, both from 1937. There's Herb Pennock in 1916 facing a Pennock from 1934. And, another favorite, the Bob Feller of 1937 across from the Walter Johnson of 1916. Sheer joy.

The captions convey myth more than information. The story of the invention of catcher shin guards by Roger Bresnahan is repeated with his photograph, even though it is provably false. Still, the book is more about myth than truth, and imagery over cold hard fact. It is a spectacular collection of photographs from a century past. I think you will enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book, and thus did not pay for it. The list price is $35, but it is available from various retailers such as amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, walmart.com, and others for about $10 less.

1998 National League

2011-08-17T13:00:00.002-05:00

It was the year of the home run chase in the NL, as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa waged war on Roger Maris' single-season home run record. McGwire finished with 70, and Sosa with 66, as both surpassed the record. The Padres won the pennant, although they had the least victories of any division winner, but that total was still 98. It served as a capstone for Tony Gwynn's career. Atlanta won 106 games to take the East, Houston won 102 to claim the Central, and the Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants in a one-game playoff to claim the Wild Card spot when both finished the regular schedule with 89 wins. The Mets won 88. Meanwhile, the stripped Florida Marlins lost 108 games, the new Arizona Diamondbacks lost 97, as did the Expos, and the new (to the NL) Brewers were also-rans in the Central.

The big story, of course, was the assault on the home run record, with Mark McGwire's 70 and Sammy Sosa's 66 both topping the all-time mark of 61. Steroids were barely a whisper, but would become a shout a few years later. Greg Vaughn was third in homers with 50.

In other categories, to which scant attention was paid at the time, Larry Walker won the batting title with a .363 mark while John Olerud hit .354. Third was Dante Bichette at .331. Sosa led with 134 runs, McGwire had 130, Jeff Bagwell 124. Bichette had 219 hits, Craig Biggio 210. Biggio had 51 doubles, Bichette and Dmitri Young 48. David Delucci had 12 triples and Barry Larkin 10. Sosa posted 158 RBI, McGwire 147, Vinny Castilla 144. Tony Womack had 58 steals, Biggio 50.

Tom Glavine was the sole 20-game winner, Shane Reynolds and Kevin Tapani won 19, Kevin Brown and Greg Maddux won 18 each. Maddux led with a 2.22 ERA followed by Brown at 2.38 then Glavine and Al Leiter at 2.47. Curt Schilling had 300 strikeouts, Brown 257 and Kerry Wood 233. Trevor Hoffman set the pace with 53 saves and Rod Beck had 51.

Win Shares leaders, players; Mark McGwire (St. Louis) 41, Sammy Sosa (Chicago) and Craig Biggio (Houston) 35, John Olerud (New York) and Barry Bonds (San Francisco) 34, Mike Piazza (Los Angeles/Florida/New York) 33, Fernando Vina (Milwaukee), Scott Rolen (Philadelphia) and Greg Vaughn (San Diego) 30, Chipper Jones (Atlanta), Moises Alou and Jeff Bagwell (Houston) and Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal) 29, Andres Galarraga (Atlanta), Mark Grace (Chicago) and Ray Lankford (St. Louis) 27, Andruw Jones (Atlanta), Jeff Cirillo (Milwaukee), Bobby Abreu (Philadelphia) and Jason Kendall (Pittsburgh) 26, Javier Lopez (Atlanta), Barry Larkin (Cincinnati) and Jeff Kent (San Francisco) 25.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Kevin Brown (San Diego) 26, Greg Maddux (Atlanta) 25, Tom Glavine (Atlanta) 23, Curt Schilling (Philadelphia) 22, Al Leiter (New York) 21, Trevor Hoffman (San Diego) 20, Robb Nen (San Francisco) 19, Ugueth Urbina (Montreal) 17, John Smoltz (Atlanta), Pete Harnisch (Cincinnati), Shane Reynolds (Houston) and Rick Reed (New York) 16.

WARP3 scores: McGwire 11.5 (best season), Sosa 9.6, Biggio 9.6, Olerud 10.9, Bonds 12.5, Piazza 9.4, Vina 8.3 (best season), Rolen 10.1, Vaughn 9.9 (career year), C. Jones 8.7, Alou 9.0 (best season), Bagwell 9.3, Guerrero 6.7, Galarraga 6.1 (last big year), Grace 7.9, Lankford 7.5 (last big year), A. Jones 9.1, Cirillo 9.3 (best year), Abreu 6.7, Kendall 9.3 (best year), Lopez 8.3, Larkin 7.7, Kent 7.3.

Pitchers, Brown 9.8, Maddux 10.6, Glavine 9.9, Schilling 8.8, Leiter 8.0 (best season), Hoffman 8.2, Nen 8.3 (best season), Urbina 8.0, Smoltz 6.1, Harnisch 6.1, Reynolds 5.7, Reed 6.1.

WAR leaders, position players: Bonds and McGwire 8.8, Olerud 8.4, C. Jones and Sosa 7.4, A. Jones and Rolen 7.3, Brian Jordan (Atlanta) 7.2, Alou 7.1, Bagwell and Guerrero 7.0, Piazza 6.8, Biggio, Cirillo, and Abreu 6.7.

WAR leaders, pitchers: Brown 9.3, Schilling 8.6, Maddux 7.6, Smoltz 5.3, Glavine 4.9, Leiter 4.7, Reynolds 4.6, Darryl Kile (Colorado) and Kerry Wood (Chicago) 4.4, Mark Clark (Chicago) 4.1.

Actual award winners:
MVP: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+---+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Sammy Sosa CHC 30 438 448 0.98 | 643 198 66 .308 1.024 18|
2 Mark McGwire STL 2 272 448 0.61 | 509 152 70 .299 1.222 1|
3 Moises Alou HOU 0 215 448 0.48 | 584 182 38 .312 .981 11|
4 Greg Vaughn SDP 0 185 448 0.41 | 573 156 50 .272 .960 11|
5 Craig Biggio HOU 0 163 448 0.36 | 646 210 20 .325 .906 50|
6 Andres Galarraga ATL 0 147 448 0.33 | 555 169 44 .305 .991 7|
7 Trevor Hoffman SDP 0 117 448 0.26 | 3 0 0 .000 .000 0| 4-2 73 1.48 0.85 86 53
8 Barry Bonds SFG 0 66 448 0.15 | 552 167 37 .303 1.047 28|
9 Chipper Jones ATL 0 56 448 0.12 | 601 188 34 .313 .951 16|
9 Jeff Kent SFG 0 56 448 0.12 | 526 156 31 .297 .914 9|
11 Vinny Castilla COL 0 49 448 0.11 | 645 206 46 .319 .951 5|
12 John Olerud NYM 0 38 448 0.08 | 557 197 22 .354 .998 2|
13 Vladimir Guerrero MON 0 25 448 0.06 | 623 202 38 .324 .960 11|
14 Mike Piazza TOT 0 15 448 0.03 | +561 184 32 .328 .960 1|
15 Tony Gwynn SDP 0 11 448 0.02 | 461 148 16 .321 .865 3|
16 Kevin Brown SDP 0 8 448 0.02 | 82 17 0 .207 .488 0| 18-7 257 2.38 1.07 257
17 Larry Walker COL 0 7 448 0.02 | 454 165 23 .363 1.075 14|
18 Rod Beck CHC 0 5 448 0.01 | 1 0 0 .000 .000 0| 3-4 80 3.02 1.32 81 51
19 Jeromy Burnitz MIL 0 4 448 0.01 | 609 160 38 .263 .838 7|
20 Scott Rolen PHI 0 3 448 0.01 | 601 174 31 .290 .923 14|
21 Dante Bichette COL 0 2 448 0.00 | 662 219 22 .331 .866 14|
21 Tom Glavine ATL 0 2 448 0.00 | 71 17 0 .239 .532 0| 20-6 229 2.47 1.20 157
21 Randy Johnson TOT 0 2 448 0.00 | 32 2 0 .062 .156 0| 10-1 84 1.28 0.98 116
24 Javy Lopez ATL 0 1 448 0.00 | 489 139 34 .284 .868 5|
24 Mickey Morandini CHC 0 1 448 0.00 | 582 172 8 .296 .765 13|

Sosa easily won, probably because of the combination of RBI total and the Cubs making the postseason.

Cy Young: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Tom Glavine ATL 11 99 160 0.62 | 20-6 229 2.47 1.20 157
2 Trevor Hoffman SDP 13 88 160 0.55 | 4-2 73 1.48 0.85 86 53
3 Kevin Brown SDP 8 76 160 0.48 | 18-7 257 2.38 1.07 257
4 Greg Maddux ATL 0 10 160 0.06 | 18-9 251 2.22 0.98 204
4 John Smoltz ATL 0 10 160 0.06 | 17-3 168 2.90 1.13 173
6 Al Leiter NYM 0 3 160 0.02 | 17-6 193 2.47 1.15 174
7 Randy Johnson TOT 0 2 160 0.01 | 10-1 84 1.28 0.98 116

Interesting three-way race, but they ignored the ERA leader.

Rookie: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Kerry Wood CHC 16 128 160 0.80 | 54 7 2 .130 .386 0| 13-6 167 3.40 1.21 233
2 Todd Helton COL 15 119 160 0.74 | 530 167 25 .315 .911 3|
3 Travis Lee ARI 0 21 160 0.13 | 562 151 22 .269 .775 8|
4 Kerry Ligtenberg ATL 1 18 160 0.11 | | 3-2 73 2.71 1.03 79 30
5 Brad Fullmer MON 0 2 160 0.01 | 505 138 13 .273 .773 6|

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Larry Dierker HOU 16 102 160 0.64 | 102-60 1
2 Bruce Bochy SDP 5 70 160 0.44 | 98-64 1
3 Jim Riggleman CHC 5 55 160 0.34 | 90-73 2
4 Dusty Baker SFG 6 39 160 0.24 | 89-74 2
5 Bobby Cox ATL 0 17 160 0.11 | 106-56 1
6 Bobby Valentine NYM 0 5 160 0.03 | 88-74 2

Top player: Mark McGwire. I just can't ignore the 70-homer year.
#1 Mark McGwire, #2 Barry Bonds, #3 Sammy Sosa, #4 John Olerud, #5 Craig Biggio, #6 Scott Rolen.

Top pitcher: Greg Maddux won the ERA title and was the best all-around.
#1 Greg Maddux, #2 Kevin Brown, #3 Tom Glavine, #4 Curt Schilling, #5 Trevor Hoffman.

Top rookie: Todd Helton, over Kerry Wood. Hindsight helps here.

Top manager: Larry Dierker for me as well. Bochy, Cox and Riggelman are also good choices.

1998 American League

2011-08-12T10:12:00.003-05:00

The New York Yankees had an incredible season, winning 114 games in the regular season and then eleven more in the postseason to win the World Series, their second in three years. The Yankees finished 22 games in front of Boston, which had the second-best record in the league and won the Wild Card. Toronto was 3rd in the division with 88 wins. Baltimore won 79 and new entry Tampa Bay lost 99 games, as Detroit moved to the Central and Milwaukee to the NL. Cleveland took the Central crown with 89 wins, 9 ahead of the White Sox. Texas won 88 games to take the West, three ahead of Anaheim.

Bernie Williams took the batting title with a .339 average even though he missed nearly a month with injuries. Mo Vaughn was second at .337, Albert Belle third at .328, then Eric Davis at .327 and Derek Jeter at .324. Jeter led with 127 runs scored, followed by Ray Durham at 126. Alex Rodriguez had 213 hits, Vaughn 205, Jeter 203 and Belle 200. Juan Gonzalez led with 50 doubles followed by Belle at 48 and Edgar Martinez at 46. Jose Offerman had 13 triples and Johnny Damon 10. Ken Griffey, Jr. belted 56 home runs, leading an early charge on Roger Maris. Belle had 49 and Jose Canseco 46. Gonzalez had 157 RBI, Belle 152 and Griffey 146. Rickey Henderson had 66 steals, Kenny Lofton 54 and Shannon Stewart 51.

Roger Clemens, David Cone, and Rick Helling tied with 20 wins each. Pedro Martinez and Aaron Sele won 19 apiece. Clemens led with a 2.65 ERA, Pedro was at 2.89, Kenny Rogers 3.17. Clemens completed a pitchers' triple crown with 271 strikeouts, Pedro had 251 and Randy Johnson 213 with Chuck Finley at 212. Tom Gordon led relievers with 46 saves, Troy Percival and John Wetteland had 42.

Win Shares leaders, players; Albert Belle (Chicago) 37, Alex Rodriguez (Seattle) 30, Jose Offerman (Kansas City) and Ken Griffey, Jr. (Seattle) 29, Nomar Garciaparra (Boston), Scott Brosius, Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams (New York) and Ivan Rodriguez (Texas) 27, Paul O'Neill (New York) 26, Mo Vaughn (Boston), Ray Durham and Frank Thomas (Chicago), Manny Ramirez (Cleveland) and Juan Gonzalez (Texas) 25, Jim Edmonds (Anaheim), Rafael Palmeiro (Baltimore), Edgar Martinez (Seattle) and Carlos Delgado (Toronto) 24, Damion Easley (Detroit) and Jason Giambi (Oakland) 23, Tim Salmon (Anaheim), Chuck Knoblauch (New York) and Ben Grieve (Oakland) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Roger Clemens (Toronto) 25, Pedro Martinez (Boston) 21, Kenny Rogers (Oakland) 19, Chuck Finley (Anaheim), Tom Gordon (Boston), Brian Moehler (Detroit), Tim Belcher (Kansas City), David Cone (New York) and Rolando Arrojo (Tampa Bay) 17, Bartolo Colon and Mike Jackson (Cleveland) 16.

WARP3 scores: Belle 11.7, A. Rodriguez 11.3, Offerman 8.7 (best season), Griffey 12.5, Garciaparra 9.3, Brosius 8.3 (best season), Jeter 9.1, Williams 9.2, I. Rodriguez 11.0, O'Neill 8.9 (last big season), Vaughn 8.7 (last big season), Durham 9.1, Thomas 6.7, Ramirez 8.7, Gonzalez 7.6, Edmonds 9.2, Palmeiro 10.3, E. Martinez 9.2, Delgado 8.6, Easley 8.0 (best season), Giambi 5.8, Salmon 7.0, Knoblauch 7.7, Grieve 5.5 (rookie).

Pitchers, Clemens 11.2, P. Martinez 9.8, Rogers 10.3 (best season), Finley 7.4, Gordon 7.9 (best season), Moehler 8.2 (career year), Belcher 7.2, Cone 7.1, Arrojo 8.2 (rookie, career year), Colon 7.9, Jackson 6.7 (career year).

WAR position player leaders: A. Rodriguez 8.4, Garciaparra 7.5, Belle 7.4, Palmeiro 7.2, Griffey 7.1, I. Rodriguez 6.7, Vaughn 6.6, Jeter 6.5, Ventura 6.1, E. Martinez 6.0, Delgado and Lofton 5.9, O'Neill 5.8, Ramirez 5.7.

WAR pitching leaders: Clemens 8.8, P. Martinez 6.7, Moyer, Cone, Erickson, and Sele 5.3, Mussina 5.2, Colon and Radke 5.0, Rogers 4.9, Finley 4.8.

Actual award winners:
MVP: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----++-----+-----+---+--+
1 Juan Gonzalez TEX 21 357 392 0.91 | 606 193 45 .318 .997 2|
2 Nomar Garciaparra BOS 5 232 392 0.59 | 604 195 35 .323 .946 12|
3 Derek Jeter NYY 2 180 392 0.46 | 626 203 19 .324 .864 30|
4 Ken Griffey SEA 0 135 392 0.34 | 633 180 56 .284 .977 20|
4 Mo Vaughn BOS 0 135 392 0.34 | 609 205 40 .337 .993 0|
6 Manny Ramirez CLE 0 127 392 0.32 | 571 168 45 .294 .976 5|
7 Bernie Williams NYY 0 103 392 0.26 | 499 169 26 .339 .997 15|
8 Albert Belle CHW 0 98 392 0.25 | 609 200 49 .328 1.055 6|
9 Alex Rodriguez SEA 0 92 392 0.23 | 686 213 42 .310 .919 46|
10 Ivan Rodriguez TEX 0 50 392 0.13 | 579 186 21 .321 .871 9|
11 Roger Clemens TOR 0 49 392 0.12 | 4 0 0 .000 .200 0| 20-6 235 2.65 1.10 271
12 Paul O'Neill NYY 0 36 392 0.09 | 602 191 24 .317 .882 15|
13 Tom Gordon BOS 0 27 392 0.07 | | 7-4 79 2.72 1.01 78 46
14 Darin Erstad ANA 0 7 392 0.02 | 537 159 19 .296 .839 20|
14 Tim Salmon ANA 0 7 392 0.02 | 463 139 26 .300 .943 0|
16 David Wells NYY 0 3 392 0.01 | 4 1 0 .250 .500 0| 18-4 214 3.49 1.05 163
16 John Wetteland TEX 0 3 392 0.01 | | 3-1 62 2.03 0.98 72 42
18 Eric Davis BAL 0 2 392 0.01 | 452 148 28 .327 .970 7|
18 Travis Fryman CLE 0 2 392 0.01 | 557 160 28 .287 .845 10|
18 Rafael Palmeiro BAL 0 2 392 0.01 | 619 183 43 .296 .945 11|
21 Carlos Delgado TOR 0 1 392 0.00 | 530 155 38 .292 .978 3|
21 Rick Helling TEX 0 1 392 0.00 | 5 1 0 .200 .400 0| 20-7 216 4.41 1.33 164
21 Mike Jackson CLE 0 1 392 0.00 | | 1-1 64 1.55 0.88 55 40
21 Pedro Martinez BOS 0 1 392 0.00 | 7 0 0 .000 .000 0| 19-7 234 2.89 1.09 251
21 Jim Thome CLE 0 1 392 0.00 | 440 129 30 .293 .997 1|

Cy Young: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Roger Clemens TOR 28 140 140 1.00 | 20-6 235 2.65 1.10 271
2 Pedro Martinez BOS 0 65 140 0.46 | 19-7 234 2.89 1.09 251
3 David Wells NYY 0 31 140 0.22 | 18-4 214 3.49 1.05 163
4 David Cone NYY 0 16 140 0.11 | 20-7 208 3.55 1.18 209

Rookie: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1stPlace Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+-
1 Ben Grieve OAK 23 130 140 0.93 | 583 168 18 .288 .844 2|
2 Rolando Arrojo TBD 4 61 140 0.44 | 3 0 0 .000 .000 0| 14-12 202 3.56 1.29 152
3 Mike Caruso CHW 0 34 140 0.24 | 523 160 5 .306 .721 22|
4 Orlando Hernandez NYY 1 25 140 0.18 | 7 0 0 .000 .000 0| 12-4 141 3.13 1.17 131
5 Magglio Ordonez CHW 0 1 140 0.01 | 535 151 14 .282 .741 9|
5 Sidney Ponson BAL 0 1 140 0.01 | 4 2 0 .500 1.000 0| 8-9 135 5.27 1.47 85 1

Manager:
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Joe Torre NYY 23 128 140 0.91 | 114-48 1
2 Jimy Williams BOS 3 59 140 0.42 | 92-70 2
3 Terry Collins ANA 2 38 140 0.27 | 85-77 2
4 Johnny Oates TEX 0 11 140 0.08 | 88-74 1
5 Mike Hargrove CLE 0 8 140 0.06 | 89-73 1
6 Tim Johnson TOR 0 4 140 0.03 | 88-74 3
6 Jerry Manuel CHW 0 4 140 0.03 | 80-82 2

Top player: Albert Belle. Belle didn't win because his team was below .500 and the writers didn't like him, but he was the best in the league. A-Rod and Griffey were close.
#1 Albert Belle, #2 Alex Rodriguez, #3 Ken Griffey, #4 Ivan Rodriguez, #5 Nomar Garciaparra, #6 Bernie Williams.

Top pitcher: Roger Clemens, easily.
#1 Roger Clemens, #2 Pedro Martinez, #3 Kenny Rogers, #4 David Cone, #5 Chuck Finley.

Top rookie: Ben Grieve, although Magglio Ordonez would have the better career.

Top manager: Joe Torre. It's tough to win 114 games.

1997 National League

2011-08-07T17:14:00.002-05:00

The Florida Marlins won the pennant and the World Series in just their fifth year of existence, coming from the Wild Card spot. The team was almost immediately dismantled by an owner crying poverty in spite of obscene profits, and was soon sold, then won another title six years later. Puts a lie to teams crying poverty and poor stadiums, doesn't it? At any rate, Atlanta won the NL East and had the league's most victories with 101, with Florida nine games behind and the Mets 13 games back. Houston won the Central with but 84 victories, five games ahead of Pittsburgh, and San Francisco won the West with 90 victories, two games ahead of Los Angeles and seven games ahead of Colorado. The Marlins, although they were the Wild Card winners, actually had the second-best record in the league.

Tony Gwynn won the batting title with a .372 mark, finishing just ahead of Larry Walker (.366) and Mike Piazza (.362). Walker led in home runs (49), OPS and total bases and won the MVP. Andres Galarraga led in RBI (140) followed by Jeff Bagwell with 135 and Walker with 130, Tony Womack in steals with 60 trailed by Deion Sanders at 56 and Delino Deshields at 55, Craig Biggio in runs with 146 followed by Walker with 143, and Mark Grudzielanek in doubles with 54 as next was Gwynn with 49. Second in homers was Bagwell with 43, then Galarraga at 41 and Piazza, Barry Bonds, and Vinny Castilla at 40 each.

Pedro Martinez won the ERA title (1.90) and the Cy Young, with Greg Maddux (2.20) second, Darryl Kile third (2.57) Ismael Valdes fourth (2.65) and Kevin Brown fifth (2.69). Denny Neagle led in victories with 20, then came Maddux, Kile, and Shawn Estes at 19 and Martinez, Curt Schilling, and Alex Fernandez at 17. Schilling led in strikeouts with 319 trailed by Pedro at 305. Jeff Shaw led in saves with 42 followed by Trevor Hoffman and Rod Beck at 37.

Win Shares leaders, players; Mike Piazza (Los Angeles) and Tony Gwynn (San Diego) 39, Craig Biggio (Houston) 38, Barry Bonds (San Francisco) 36, Larry Walker (Colorado) and Jeff Bagwell (Houston) 32, Scott Rolen (Philadelphia) 29, Edgardo Alfonzo (New York) and J.T. Snow (San Francisco) 28, Jeff Blauser (Atlanta) and John Olerud (New York) 27, Ken Caminiti (San Diego) 26, Raul Mondesi (Los Angeles) and Ray Lankford (St. Louis) 24, Chipper Jones (Atlanta) and Moises Alou (Florida) 23, Gary Sheffield (Florida), Todd Hundley (New York), Jason Kendall (Pittsburgh) and Jeff Kent (San Francisco) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Greg Maddux (Atlanta) and Pedro Martinez (Montreal) 26, Kevin Brown (Florida) 23, Curt Schilling (Philadelphia) 22, Tom Glavine, Denny Neagle and John Smoltz (Atlanta), Jeff Shaw (Cincinnati) and Darryl Kile (Houston) 21, Rick Reed (New York) 17.

WARP3 scores: Piazza 12.4 (best season), Gwynn 7.6 (last big year), Biggio 12.3 (best season), Bonds 11.4, Walker 10.5 (best season), Bagwell 9.3, Rolen 8.3 (rookie), Alfonzo 7.4 (breakout year), Snow 5.5, Blauser 8.7 (best year, last good year), Olerud 7.3, Caminiti 8.4 (last good year), Mondesi 8.5, Lankford 7.4, Jones 5.4, Alou 5.9, Sheffield 6.7, Hundley 7.5 (last good year), Kendall 8.3.

Pitchers, Maddux 10.5, Martinez 10.9, Brown 8.7, Schilling 9.4, Glavine 8.0, Neagle 7.6 (best year), Smoltz 8.5, Shaw 7.2 (best year), Kile 8.3 (best year), Reed 6.9.

WAR leaders, players: Biggio 9.7, Walker and Piazza 9.4, Bonds 9.2, Bagwell 8.3, Mondesi 6.0, Alfonso and Lankford 5.9, Blauser and Kenny Lofton (Atlanta) 5.5, Rondell White (Expos) 5.1, Mark Grace (Cubs) 5.0.

Pitchers: Martinez 8.8, Schilling 8.6, Maddux 8.2, Smoltz 6.9, Brown 6.4, Neagle 5.4, Andy Benes (St. Louis) 5.1, Matt Morris (St. Louis) 4.9, Kile 4.3, John Thomson (Rockies) 4.2.
Actual award winners:
MVP: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+---+-
1 Larry Walker COL 22 359 392 0.92 | 568 208 49 .366 1.172 33|
2 Mike Piazza LAD 3 263 392 0.67 | 556 201 40 .362 1.070 5|
3 Jeff Bagwell HOU 3 233 392 0.59 | 566 162 43 .286 1.017 31|
4 Craig Biggio HOU 0 157 392 0.40 | 619 191 22 .309 .916 47|
5 Barry Bonds SFG 0 123 392 0.31 | 532 155 40 .291 1.031 37|
6 Tony Gwynn SDP 0 113 392 0.29 | 592 220 17 .372 .957 12|
7 Andres Galarraga COL 0 85 392 0.22 | 600 191 41 .318 .974 15|
8 Jeff Kent SFG 0 80 392 0.20 | 580 145 29 .250 .789 11|
9 Chipper Jones ATL 0 70 392 0.18 | 597 176 21 .295 .850 20|
10 Moises Alou FLA 0 60 392 0.15 | 538 157 23 .292 .866 9|
11 Charles Johnson FLA 0 22 392 0.06 | 416 104 19 .250 .802 0|
12 Greg Maddux ATL 0 16 392 0.04 | 67 7 0 .104 .301 1| 19-4 233 2.20 0.95 177
13 Edgardo Alfonzo NYM 0 10 392 0.03 | 518 163 10 .315 .823 11|
14 Curt Schilling PHI 0 9 392 0.02 | 81 14 0 .173 .366 1| 17-11 254 2.97 1.05 319
15 Raul Mondesi LAD 0 8 392 0.02 | 616 191 30 .310 .901 32|
16 Ray Lankford STL 0 6 392 0.02 | 465 137 31 .295 .996 21|
16 Pedro Martinez MON 0 6 392 0.02 | 69 8 0 .116 .327 0| 17-8 241 1.90 0.93 305
16 Mark McGwire TOT 0 6 392 0.02 | 174 44 24 .253 1.095 2|
19 Sammy Sosa CHC 0 5 392 0.01 | 642 161 36 .251 .779 22|
19 Kevin Young PIT 0 5 392 0.01 | 333 100 18 .300 .867 11|
21 Jeff Blauser ATL 0 4 392 0.01 | 519 160 17 .308 .886 5|
22 Vinny Castilla COL 0 3 392 0.01 | 612 186 40 .304 .904 2|
22 Darryl Kile HOU 0 3 392 0.01 | 89 11 0 .124 .336 0| 19-7 256 2.57 1.18 205
24 Rod Beck SFG 0 2 392 0.01 | | 7-4 70 3.47 1.07 53 37
24 Tony Womack PIT 0 2 392 0.01 | 641 178 6 .278 .700 60|
26 Kenny Lofton ATL 0 1 392 0.00 | 493 164 5 .333 .837 27|
26 J.T. Snow SFG 0 1 392 0.00 | 531 149 28 .281 .898 6|

Cy Young:
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points MaxPoints Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Pedro Martinez MON 25 134 140 0.96 | 17-8 241 1.90 0.93 305
2 Greg Maddux ATL 3 75 140 0.54 | 19-4 233 2.20 0.95 177
3 Denny Neagle ATL 0 24 140 0.17 | 20-5 233 2.97 1.08 172
4 Curt Schilling PHI 0 12 140 0.09 | 17-11 254 2.97 1.05 319
5 Darryl Kile HOU 0 7 140 0.05 | 19-7 256 2.57 1.18 205

Rookie:
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+---+-
1 Scott Rolen PHI 28 140 140 1.00 | 561 159 21 .283 .846 16|
2 Livan Hernandez FLA 0 25 140 0.18 | 29 5 0 .172 .441 0| 9-3 96 3.18 1.24 72
2 Matt Morris STL 0 25 140 0.18 | 73 15 0 .205 .489 0| 12-9 217 3.19 1.28 149
4 Rich Loiselle PIT 0 22 140 0.16 | 1 0 0 .000 .000 0| 1-5 73 3.10 1.38 66 29
5 Andruw Jones ATL 0 15 140 0.11 | 399 92 18 .231 .745 20|
6 Vladimir Guerrero MON 0 9 140 0.06 | 325 98 11 .302 .833 3|
7 Jose Guillen PIT 0 4 140 0.03 | 498 133 14 .267 .712 1|
7 Brett Tomko CIN 0 4 140 0.03 | 36 5 0 .139 .329 0| 11-7 126 3.43 1.21 95
9 Jeremi Gonzalez CHC 0 3 140 0.02 | 40 4 0 .100 .263 0| 11-9 144 4.25 1.35 93
9 Tony Womack PIT 0 3 140 0.02 | 641 178 6 .278 .700 60|
11 Kevin Orie CHC 0 1 140 0.01 | 364 100 8 .275 .781 2|
11 Neifi Perez COL 0 1 140 0.01 | 313 91 5 .291 .777 4|

Manager:
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Dusty Baker SFG 17 110 140 0.79 | 90-72 1
2 Gene Lamont PIT 10 92 140 0.66 | 79-83 2
3 Larry Dierker HOU 1 34 140 0.24 | 84-78 1
4 Bobby Valentine NYM 0 7 140 0.05 | 88-74 3
5 Bobby Cox ATL 0 6 140 0.04 | 101-61 1
6 Terry Francona PHI 0 2 140 0.01 | 68-94 5
7 Jim Leyland FLA 0 1 140 0.01 | 92-70 2

Top player: Mike Piazza. The two best players in the league were Piazza and Biggio. Biggio played for a division-winning team, but Piazza's team actually won more games. That's the trouble with these three-division setups, they make things more confusing. I'll go with Piazza by a nose.
#1 Mike Piazza, #2 Craig Biggio, #3 Larry Walker, #4 Barry Bonds, #5 Jeff Bagwell, #6 Jeff Blauser.

Top pitcher: Pedro Martinez. Like with the players, it could have been either of two, here Pedro and Maddux. I'll go with Pedro, but just barely.
#1 Pedro Martinez, #2 Greg Maddux, #3 Curt Schilling, #4 Kevin Brown, #5 John Smoltz.

Top rookie: Scott Rolen, who was almost not a rookie off the previous year's strong performance.

Top manager: With the benefit of the postseason to work with, Jim Leyland.

1997 American League

2011-08-07T17:13:00.002-05:00

Baltimore and New York had the best regular season records as East Division and Wild Card winners, respectively, but Cleveland won the Central crown and their second pennant in three years. Seattle took the West, and Anaheim was the only other AL team over .500. Oakland lost 97 games for the league's worst record. Baltimore beat Seattle and Cleveland beat New York in the Division Series, then the Indians topped the Orioles in six in the ALCS.

Frank Thomas easily took the batting average race with a .347 mark. Edgar Martinez was second at .330, followed by David Justice at .329 and Manny Ramirez and Bernie Williams at .328. Ken Griffey, Jr. led the loop with 125 runs and Nomar Garciaparra was second with 122. Garciaparra led the way with 209 hits. John Valentin led with 47 doubles and Jeff Cirillo had 46. Garciaparra produced 11 triples, Chuck Knoblauch 10.

Griffey chased history and ended with 56 home runs, Tino Martinez placing second with 44. Juan Gonzalez had 42, Jay Buhner and Jim Thome 40. Griffey also led with 147 RBI, Martinez had 141, Gonzalez 131. Brian Hunter had 74 steals, Knoblauch 62 and Tom Goodwin 50. Martinez and Thomas posted .456 on-base averages, Griffey led with a .647 slugging.

Roger Clemens led the way with 21 wins, while Randy Johnson and Brad Radke were 20-game winners. Clemens completed a pitcher's Triple Crown by leading in ERA with 2.05 and strikeouts with 292. Johnson was second in ERA with 2.29 and strikeouts with 291. Third place in ERA went to David Cone at 2.82 and Andy Pettitte put up a 2.88 mark. Cone was also third in strikeouts with 222, Mike Mussina fourth with 218. Randy Myers led with 45 saves, Mariano Rivera had 43.

Win Shares leaders, players; Frank Thomas (Chicago) 39, Ken Griffey (Seattle) 36, Tim Salmon (Anaheim) 29, Paul O'Neill (New York) 28, Tino Martinez (New York) and Edgar Martinez (Seattle) 27, Brady Anderson (Baltimore), Nomar Garciaparra (Boston), David Justice and Jim Thome (Cleveland) and Ivan Rodriguez (Texas) 26, Bobby Higginson (Detroit) 25, Tony Clark (Detroit), Jeff Cirillo (Milwaukee) and Bernie Williams (New York) 24, Chuck Knoblauch (Minnesota) 23, Mo Vaughn (Boston) and Alex Rodriguez (Seattle) 22, Roberto Alomar (Baltimore), John Valentin (Boston), Manny Ramirez (Cleveland), Jay Bell (Kansas City) and Dan Wilson (Seattle) 21.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Roger Clemens (Toronto) 32, Randy Johnson (Seattle) 23, Justin Thompson (Detroit) 21, Andy Pettitte (New York) 20, Mike Mussina (Baltimore), Doug Jones (Milwaukee) and Pat Hentgen (Toronto) 19, Kevin Appier (Kansas City) 18, Jimmy Key (Baltimore) and Jeff Fassero (Seattle) 17, Scott Erickson (Baltimore), Brad Radke (Minnesota), David Cone (New York) and John Wetteland (Texas) 16.

WARP3 scores: Thomas 10.4, Griffey 12.4, Salmon 8.3, O'Neill 9.0, T. Martinez 10.2 (peak season), E. Martinez 9.6, Anderson 7.8, Garciaparra 9.0 (rookie), Justice 8.4 (best year), Thome 7.9, I. Rodriguez 10.7, Higginson 8.4, Clark 6.8 (best season), Cirillo 8.5, Williams 8.6, Knoblauch 7.8, Vaughn 7.0, A. Rodriguez 7.5, Alomar 7.5, Valentin 9.4, Ramirez 9.1, Bell 10.2, Wilson 7.6 (best year).

Pitchers, Clemens 14.8 (best year), Johnson 11.1, Thompson 9.7 (career year), Pettitte 9.9 (best year), Mussina 8.2, Jones 8.2 (last big year), Hentgen 8.8, Appier 8.4, Key 7.7 (last good year), Fassero 8.2, Erickson 6.9, Radke 8.3, Cone 7.3, Wetteland 6.8.

WAR for position players: Griffey 9.4, Thomas 7.3, Garciaparra 6.6, Martinez and I. Rodriguez 6.4, Knoblauch 6.3, Bell 5.6, T. Martinez 5.5, Thome and B. Williams 5.3, Cirillo 5.1, Jeromy Burnitz (Milwaukee) 5.0, Ramirez 4.8, Salmon 4.7, A. Rodriguez 4.6, Valentin 4.5, Greer and Justice 4.4, M. Williams and Jeter 4.3

WAR for pitchers: Clemens 11.1, Pettitte 7.4, Johnson 7.0, Mussina and Radke 5.5, Appier 5.3, Burkett, Gordon, and Cone 5.0, Fassero and Thompson 4.9, Erickson 4.7.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 15): | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+
1 Ken Griffey SEA 28 392 392 1.00 | 608 185 56 .304 1.028 15|
2 Tino Martinez NYY 0 248 392 0.63 | 594 176 44 .296 .948 3|
3 Frank Thomas CHW 0 172 392 0.44 | 530 184 35 .347 1.067 1|
4 Randy Myers BAL 0 128 392 0.33 | | 2-3 60 1.51 1.16 56 45
5 David Justice CLE 0 90 392 0.23 | 495 163 33 .329 1.013 3|
6 Jim Thome CLE 0 89 392 0.23 | 496 142 40 .286 1.001 1|
7 Tim Salmon ANA 0 84 392 0.21 | 582 172 33 .296 .911 9|
8 Nomar Garciaparra BOS 0 83 392 0.21 | 684 209 30 .306 .875 22|
9 Juan Gonzalez TEX 0 66 392 0.17 | 533 158 42 .296 .924 0|
10 Roger Clemens TOR 0 56 392 0.14 | 2 1 0 .500 1.667 0| 21-7 264 2.05 1.03 292
11 Randy Johnson SEA 0 42 392 0.11 | | 20-4 213 2.28 1.05 291
12 Paul O'Neill NYY 0 37 392 0.09 | 553 179 21 .324 .912 10|
13 Rafael Palmeiro BAL 0 36 392 0.09 | 614 156 38 .254 .815 5|
14 Sandy Alomar CLE 0 22 392 0.06 | 451 146 21 .324 .900 0|
14 Edgar Martinez SEA 0 22 392 0.06 | 542 179 28 .330 1.009 2|
Griffey was an easy winner.

Cy Young: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Roger Clemens TOR 25 134 140 0.96 | 21-7 264 2.05 1.03 292
2 Randy Johnson SEA 2 77 140 0.55 | 20-4 213 2.28 1.05 291
3 Brad Radke MIN 0 17 140 0.12 | 20-10 240 3.87 1.19 174
4 Randy Myers BAL 1 14 140 0.10 | 2-3 60 1.51 1.16 56 45
5 Andy Pettitte NYY 0 9 140 0.06 | 18-7 240 2.88 1.24 166
6 Mike Mussina BAL 0 1 140 0.01 | 15-8 225 3.20 1.12 218
What idiot voted for Myers?

Rookie: Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+----
1 Nomar Garciaparra BOS 28 140 140 1.00 | 684 209 30 .306 .875 22|
2 Jose Cruz TOT 0 61 140 0.44 | +395 98 26 .248 .814 7|
3 Jason Dickson ANA 0 27 140 0.19 | 2 0 0 .000 .000 0| 13-9 204 4.29 1.43 115
4 Deivi Cruz DET 0 12 140 0.09 | 436 105 2 .241 .577 3|
5 Jaret Wright CLE 0 7 140 0.05 | 3 0 0 .000 .000 0| 8-3 90 4.38 1.28 63
6 Mike Cameron CHW 0 5 140 0.04 | 379 98 14 .259 .789 23|

Manager:
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Davey Johnson BAL 10 88 140 0.63 | 98-64 1
2 Buddy Bell DET 4 50 140 0.36 | 79-83 3
3 Phil Garner MIL 5 42 140 0.30 | 78-83 3
4 Lou Piniella SEA 3 30 140 0.21 | 90-72 1
5 Terry Collins ANA 4 24 140 0.17 | 84-78 2
6 Mike Hargrove CLE 2 13 140 0.09 | 86-75 1
7 Joe Torre NYY 0 5 140 0.04 | 96-66 2

A very divided vote.

Top player: Ken Griffey, Jr. is the tops. Thomas was actually a better hitter, but had no defensive value.
#1 Ken Griffey, #2 Frank Thomas, #3 Tino Martinez, #4 Ivan Rodriguez, #5 Edgar Martinez, #6 Paul O'Neill.

Top pitcher: Roger Clemens is the clear winner.
#1 Roger Clemens, #2 Randy Johnson, #3 Andy Pettitte, #4 Justin Thompson, #5 Mike Mussina.

Top rookie: Nomar Garciaparra was head and shoulders above the rest.

Top manager: Dave Johnson, who managed Baltimore to the most wins in the league.

1996 National League

2010-06-01T16:16:00.003-05:00

Atlanta was the best team in the league, with 96 regular season wins and a pennant for winning two rounds of playoffs. The Braves finished eight games ahead of Montreal in the East, while St. Louis won 88 games to take the Central, six ahead of Houston and seven ahead of Cincinnati. San Diego won the West with 91 victories, while Los Angeles took the Wild Card with 90 wins. Philadelphia had the worst record, losing 95 games.

Tony Gwynn won the batting title, even though he did not have enough plate appearances to qualify. He still led, even after a few at-bats were added to his total. He batted .353, still ahead of Ellis Burks at .344 even with extra ABs. Andres Galarraga led in HR and RBI with a Coors-aided 47 and 150. Gary Sheffield and Barry Bonds tied for second in homers with 42, Dante Bichette was second in RBI with 141. Eric Young led in steals with 53, ahead of Lance Johnson at 50. Ellis Burks ledin slugging, Gary Sheffield in on-base and OPS. Jeff Bagwell had 48 dobules, Lance Johnson 227 hits. Sheffield edged Barry Bonds in OPS+. Ken Caminiti won the MVP for a strong performance, which he later admitted was at least partly attributable to steroid use.

John Smoltz won the MVP with his lead in wins (24) and strikeouts (276). Kevin Brown led in ERA with a 1.89 mark, with Gary Maddux second at 2.72. Andy Benes was second in wins with 18. Jeff Brantley and Todd Worrell tied for the saves lead with 44. Smoltz led in innings with 254. Curt Schilling had 8 complete games and Brown three shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Jeff Bagwell (Houston) 41, Barry Bonds (San Francisco) 39, Ken Caminiti (San Diego) 38, Gary Sheffield (Florida) 34, Mike Piazza (Los Angeles) 33, Craig Biggio (Houston) 32, Barry Larkin (Cincinnati) 31, Bernard Gilkey (New York) 30, Ellis Burks (Colorado) 28, Steve Finley (San Diego) and Brian Jordan (St. Louis) 27, Chipper Jones (Atlanta) and Lance Johnson (New York) 26, Andres Galarraga (Colorado), Raul Mondesi (Los Angeles) and Ray Lankford (St. Louis) 25, Marquis Grissom (Atlanta) and Todd Hundley (New York) 24, Vinny Castilla (Colorado) 23, Eric Davis (Cincinnati) and Jeff King (Pittsburgh) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; John Smoltz (Atlanta) 27, Kevin Brown (Florida) 26, Greg Maddux (Atlanta) 23, Tom Glavine (Atlanta) 22, Trevor Hoffman (San Diego) 20, Al Leiter and Robb Nen (Florida) 19, Jeff Fassero and Mel Rojas (Montreal) 18, Denny Neagle (Pittsburgh/Atlanta) 17, Hideo Nomo and Ismael Valdes (Los Angeles) 16.

WAR (Wins Against Replacement) scores: Bonds 10.8, Bagwell 8.3, Gilkey 8.1 (career year), Caminiti 7.9 (career year), Burks 7.6 (best year), Larkin 7.4, Johnson 6.8 (best year), Sheffield and Piazza 6.1, Jordan and Jones 6.0, Sammy Sosa (Chicago) 5.9, Finley 5.8 (best year), Lankford 5.4, Biggio 5.1, Hundley 5.0 (career year), Mark Grace (Chicago) 4.9, Mondesi 4.7, Brian McRae (Chicago) 4.6, Grissom 3.9, Galarraga tied for 21st at 3.8. Runs were cheap in Coors.

Pitchers, Brown 7.5 (career year), Maddux 6.3, Smoltz 6.1 (best year), Glavine 5.6, Fassero 5.2, Leiter and Neagle 5.1, Nomo 4.4, Curt Schilling (Philadelphia) 4.3, Pedro Astacio (Los Angeles) 4.2, Valdes 4.1, Hoffman and John Smiley (Cincinnati) 4.0.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 15): | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+----
1 Ken Caminiti SDP 28 392 392 1.00 | 546 178 40 .326 1.028 11|
2 Mike Piazza LAD 0 237 392 0.60 | 547 184 36 .336 .985 0|
3 Ellis Burks COL 0 186 392 0.47 | 613 211 40 .344 1.047 32|
4 Chipper Jones ATL 0 158 392 0.40 | 598 185 30 .309 .923 14|
5 Barry Bonds SFG 0 132 392 0.34 | 517 159 42 .308 1.076 40|
6 Andres Galarraga COL 0 112 392 0.29 | 626 190 47 .304 .958 18|
6 Gary Sheffield FLA 0 112 392 0.29 | 519 163 42 .314 1.090 16|
8 Brian Jordan STL 0 69 392 0.18 | 513 159 17 .310 .833 22|
9 Jeff Bagwell HOU 0 59 392 0.15 | 568 179 31 .315 1.021 21|
10 Steve Finley SDP 0 38 392 0.10 | 655 195 30 .298 .885 22|
11 John Smoltz ATL 0 33 392 0.08 | 78 17 1 .218 .548 0| 24-8 254 2.94 1.00 276
12 Barry Larkin CIN 0 29 392 0.07 | 517 154 33 .298 .977 36|
13 Marquis Grissom ATL 0 23 392 0.06 | 671 207 23 .308 .838 28|
14 Bernard Gilkey NYM 0 13 392 0.03 | 571 181 30 .317 .955 17|
15 Sammy Sosa CHC 0 12 392 0.03 | 498 136 40 .273 .888 18|

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 John Smoltz ATL 26 136 140 0.97 | 24-8 254 2.94 1.00 276
2 Kevin Brown FLA 2 88 140 0.63 | 17-11 233 1.89 0.94 159
3 Andy Benes STL 0 9 140 0.06 | 18-10 230 3.83 1.27 160 1
4 Hideo Nomo LAD 0 5 140 0.04 | 16-11 228 3.19 1.16 234
5 Trevor Hoffman SDP 0 4 140 0.03 | 9-5 88 2.25 0.92 111 42
5 Greg Maddux ATL 0 4 140 0.03 | 15-11 245 2.72 1.03 172
5 Todd Worrell LAD 0 4 140 0.03 | 4-6 65 3.03 1.30 66 44
8 Denny Neagle TOT 0 2 140 0.01 |+16-9 221 3.50 1.24 149
9 Jeff Fassero MON 0 1 140 0.01 | 15-11 232 3.30 1.17 222
9 Al Leiter FLA 0 1 140 0.01 | 16-12 215 2.93 1.26 200
9 Shane Reynolds HOU 0 1 140 0.01 | 16-10 239 3.65 1.13 204

Rookie: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+---
1 Todd Hollandsworth LAD 15 105 140 0.75 | 478 139 12 .291 .785 21|
2 Edgar Renteria FLA 10 84 140 0.60 | 431 133 5 .309 .757 16|
3 Jason Kendall PIT 1 30 140 0.21 | 414 124 3 .300 .773 5|
4 F.P. Santangelo MON 1 15 140 0.11 | 393 109 7 .277 .776 5|
5 Rey Ordonez NYM 1 7 140 0.05 | 502 129 1 .257 .592 1|
6 Jermaine Dye ATL 0 6 140 0.04 | 292 82 12 .281 .763 1|
7 Alan Benes STL 0 5 140 0.04 | 61 9 0 .148 .371 0| 13-10 191 4.90 1.46 131

Manager: |
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Bruce Bochy SDP 10 76 140 0.54 | 91-71 1
2 Felipe Alou MON 8 74 140 0.53 | 88-74 2
3 Tony LaRussa STL 7 69 140 0.49 | 88-74 1
4 Bobby Cox ATL 3 24 140 0.17 | 96-66 1
5 Bill Russell LAD 0 6 140 0.04 | 49-37 2
6 Terry Collins HOU 0 3 140 0.02 | 82-80 2

Top player: The two best in the league by Win Shares and WAR were Jeff Bagwell and Barry Bonds. Bonds' team finished last, Bagwell's was second. Ken Caminiti won the MVP with a team that won its division. It's a tough choice, but I will take Bagwell as a compromise choice.
#1 Jeff Bagwell, #2 Barry Bonds, #3 Ken Caminiti, #4 Barry Larkin, #5 Gary Sheffield, #6 Mike Piazza.

Top pitcher: Kevin Brown's super ERA ahead of John Smoltz' excellence, which was more team-aided.
#1 Kevin Brown, #2 John Smoltz, #3 Greg Maddux, #4 Tom Glavine, #5 Trevor Hoffman.

Top rookie: Edgar Renteria, who combined offensively value with a key defensive position.

Top manager: Bruce Bochy got the Padres to the division title.

1996 American League

2010-03-28T13:22:00.002-05:00

Cleveland had the best record, but the Yankees won their first pennant in 15 years and then defeated the Braves for the World Championship. The Yankees had 92 wins and took the AL East by four games over Baltimore (the wild-card winner) and seven games over the Red Sox. Cleveland won 99 and edged the White Sox by 14.5 games. Texas won the West with 90 victories by 4.5 games over Seattle. Detroit had a horrible year, losing 109 games as the only AL team with 100 losses.

Juan Gonzalez won the MVP in spite of not leading the league in any categories. Alex Rodriguez led the league in batting average (.358), runs (141), doubles (54) and total bases. Frank Thomas was second in batting average at .349, followed by Paul Molitor at .341. Mark McGwire led in homers with 52, on-base, slugging and OPS. Brady Anderson was second in homers with 50. Albert Belle led in RBI with 148, followed by Gonzalez at 144. Molitor led in hits with 225, Chuck Knoblauch in triples with 14, and Kenny Lofton in steals with 70.

Pat Hentgen won the Cy Young leading in innings and placing second in wins (20) and ERA (3.22) and led with 10 complete games. Andy Pettitte led in wins with 21, Juan Guzman in ERA at 2.93, Roger Clemens in strikeouts with 257, John Wetteland in saves with 43.

Win Shares leaders, players; Alex Rodriguez (Seattle) 34, Chuck Knoblauch (Minnesota) 32, Roberto Alomar (Baltimore) and Albert Belle (Cleveland) 31, Rafael Palmeiro (Baltimore) 30, Mo Vaughn (Boston) and Mark McGwire (Oakland) 29, Brady Anderson (Baltimore), Frank Thomas (Chicago), Jim Thome (Cleveland) and Ken Griffey Jr. 28, Bernie Williams (New York) 26, Kenny Lofton and Manny Ramirez (Cleveland), Edgar Martinez (Seattle) and Ivan Rodriguez (Texas) 23, Cal Ripken (Baltimore), Tim Salmon (California), Paul O'Neill (New York) and Jay Buhner (Seattle) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Pat Hentgen (Toronto) 24, Ken Hill (Texas) 22, Charles Nagy (Cleveland) 21, Roger Clemens (Boston) 20, Alex Fernandez (Chicago), Kevin Appier and Tim Belcher (Kansas City) 19, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera (New York) 18, Roberto Hernandez (Chicago) and Juan Guzman (Toronto) 17.

WARP3 scores: Knoblauch 9.7 (best year), Rodriguez 9.5 (at age 20!), Alomar 8.2, Belle 7.6, Griffey 7.1, McGwire 6.9, Thomas 6.8, Thome 6.6, Martinez and Robin Ventura (Chicago) 6.2, Anderson 5.5 (best season, his 50-homer year), O'Neill 5.1, Rodriguez and Scott Brosius (Oakland) 5.0, Mark McLemore (Texas) 4.7, Ramirez, Rusty Greer (Texas) and Tony Phillips (Chicago) 4.6, Palmeiro and Vaughn 4.5.

Pitchers, Clemens 7.0, Hentgen 6.7 (career year), Hernandez 6.3 (best year), Fernandez 6.0 (best year), Hill 5.9 (career year), Nagy 5.7, Appier 5.2, Pettitte and Guzman (best year) 4.9, Rivera and Heathcliff Slocumb (Boston) 4.7, Belcher and Chuck Finley (California) 4.4.

Actual award winners:
MVP: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Juan Gonzalez TEX 11 290 392 0.74 | 541 170 47 .314 1.011 2|
2 Alex Rodriguez SEA 10 287 392 0.73 | 601 215 36 .358 1.045 15|
3 Albert Belle CLE 2 228 392 0.58 | 602 187 48 .311 1.033 11|
4 Ken Griffey SEA 4 188 392 0.48 | 545 165 49 .303 1.020 16|
5 Mo Vaughn BOS 0 132 392 0.34 | 635 207 44 .326 1.003 2|
6 Rafael Palmeiro BAL 0 104 392 0.27 | 626 181 39 .289 .927 8|
7 Mark McGwire OAK 0 100 392 0.26 | 423 132 52 .312 1.198 0|
8 Frank Thomas CHW 0 88 392 0.22 | 527 184 40 .349 1.085 1|
9 Brady Anderson BAL 0 53 392 0.14 | 579 172 50 .297 1.034 21|
10 Ivan Rodriguez TEX 1 52 392 0.13 | 639 192 19 .300 .814 5|
11 Kenny Lofton CLE 0 34 392 0.09 | 662 210 14 .317 .817 75|
12 Mariano Rivera NYY 0 27 392 0.07 | | 8-3 108 2.09 0.99 130 5
13 Paul Molitor MIN 0 19 392 0.05 | 660 225 9 .341 .858 18|
14 Andy Pettitte NYY 0 11 392 0.03 | | 21-8 221 3.87 1.36 162
15 Jim Thome CLE 0 9 392 0.02 | 505 157 38 .311 1.062 2|
16 Chuck Knoblauch MIN 0 8 392 0.02 | 578 197 13 .341 .965 45|
17 Jay Buhner SEA 0 6 392 0.02 | 564 153 44 .271 .926 0|
17 Bernie Williams NYY 0 6 392 0.02 | 551 168 29 .305 .926 17|
19 John Wetteland NYY 0 4 392 0.01 | | 2-3 64 2.83 1.18 69 43
20 Roberto Alomar BAL 0 3 392 0.01 | 588 193 22 .328 .938 17|
21 Terry Steinbach OAK 0 1 392 0.00 | 514 140 35 .272 .871 0|
Gonzalez edged Rodriguez by one first-place vote and three points. He didn't deserve to do so.

Cy Young: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Pat Hentgen TOR 16 110 140 0.79 | 20-10 266 3.22 1.25 177
2 Andy Pettitte NYY 11 104 140 0.74 | 21-8 221 3.87 1.36 162
3 Mariano Rivera NYY 1 18 140 0.13 | 8-3 108 2.09 0.99 130 5
4 Charles Nagy CLE 0 12 140 0.09 | 17-5 222 3.41 1.25 167
5 Mike Mussina BAL 0 5 140 0.04 | 19-11 243 4.81 1.37 204
6 Alex Fernandez CHW 0 1 140 0.01 | 16-10 258 3.45 1.24 200
6 Roberto Hernandez CHW 0 1 140 0.01 | 6-5 85 1.91 1.22 85 38
6 Ken Hill TEX 0 1 140 0.01 | 16-10 251 3.63 1.38 170

Rookie: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+---+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Derek Jeter NYY 28 140 140 1.00 | 582 183 10 .314 .800 14|
2 James Baldwin CHW 0 64 140 0.46 | | 11-6 169 4.42 1.33 127
3 Tony Clark DET 0 30 140 0.21 | 376 94 27 .250 .802 0|
4 Rocky Coppinger BAL 0 6 140 0.04 | | 10-6 125 5.18 1.49 104
4 Jose Rosado KCR 0 6 140 0.04 | | 8-6 107 3.21 1.19 64
6 Darin Erstad CAL 0 3 140 0.02 | 208 59 4 .284 .708 3|
7 Tony Batista OAK 0 1 140 0.01 | 238 71 6 .298 .783 7|
7 Tim Crabtree TOR 0 1 140 0.01 | | 5-3 67 2.54 1.20 57 1
7 Jeff D'Amico MIL 0 1 140 0.01 | | 6-6 86 5.44 1.38 53
Manager (top 5):
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Johnny Oates TEX 12 89 140 0.64 | 90-72 1
1 Joe Torre NYY 10 89 140 0.64 | 92-70 1
3 Lou Piniella SEA 3 35 140 0.25 | 85-76 2
4 Mike Hargrove CLE 2 22 140 0.16 | 99-62 1
5 Buddy Bell DET 1 5 140 0.04 | 53-109 5

Top player: Alex Rodriguez got robbed of the MVP for the first time at the tender age of 20. It wouldn't be the last time. A-Rod was the class of the league even at that tender age.
#1 Alex Rodriguez, #2 Chuck Knoblauch, #3 Albert Belle, #4 Roberto Alomar, #5 Brady Anderson, #6 Ken Griffey, Jr.

Top pitcher: Pat Hentgen had the year of his lifetime.
#1 Pat Hentgen, #2 Ken Hill, #3 Alex Fernandez, #4 Charles Nagy, #5 Roger Clemens.

Top rookie: Derek Jeter makes his initial mark.

Top manager: Joe Torre brings the bacon back to the Big Apple.

1995 National League

2010-03-03T17:36:00.002-05:00

Atlanta won 90 games, and went on to win the only World Series of their 1990s dynasty. The Braves ripped through the NL East, winning by 21 games. Cincinnati took the NL Central by 9 games over Houston and 12 over Chicago, while Los Angeles took the NL West by a game over Colorado, which took the Wild Card. Pittsburgh was the worst team in the league with 86 losses.

Tony Gwynn won the batting title at .368 and tied for the lead in hits with 197, while Dante Bichette tied Gwynn for hits and led in HR (40) and RBI (128) as well as total bases. Mike Piazza was second in average at .346, Bichette third at .340. Quilvio Veras led in steals with 56, followed by Barry Larkin at 51. Craig Biggio scored 123 runs, Mark Grace had 51 doubles, Eric Young and Brett Butler tied with 9 triples. Sammy Sosa and Larry Walked tied for second in homers with 36, while Sosa was second in RBI with 119. Barry Bonds edged Piazza in OPS. Piazza had the edge in OPS+.

Greg Maddux led in wins with 19 and ERA at 1.63. Pete Schourek was second in wins with 18, Ramon Martinez third with 17. Hideo Nomo led in strikeouts with 236, and was second in ERA at 2.54. Randy Myers led in saves with 38, followed by Tom Henke with 36.

Win Shares leaders, players; Barry Bonds (San Francisco) 36, Barry Larkin (Cincinnati) 30, Craig Biggio (Houston) 29, Reggie Sanders (Cincinnati) and Mike Piazza (Los Angeles) 27, Sammy Sosa (Chicago) and Eric Karros (Los Angeles) 25, Ken Caminiti (San Diego) 24, Mark Grace (Chicago), Dante Bichette (Colorado) and Tony Gwynn (San Diego) 23, Raul Mondesi (Los Angeles) and Ray Lankford (St. Louis) 22, Ron Gant (Cincinnati) 21, Chipper Jones and Fred McGriff (Atlanta), Jeff Conine (Florida), Jeff Bagwell (Houston) and Matt Williams (San Francisco) 20, David Justice (Atlanta) and Steve Finley (San Diego) 19.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Greg Maddux (Atlanta) 30, Tom Glavine (Atlanta) 20, John Smoltz (Atlanta) and Hideo Nomo (Los Angeles) 17, Mark Wohlers (Atlanta), Pete Schourek (Cincinnati) and Denny Neagle (Pittsburgh) 16, Jaime Navarro (Chicago) and Ismael Valdez (Los Angeles) 15, Curtis Leskanic (Colorado), Todd Worrell (Los Angeles), Pedro Martinez (Montreal) and Andy Ashby (San Diego) 14.

WARP3 scores: Bonds 9.4, Biggio 8.2, Piazza 7.3, Caminiti 7.1, Larkin 6.8, Sanders 6.0 (peak season), Karros 5.9, Williams 5.6, Bagwell 5.4, Gwynn and Jose Vizcaino (New York) 5.3, Mondesi 5.2, Grace 4.6, Delino DeShields (Los Angeles) 4.5, Jim Eisenreich (Philadelphia) 4.3, Gant 4.2 (returning from broken leg), Sosa, Conine, and Jose Offerman (Los Angeles) 4.1.

Pitchers, Maddux 10.8, Glavine 5.3, Neagle 5.1, Wohlers 4.8 (peak season), Tom Henke (St. Louis) 4.5, Worrell and Kevin Ritz (Colorado) 4.1, Schourek 4.0 (career year), P. Martinez 3.7, Smoltz and Navarro 3.6, Nomo (rookie), Leskanic, Steve Reed (Colorado) and Chris Hammond (Florida) 3.3.

Actual award winners:
MVP: (top 15)| Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+----+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Barry Larkin CIN 11 281 392 0.72 | 496 158 15 .319 .886 51|
2 Dante Bichette COL 6 251 392 0.64 | 579 197 40 .340 .984 13|
3 Greg Maddux ATL 7 249 392 0.64 | 72 11 0 .153 .367 0| 19-2 210 1.63 0.81 181
4 Mike Piazza LAD 3 214 392 0.55 | 434 150 32 .346 1.006 1|
5 Eric Karros LAD 0 135 392 0.34 | 551 164 32 .298 .905 4|
6 Reggie Sanders CIN 0 120 392 0.31 | 484 148 28 .306 .975 36|
7 Larry Walker COL 0 88 392 0.22 | 494 151 36 .306 .988 16|
8 Sammy Sosa CHC 0 81 392 0.21 | 564 151 36 .268 .840 34|
9 Tony Gwynn SDP 0 72 392 0.18 | 535 197 9 .368 .888 17|
10 Craig Biggio HOU 0 58 392 0.15 | 553 167 22 .302 .889 33|
11 Ron Gant CIN 1 31 392 0.08 | 410 113 29 .276 .940 23|
12 Barry Bonds SFG 0 21 392 0.05 | 506 149 33 .294 1.009 31|
13 Mark Grace CHC 0 14 392 0.04 | 552 180 16 .326 .911 6|
14 Derek Bell HOU 0 12 392 0.03 | 452 151 8 .334 .827 27|
15 Jeff Bagwell HOU 0 5 392 0.01 | 448 130 21 .290 .894 12|
A close vote....with Barry Bonds 12th? Maddux almost won, and this would have been a good season to give it to the pitcher.

Cy Young: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Greg Maddux ATL 28 140 140 1.00 | 19-2 210 1.63 0.81 181
2 Pete Schourek CIN 0 55 140 0.39 | 18-7 190 3.22 1.07 160
3 Tom Glavine ATL 0 30 140 0.21 | 16-7 199 3.08 1.25 127
4 Hideo Nomo LAD 0 29 140 0.21 | 13-6 191 2.54 1.06 236
5 Ramon Martinez LAD 0 8 140 0.06 | 17-7 206 3.66 1.25 138

Rookie: (top 6)| Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+----+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Hideo Nomo LAD 18 118 140 0.84 | 66 6 0 .091 .180 0| 13-6 191 2.54 1.06 236
2 Chipper Jones ATL 10 104 140 0.74 | 524 139 23 .265 .803 8|
3 Quilvio Veras FLA 0 14 140 0.10 | 440 115 5 .261 .757 56|
4 Jason Isringhausen NYM 0 4 140 0.03 | 27 4 0 .148 .419 0| 9-2 93 2.81 1.28 55
4 John Mabry STL 0 4 140 0.03 | 388 119 5 .307 .752 0|
4 Carlos Perez MON 0 4 140 0.03 | 45 6 1 .133 .471 0| 10-8 141 3.69 1.20 106

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Don Baylor COL 19 122 140 0.87 | 77-67 2
2 Davey Johnson CIN 8 89 140 0.64 | 85-59 1
3 Bobby Cox ATL 1 20 140 0.14 | 90-54 1
4 Terry Collins HOU 0 11 140 0.08 | 76-68 2
5 Jim Riggleman CHC 0 6 140 0.04 | 73-71 3
6 Dallas Green NYM 0 3 140 0.02 | 69-75 2
7 Bruce Bochy SDP 0 1 140 0.01 | 70-74 3

Top player: Barry Larkin. It's a homer vote, as Bonds and Piazza both rank as better: but not so much better that I can't make the case, much as the writers did. And Larkin clearly had a spectacular year for a surprise Reds team.
#1 Barry Larkin, #2 Barry Bonds, #3 Mike Piazza, #4 Craig Biggio, #5 Ken Caminiti, #6 Reggie Sanders.

Top pitcher: Greg Maddux, and it's not even close. It's easy to see the domination of the Braves' staff by this time.
#1 Greg Maddux, #2 Tom Glavine, #3 Pete Schourek, #4 Denny Neagle, #5 Mark Wohlers.

Top rookie: Hideo Nomo. The choice is between Nomo, who clearly had the better season, and Chipper Jones, who would almost certainly have the better career. I'll take Nomo this time.

Top manager: Davey Johnson, guiding the Reds in to the Central crown.

1995 American League

2010-03-01T21:15:00.002-05:00

The season got off to a late start, but it did start, and play through to a real World Series. It was quite a relief for baseball fans. Cleveland proved the class of the league, winning 100 games in spite of the shortened season to take the AL Central and plowed through the playoffs before losing the World Series. Boston was seven games in front of the Yankees for the AL East crown, although the Yanks took the Wild Card, while Seattle beat out the Angels by a game for the AL West lead.

Edgar Martinez led the league in batting average (.356) and OPS, and tied for the lead in runs (121) and doubles (52). Albert Belle led in home runs (50), total bases, and slugging, and tied for the league lead in RBI (126), runs, and doubles. Mo Vaughn tied for the lead in RBI, and won the MVP award. Yes, it was silly. More about that later. Kenny Lofton led in steals (54) and triples (13). Lance Johnson had 186 hits.

Mike Mussina led in wins with 19, followed by David Cone and Randy Johnson at 18. Johnson led in ERA with a 2.48 mark, and strikeouts with 294. Tim wakefield was second in ERA at 2.95. Todd Stottlemyre was second in strikeouts at 205. Jose Mesa led in saves with 46. Johnson won the Cy Young.

Win Shares leaders, players; Edgar Martinez (Seattle) 32, Albert Belle (Cleveland) 30, John Valentin (Boston) and Tim Salmon (California) 29, Frank Thomas (Chicago) 28, Chuck Knoblauch (Minnesota) and Bernie Williams (New York) 27, Manny Ramirez (Cleveland) 25, Mo Vaughn (Boston) and Jim Thome (Cleveland) 24, Carlos Baerga (Cleveland) and Mark McGwire (Oakland) 23, Rafael Palmeiro (Baltimore), Jim Edmonds (California) and Kenny Lofton (Cleveland) 21, Kirby Puckett (Minnesota) and Tino Martinez (Seattle) 20, Brady Anderson (Baltimore), Tony Phillips (California), Travis Fryman (Detroit) and Rickey Henderson (Oakland) 19.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Randy Johnson (Seattle) 22, Kenny Rogers (Texas) 21, Mike Mussina (Baltimore) 20, David Cone (Toronto/New York) 19, Tim Wakefield (Boston) 18, Jose Mesa (Cleveland) 17, Dennis Martinez (Cleveland), Kevin Appier and Mark Gubicza (Kansas City) 16, Jack McDowell (New York) 15, Roger Pavlik (Texas) and Al Leiter (Toronto) 14.

WARP3 scores: Belle 10.7, E. Martinez 8.6, Salmon 8.1, Thomas and Williams 7.8, Knoblauch 6.9, Valentin 6.4, McGwire 6.2, Baerga (last good year), Palmeiro, and Edmonds 5.8, Cal Ripken (Baltimore) 5.7, Thome 5.6, Marty Cordova (Minnesota) and Stan Javier (Oakland) 5.4, Omar Vizquel (Cleveland) 4.7, Ramirez, Wade Boggs (New York) and Roberto Alomar (Toronto) 4.4, Chili Davis (California) 4.3, Phillips, Ivan Rodriguez (Texas) and Robin Ventura (Chicago) 4.2, Vaughn and Fryman 4.0.

Pitchers, Johnson 8.6, Mesa 6.9 (peak season), Rogers 5.8, Wakefield 5.7 (peak season), Mussina and Leiter 4.8, David Wells (Detroit) 4.3, Gubicza (last good year) and Felipe Lira (Detroit) 4.2, D. Martinez (last good year) and Jeff Nelson (Seattle) 4.0, Appier and Cone 3.9, Pavlik 3.8.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 15): | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+--------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Mo Vaughn BOS 12 308 392 0.79 | 550 165 39 .300 .963 11|
2 Albert Belle CLE 11 300 392 0.77 | 546 173 50 .317 1.091 5|
3 Edgar Martinez SEA 4 244 392 0.62 | 511 182 29 .356 1.107 4|
4 Jose Mesa CLE 1 130 392 0.33 | | 3-0 64 1.12 1.03 58 46
5 Jay Buhner SEA 0 120 392 0.31 | 470 123 40 .262 .909 0|
6 Randy Johnson SEA 0 111 392 0.28 | | 18-2 214 2.48 1.05 294
7 Tim Salmon CAL 0 110 392 0.28 | 537 177 34 .330 1.024 5|
8 Frank Thomas CHW 0 86 392 0.22 | 493 152 40 .308 1.061 3|
9 John Valentin BOS 0 57 392 0.15 | 520 155 27 .298 .931 20|
10 Gary Gaetti KCR 0 45 392 0.11 | 514 134 35 .261 .846 3|
11 Rafael Palmeiro BAL 0 34 392 0.09 | 554 172 39 .310 .963 3|
12 Manny Ramirez CLE 0 30 392 0.08 | 484 149 31 .308 .960 6|
13 Tim Wakefield BOS 0 20 392 0.05 | | 16-8 195 2.95 1.18 119
14 Jim Edmonds CAL 0 18 392 0.05 | 558 162 33 .290 .888 1|
15 Paul O'Neill NYY 0 14 392 0.04 | 460 138 22 .300 .913 1|
Vaughn edged Belle, in spite of Albert's superior stats, in the biggest travesty since the writers would not vote for Ted Williams because they didn't like him. Same story here. Albert didn't make nice with the press, so they didn't vote for him.

Cy Young: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Randy Johnson SEA 26 136 140 0.97 | 18-2 214 2.48 1.05 294
2 Jose Mesa CLE 2 54 140 0.39 | 3-0 64 1.12 1.03 58 46
3 Tim Wakefield BOS 0 29 140 0.21 | 16-8 195 2.95 1.18 119
4 David Cone TOT 0 18 140 0.13 |+18-8 229 3.57 1.23 191
5 Mike Mussina BAL 0 14 140 0.10 | 19-9 222 3.29 1.07 158
6 Charles Nagy CLE 0 1 140 0.01 | 16-6 178 4.55 1.43 139
Two guys voted for Mesa over Johnson? Weird. I mean, Mesa did well, but just 64 innings? Really?

Rookie (top 5): | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Marty Cordova MIN 13 105 140 0.75 | 512 142 24 .277 .839 20|
2 Garret Anderson CAL 13 99 140 0.71 | 374 120 16 .321 .857 6|
3 Andy Pettitte NYY 1 16 140 0.11 | | 12-9 175 4.17 1.41 114
4 Troy Percival CAL 1 13 140 0.09 | | 3-2 74 1.95 0.85 94 3
5 Shawn Green TOR 0 8 140 0.06 | 379 109 15 .288 .835 1|
A lot of future stars here.

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Lou Piniella SEA 9 86 140 0.61 | 79-66 1
2 Kevin Kennedy BOS 11 74 140 0.53 | 86-58 1
3 Mike Hargrove CLE 8 71 140 0.51 | 100-44 1
4 Buck Showalter NYY 0 8 140 0.06 | 79-65 2
5 Marcel Lachemann CAL 0 5 140 0.04 | 78-67 2
6 Phil Garner MIL 0 4 140 0.03 | 65-79 4
7 Bob Boone KCR 0 3 140 0.02 | 70-74 2
8 Johnny Oates TEX 0 1 140 0.01 | 74-70 3
A very split vote.

Top player: Albert Belle. Belle was certainly the best in the league, and played on the best team, making the MVP vote just look petty. Which it was, certainly.
#1 Albert Belle, #2 Edgar Martinez, #3 Tim Salmon, #4 Frank Thomas, #5 Chuck Knoblauch, #6 Bernie Williams.

Top pitcher: Randy Johnson took his place at the top in this season.
#1 Randy Johnson, #2 Mike Mussina, #3 Tim Wakefield, #4 Kenny Rogers, #5 David Cone, #6 Jose Mesa.

Top rookie: Garrett Anderson, equal to award-winner Cordova and two years younger. Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi were also rookies in this season.

Top manager: Mike Hargrove, directing the Indians to the best record in the league.

1994 National League

2010-02-28T18:41:00.002-05:00

The Year Without a World Series. It could be a movie. Nothing could be more depressing to a baseball fan than a season that just stops, and doesn't go to its natural end. It was the season that ruined baseball in Montreal, as the Expos could have won it all. Their six-game lead went for naught. So did Cincinnati's half-game advantage over the Astros in the Central, and LA's lead in the West.

Jeff Bagwell won the MVP, as he was first in OPS, runs with 106, and RBI with 116, as well as slugging, and second in average at .368 and homers with 39. He would probably not have won the award had the season continued, as a broken wrist had effectively ended his season just before competition ceased, and he would likely have been surpassed. Tony Gwynn won the batting title with a .394 mark, Matt Williams had a shot at the home run record with 41, and Craig Biggio had the edge on Deion Sanders for steals 39 to 38. Craig Biggio and Larry Walker each had 44 doubles, Darren Lewis and Brett Butler had nine triples apiece. Bagwell had a healthy lead in runs created over Barry Bonds.

Ken Hill and Greg Maddux tied for the wins lead with 16, while Maddux held the ERA title with a cool 1.56 mark. Bret Saberhagen was second with 2.74. Andy Benes led in strikeouts with 189 followed by Jose Rijo at 176. John Franco led in saves with 30.

Win Shares leaders, players; Jeff Bagwell (Houston) 30, Craig Biggio (Houston) 26, Barry Bonds (San Francisco) 25, Fred McGriff (Atlanta) and Moises Alou (Montreal) 22, Mike Piazza (New York) and Larry Walker (Montreal) 21, David Justice (Atlanta), Barry Larkin (Cincinnati), Brett Butler (Los Angeles), Bobby Bonilla (New York) and Jay Bell (Pittsburgh) 19, Kevin Mitchell (Cincinnati), Tim Wallach (Montreal), Jeff Kent (New York) and Matt Williams (San Francisco) 18, Wil Cordero and Marquis Grissom (Montreal), Tony Gwynn (San Diego) and Gregg Jefferies (St. Louis) 17.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Greg Maddux (Atlanta) 26, Bret Saberhagen (New York) 16, Danny Jackson (Philadelphia) 14, Marvin Freeman (Colorado), Doug Drabek (Houston) and Zane Smith (Pittsburgh) 13, Tom Glavine (Atlanta), Butch Henry, Ken Hill and John Wetteland (Montreal) 12.

WARP3 scores: Bagwell 11.7, Bonds 8.6, Williams 7.3, Biggio 7.2, Gwynn 6.8, Larkin 6.6, Cordero 6.4 (career year), Mitchell 5.8 (last big year), Justice 5.7, Grissom 5.6, Alou 5.5, Bonilla 5.4, Butler 5.3 (last big year), Piazza and Walker 5.1, Ken Caminiti (Houston) 5.0, McGriff 4.8, Bell and Sammy Sosa (Chicago) 4.6.

Pitchers, Maddux 10.5, Saberhagen 6.0, Freeman 5.2 (career year), Drabek 4.9, Smith 4.8 (best year), Jackson 4.6 (last good year), Doug Jones (Philadelphia) 4.3, Steve Trachsel (Chicago) 4.2, Henry 4.1 (best year), Kevin Gross (Los Angeles) 3.9, Hill, Jeff Brantley (Cincinnati) and Trevor Hoffman (San Diego) 3.8, Glavine 3.6, Jose Rijo (Cincinnati) 3.2.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 16): | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+------+---+-----+---+--+
1 Jeff Bagwell HOU 28 392 392 1.00 | 400 147 39 .368 1.201 15|
2 Matt Williams SFG 0 281 392 0.72 | 445 119 43 .267 .926 1|
3 Moises Alou MON 0 183 392 0.47 | 422 143 22 .339 .989 7|
4 Barry Bonds SFG 0 144 392 0.37 | 391 122 37 .312 1.073 29|
5 Greg Maddux ATL 0 133 392 0.34 | 63 14 0 .222 .488 0| 16-6 202 1.56 0.90 156
6 Mike Piazza LAD 0 121 392 0.31 | 405 129 24 .319 .910 1|
7 Tony Gwynn SDP 0 112 392 0.29 | 419 165 12 .394 1.022 5|
8 Fred McGriff ATL 0 96 392 0.24 | 424 135 34 .318 1.012 7|
9 Kevin Mitchell CIN 0 86 392 0.22 | 310 101 30 .326 1.110 2|
10 Andres Galarraga COL 0 42 392 0.11 | 417 133 31 .319 .949 8|
11 Larry Walker MON 0 23 392 0.06 | 395 127 19 .322 .981 15|
12 Marquis Grissom MON 0 22 392 0.06 | 475 137 11 .288 .771 36|
12 Ken Hill MON 0 22 392 0.06 | 48 7 0 .146 .342 0| 16-5 155 3.32 1.22 85
14 Dante Bichette COL 0 19 392 0.05 | 484 147 27 .304 .882 21|
15 Hal Morris CIN 0 18 392 0.05 | 436 146 10 .335 .875 6|
16 Craig Biggio HOU 0 17 392 0.04 | 437 139 6 .318 .893 39|

Cy Young (top 5): | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Greg Maddux ATL 28 140 140 1.00 | 16-6 202 1.56 0.90 156
2 Ken Hill MON 0 56 140 0.40 | 16-5 155 3.32 1.22 85
3 Bret Saberhagen NYM 0 42 140 0.30 | 14-4 177 2.74 1.03 143
4 Doug Drabek HOU 0 4 140 0.03 | 12-6 165 2.84 1.07 121
4 Marvin Freeman COL 0 4 140 0.03 | 10-2 113 2.80 1.21 67

Rookie: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Raul Mondesi LAD 28 140 140 1.00 | 434 133 16 .306 .849 11|
2 John Hudek HOU 0 27 140 0.19 | | 0-2 39 2.97 1.07 39 16
3 Ryan Klesko ATL 0 25 140 0.18 | 245 68 17 .278 .907 1|
4 Steve Trachsel CHC 0 22 140 0.16 | 43 8 0 .186 .414 0| 9-7 146 3.21 1.28 108
5 Cliff Floyd MON 0 10 140 0.07 | 334 94 4 .281 .731 10|
5 Joey Hamilton SDP 0 10 140 0.07 | 40 0 0 .000 .047 0| 9-6 109 2.98 1.17 61
7 William Van Landingham SFG 0 9 140 0.06 | 31 2 0 .065 .129 0| 8-2 84 3.54 1.35 56
8 Hector Carrasco CIN 0 3 140 0.02 | 6 0 0 .000 .000 0| 5-6 56 2.24 1.28 41 6
8 Bobby Jones NYM 0 3 140 0.02 | 46 5 0 .109 .239 0| 12-7 160 3.15 1.33 80
10 Javy Lopez ATL 0 2 140 0.01 | 277 68 13 .245 .718 0|
11 Shane Reynolds HOU 0 1 140 0.01 | 33 3 0 .091 .209 0| 8-5 124 3.05 1.20 110

Manager: |
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Felipe Alou MON 27 138 140 0.99 | 74-40 1
2 Davey Johnson CIN 0 51 140 0.36 | 66-48 1
3 Terry Collins HOU 0 31 140 0.22 | 66-49 2
4 Dallas Green NYM 1 12 140 0.09 | 55-58 3
5 Don Baylor COL 0 8 140 0.06 | 53-64 3
5 Tommy Lasorda LAD 0 8 140 0.06 | 58-56 1
7 Bobby Cox ATL 0 3 140 0.02 | 68-46 2
8 Dusty Baker SFG 0 1 140 0.01 | 55-60 2
An easy voting year. And even better, the choices were correct.

Top player: Jeff Bagwell, clearly. He wouldn't have been if the season had come to its natural conclusion, due to injury, but we don't play the what-if game here.
#1 Jeff Bagwell, #2 Barry Bonds, #3 Craig Biggio, #4 Matt Williams, #5 Tony Gwynn.

Top pitcher: Greg Maddux with an astounding season.
#1 Greg Maddux, #2 Bret Saberhagen, #3 Marvin Freeman, #4 Doug Drabek, #5 Ken Hill.

Top rookie: Raul Mondesi in a pretty unexciting year overall.

Top manager: Felipe Alou's Expos had the best record in the league when everything stopped.

1994 American League

2010-02-28T09:10:00.003-05:00

The year of no World Series.

It was that depressing season of labor unrest when the postseason was cancelled. The baseball schedule didn't end, it just stopped. It should have been an exciting year, the first year of three divisions and a wild card, the first year with expanded playoffs. Instead, there were no playoffs, no postseason. When it stopped, the newly created three divisions were led by New York, Chicago and Texas, although the Rangers were 10 games below .500. That in itself points out a fatal flaw in the three-division setup. The presence of a Wild Card, Cleveland at the time of the stoppage, is another.

But enough purist rambling. Paul O'Neill posted the best batting average at .359, trailed by Albert Belle at .357 and Frank Thomas at .353. Thomas led in on-base, slugging, and OPS. He also led with 106 runs scored. Kenny Lofton had 160 hits, Chuck Knoblauch 45 doubles, Lance Johnson 14 triples, and Lofton had 60 steals. Ken Griffey had 40 home runs, Thomas 38, Belle 36. Kirby Puckett led with 112 RBI.

Jimmy Key topped the league with 17 wins, David Cone and Mike Mussina each had 16. Steve Ontiveros had a 2.65 ERA and was followed by Roger Clemens at 2.85. Randy Johnson had 204 strikeouts with Clemens second at 168. Lee Smith paced the league with 33 saves.

Win Shares leaders, players; Frank Thomas (Chicago) 25, Albert Belle (Cleveland) 24, Paul O'Neill (New York) 23, Kenny Lofton (Cleveland) 21, Chuck Knoblauch and Kirby Puckett (Minnesota) and Ken Griffey (Seattle) 20, Will Clark (Texas) and Paul Molitor (Toronto) 19, Cal Ripken (Baltimore) and Wade Boggs (New York) 18, Rafael Palmeiro (Baltimore) and Mo Vaughn (Boston) 17, Robin Ventura (Chicago), Tony Phillips (Detroit) and Jose Canseco (Texas) 16, Chili Davis (California), Julio Franco (Chicago), Travis Fryman (Detroit), Shane Mack (Minnesota), Don Mattingly (New York), Terry Steinbach (Oakland) and Ivan Rodriguez (Texas) 15.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; David Cone (Kansas City) 20, Mike Mussina (Baltimore) 18, Roger Clemens (Boston) 16, Jimmy Key (New York), Randy Johnson (Seattle) and Pat Hentgen (Toronto) 15, Chuck Finley (California), Dennis Martinez (Cleveland) and Ricky Bones (Milwaukee) 14, Charles Nagy (Cleveland) and Kevin Appier (Kansas City) 13.

WARP3 scores: Thomas 10.4, Belle and O'Neill 8.1, Lofton (peak) and Phillips 6.8, Griffey 6.3, Boggs 6.2, Ventura 5.8, Mike Stanley (New York) 5.7, Ripken 5.4, Molitor 5.0, Bernie Williams (New York) 4.9, Mack 4.7, Roberto Alomar (Toronto) 4.6, Palmeiro, Franco, Jose Valentin (Milwaukee), and Chris Hoiles (Baltimore) 4.5, Davis 4.4, Rodriguez 4.2, Canseco and Geronimo Berroa (Oakland) 4.1, Clark and Rickey Henderson (Oakland) 4.0, Steinbach and Lou Whitaker (Detroit) 3.8, Vaughn, Fryman, and Jay Buhner (Seattle) 3.7.

Pitchers, Johnson 7.2, Cone and Clemens 6.2, Hentgen 6.0, Martinez 5.7, Mussina 5.6, Nagy 4.9, Key 4.5, Finley 4.2, Aaron Sele (Boston) 4.1, Mark Eichhorn (Baltimore) 3.9.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 15): | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+---
1 Frank Thomas CHW 24 372 392 0.95 | 399 141 38 .353 1.217 2|
2 Ken Griffey SEA 3 233 392 0.59 | 433 140 40 .323 1.076 11|
3 Albert Belle CLE 0 225 392 0.57 | 412 147 36 .357 1.152 9|
4 Kenny Lofton CLE 1 181 392 0.46 | 459 160 12 .349 .948 60|
5 Paul O'Neill NYY 0 150 392 0.38 | 368 132 21 .359 1.064 5|
6 Jimmy Key NYY 0 102 392 0.26 | | 17-4 168 3.27 1.36 97
7 Kirby Puckett MIN 0 100 392 0.26 | 439 139 20 .317 .902 6|
8 Julio Franco CHW 0 49 392 0.12 | 433 138 20 .319 .916 8|
9 David Cone KCR 0 40 392 0.10 | | 16-5 172 2.94 1.07 132
10 Joe Carter TOR 0 35 392 0.09 | 435 118 27 .271 .841 11|
11 Jose Canseco TEX 0 27 392 0.07 | 429 121 31 .282 .939 15|
12 Cal Ripken BAL 0 24 392 0.06 | 444 140 13 .315 .823 1|
13 Wade Boggs NYY 0 19 392 0.05 | 366 125 11 .342 .922 2|
14 Lee Smith BAL 0 18 392 0.05 | | 1-4 38 3.29 1.17 42 33
15 Will Clark TEX 0 17 392 0.04 | 389 128 13 .329 .932 5|

Cy Young: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 David Cone KCR 15 108 140 0.77 | 16-5 172 2.94 1.07 132
2 Jimmy Key NYY 10 96 140 0.69 | 17-4 168 3.27 1.36 97
3 Randy Johnson SEA 2 24 140 0.17 | 13-6 172 3.19 1.19 204
4 Mike Mussina BAL 1 23 140 0.16 | 16-5 176 3.06 1.16 99
5 Lee Smith BAL 0 1 140 0.01 | 1-4 38 3.29 1.17 42 33

Rookie: | Season Results
Rk Name Team 1st Place Points Max Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+-----+--+--+
1 Bob Hamelin KCR 25 134 140 0.96 | 312 88 24 .282 .987 4|
2 Manny Ramirez CLE 0 44 140 0.31 | 290 78 17 .269 .878 4|
3 Rusty Greer TEX 3 42 140 0.30 | 277 87 10 .314 .898 0|
4 Chris Gomez DET 0 6 140 0.04 | 296 76 8 .257 .738 5|
4 Bill Risley SEA 0 6 140 0.04 | | 9-6 52 3.44 0.96 61
6 Brian Anderson CAL 0 4 140 0.03 | | 7-5 102 5.22 1.45 47
6 Jeffrey Hammonds BAL 0 4 140 0.03 | 250 74 8 .296 .819 5|
8 Jim Edmonds CAL 0 2 140 0.01 | 289 79 5 .273 .720 4|
9 Jose Valentin MIL 0 1 140 0.01 | 285 68 11 .239 .751 12|

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Buck Showalter NYY 24 132 140 0.94 | 70-43 1
2 Mike Hargrove CLE 4 86 140 0.61 | 66-47 2
3 Gene Lamont CHW 0 17 140 0.12 | 67-46 1
4 Tony LaRussa OAK 0 10 140 0.07 | 51-63 2
5 Hal McRae KCR 0 6 140 0.04 | 64-51 3
6 Butch Hobson BOS 0 1 140 0.01 | 54-61 4

Top player: Frank Thomas. I took it away from him last year, but this year even with no defensive value he was the best in the league.
#1 Frank Thomas, #2 Albert Belle, #3 Paul O'Neill, #4 Kenny Lofton, #5 Ken Griffey,Jr.

Top pitcher: David Cone, pitching very well for a losing team.
#1 David Cone, #2 Mike Mussina, #3 Randy Johnson, #4 Roger Clemens, #5 Jimmy Key.

Top rookie: Manny Ramirez, with the benefit of hindsight. There were several rookies of similar quality, including Bob Hamelin, Ramirez, Jim Edmonds, and Rusty Greer. When stats are close, go for the youngest player, who is far more likely to have the best career. Hamelin was 26, Ramirez 22.

Top manager: Buck Showalter, who could have been the manager to lead the Yankees back to the promised land. Oh well.

1993 National League

2010-02-23T09:50:00.002-05:00

The Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies were added as expansion teams, the first new teams since 1993. The ability to sign free agents made these teams a bit better than many previous expansion squads, and both managed to avoid last place in their inaugural campaigns. This also added the most extreme hitters' park in baseball, perhaps in its history, with the thin air of Denver coming to the majors.

Atlanta and San Francisco staged a huge battle for the NL West division, with the Braves defeating the Giants by one game with 104 victories to 103. Some people even complained that the Giants, after their terrific season, did not make the postseason. It was all moot when the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Braves in the NLCS. The Phillies pulled off a surprise season to outdistance Montreal by three wins, 97 to 94. St. Louis was third with 87 wins, Chicago fourth with 85, while Pittsburgh lost 87, new team Florida lost 98, and the Mets lost 103. Houston was third in the West with 85 wins, LA finished at exactly .500, Cincinnati lost 89, newbies Colorado dropped 95, and San Diego lost 101.

Andres Galarraga won a batting title in the thin air, but Barry Bonds won the MVP for powering SF into contention while leading in HR, RBI, and OPS. Galarraga hit .370, while Tony Gwynn won the sea-level championship at .358. Gregg Jefferies hit .342. Lenny Dykstra scored 143 runs and had 194 hits. Charlie Hayes collected 45 doubles, Steve Finley 14 triples, and Chuckie Carr 58 steals. Bonds hit 46 home runs and drove in 123 runs. David Justice was second in both categories at 40 and 120.

John Burkett and Tom Glavine tied for the lead in wins with 22 each. Bill Swift won 21 and Greg Maddux 20. Maddux led in ERA with a 2.36 mark, follwed by Jose Rijo at 2.48. Rijo led in strikeouts with 227, trailed by John Smoltz at 208. Randy Myers led in saves with 53. Maddux won the Cy Young.

Win Shares leaders, players; Barry Bonds (San Francisco) 47, Len Dykstra (Philadelphia) 32, Mike Piazza (Los Angeles) 31, Marquis Grissom (Montreal) 30, Jeff Blauser and David Justice (Atlanta) and Darren Daulton (Philadelphia) 29, Rick Wilkins (Chicago), Matt Williams (San Francisco) and Gregg Jefferies (St. Louis) 28, Craig Biggio (Houston), Jay Bell (Pittsburgh) and Robby Thompson (San Francisco) 26, Ron Gant (Atlanta) and John Kruk (Philadelphia) 25, Larry Walker (Montreal) 24, Mark Grace (Chicago), Andres Galarraga (Colorado) and Brett Butler (Los Angeles) 23, Jeff Bagwell (Houston) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Jose Rijo (Cincinnati) 26, Greg Maddux (Atlanta) 25, John Wetteland (Montreal) 21, Tom Glavine (Atlanta) 20, Steve Avery (Atlanta), Mark Portugal (Houston) and Billy Swift (San Francisco) 19, Bryan Harvey (Florida) 18, Greg McMichael (Atlanta) 17, John Smoltz (Atlanta), Tommy Greene (Philadelphia) and Rod Beck (San Francisco) 16. 22-game winner John Burkett had 14 Win Shares for the Giants.

WARP3 scores: Bonds 12.4, Dykstra 8.2, Piazza 8.1 (rookie), Bell 7.8 (peak), Williams 7.5 (peak), Thompson 7.4 (peak, last good season), Daulton (end of peak) and Wilkins (career year) 7.2, Luis Gonzalez (Houston) 6.6, Justice 6.3, Bagwell 6.2, Biggio 6.1, Grissom (peak) and Blauser 5.8, Orlando Merced (Pittsburgh) 5.7, Delino DeShields (Montreal) 5.5, Walker 5.1, Kruk 4.9 (last good season), Grace 4.7, Ozzie Smith (St. Louis) 4.6, Jefferies, Jeff King (Pittsburgh) and Barry Larkin (Cincinnati) 4.5.

Pitchers, Rijo 9.6 (peak), Wetteland 7.0 (peak), Maddux 6.4, Harvey 6.1 (peak, last good year), Portugal 4.8 (career year), Dwight Gooden (New York) 4.6, Swift 4.5 (peak), Armando Reynoso (Colorado) 4.4, Avery (peak) and Jim Gott (Los Angeles) 4.1, Beck 3.9, Glavine and Greene (end of peak) 3.8.

Actual Award voting:
MVP (top 15): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+----+--+--+
1 Barry Bonds SFG 24 372 392 0.95 | 539 181 46 .336 1.136 29|
2 Lenny Dykstra PHI 4 267 392 0.68 | 637 194 19 .305 .902 37|
3 David Justice ATL 0 183 392 0.47 | 585 158 40 .270 .871 3|
4 Fred McGriff TOT 0 177 392 0.45 | +557 162 37 .291 .924 5|
5 Ron Gant ATL 0 176 392 0.45 | 606 166 36 .274 .854 26|
6 Matt Williams SFG 0 103 392 0.26 | 579 170 38 .294 .886 1|
7 Darren Daulton PHI 0 79 392 0.20 | 510 131 24 .257 .875 5|
8 Marquis Grissom MON 0 66 392 0.17 | 630 188 19 .298 .789 53|
9 Mike Piazza LAD 0 49 392 0.12 | 547 174 35 .318 .932 3|
10 Andres Galarraga COL 0 45 392 0.11 | 470 174 22 .370 1.005 2|
11 Gregg Jefferies STL 0 28 392 0.07 | 544 186 16 .342 .894 46|
12 Rod Beck SFG 0 23 392 0.06 | 4 0 0 .000 .000 0| 3-1 79 2.16 0.88 86 48
13 Greg Maddux ATL 0 17 392 0.04 | 91 15 0 .165 .350 0| 20-10 267 2.36 1.05 197
14 Bryan Harvey FLA 0 14 392 0.04 | | 1-5 69 1.70 0.84 73 45
15 Robby Thompson SFG 0 11 392 0.03 | 494 154 19 .312 .870 10|

Cy Young (top 5): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Greg Maddux ATL 22 119 140 0.85 | 20-10 267 2.36 1.05 197
2 Bill Swift SFG 2 61 140 0.44 | 21-8 233 2.82 1.07 157
3 Tom Glavine ATL 4 49 140 0.35 | 22-6 239 3.20 1.36 120
4 John Burkett SFG 0 9 140 0.06 | 22-7 232 3.65 1.14 145
5 Jose Rijo CIN 0 8 140 0.06 | 14-9 257 2.48 1.09 227
Burkett finished behind Swift, although he had won more games. Intelligence on the part of BBWAA voters? Remarkable!

Rookie (top 10): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+--------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Mike Piazza LAD 28 140 140 1.00 | 547 174 35 .318 .932 3|
2 Greg McMichael ATL 0 40 140 0.29 | 4 0 0 .000 .000 0| 2-3 92 2.06 1.06 89 19
3 Jeff Conine FLA 0 31 140 0.22 | 595 174 12 .292 .754 2|
4 Chuck Carr FLA 0 18 140 0.13 | 551 147 4 .267 .657 58|
5 Al Martin PIT 0 6 140 0.04 | 480 135 18 .281 .820 16|
6 Kevin Stocker PHI 0 4 140 0.03 | 259 84 2 .324 .826 5|
7 Wil Cordero MON 0 3 140 0.02 | 475 118 10 .248 .695 12|
7 Kirk Rueter MON 0 3 140 0.02 | 26 2 0 .077 .249 0| 8-0 86 2.73 1.20 31
9 Carlos Garcia PIT 0 2 140 0.01 | 546 147 12 .269 .716 18|
9 Pedro Martinez LAD 0 2 140 0.01 | 4 0 0 .000 .000 0| 10-5 107 2.61 1.24 119 2
Showed ten in order to get Pedro on the list.

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Dusty Baker SFG 15 105 140 0.75 | 103-59 2
2 Jim Fregosi PHI 11 92 140 0.66 | 97-65 1
3 Felipe Alou MON 2 27 140 0.19 | 94-68 2
3 Bobby Cox ATL 0 27 140 0.19 | 104-58 1
5 Don Baylor COL 0 1 140 0.01 | 67-95 6

Top player: Barry Bonds. This will get somewhat monotonous, but Bonds was the league's best for a long time, as befits one of the greatest of the game.
#1 Barry Bonds, #2 Lenny Dykstra, #3 Mike Piazza, #4 Darren Daulton, #5 David Justice, #6 Jay Bell.

Top pitcher: Jose Rijo. The Reds' strikeout leader was working without the help others had, and turned in a spectacular year.
#1 Jose Rijo, #2 Greg Maddux, #3 John Wetteland, #4 Billy Swift, #5 Tom Glavine, #6 Mark Portugal.

Top rookie: Mike Piazza, in a runaway.

Top manager: Dusty Baker. I will agree with the BBWAA here. A lot of it was riding Barry Bonds, but you have to keep the secondary talent ready as well. Baker did that.

1993 American League

2010-02-23T09:11:00.002-05:00

Toronto won their second straight pennant and World Series with a little player turnover (Molitor at DH instead of Winfield, Tony Fernandez taking shortstop) and Joe Carter providing only the second walk-off home run in Series history. The pitching staff lost Jimmy Key to the Yankees and saw Jack Morris collapse, but came through regardless. The Blue Jays won 95 to outpace New York by seven games, while Baltimore and Detroit tied for third with 85 victories. Boston was 5th, Cleveland 6th, and Milwaukee last with 93 losses. The White Sox won the West with 94 victories, while Texas was second with 86. Kansas City was third with 84 victories, Seattle 4th with 82. California and Minnesota tied for 5th with 91 losses, and Oakland collapsed to last with 94 losses.

John Olerud led the league in batting average, doubles, on-base, runs created and OPS. It was a very impressive season that somehow didn't get a lot of attention from the awards voters. Olerud hit .363, with teammates Paul Molitor at .332 and Roberto Alomar at .326. He hit 54 doubles. Rafael Palmeiro had 124 runs, Molitor 211 hits, Lance Johnson 14 triples, Kenny Lofton 70 steals. Juan Gonzalez had 46 homers, edging Ken Griffey at 45 with Frank Thomas at 41. Albert Belle edged Thomas 129 to 128 in RBI. Joe Carter was third with 121. Thomas won the MVP award.

Jack McDowell led in wins with 22. Randy Johnson and Pat Hentgen were next with 19. Kevin Appier led in ERA with a 2.56 mark; Wilson Alvarez was second at 2.95. Randy Johnson led in strikeouts with 308; no one else even had 200, as second place was Mark Langston with 196. Jeff Montgomery and Duane Ward tied in saves with 45 each. Chuck Finley had 13 complete games, and McDowell four shutouts. McDowell won the Cy Young.

Win Shares leaders, players: John Olerud (Toronto) 37, Frank Thomas (Chicago) 32, Juan Gonzalez and Rafael Palmeiro (Texas) 31, Roberto Alomar (Toronto) 30, Ken Griffey Jr. (Seattle) and Paul Molitor (Toronto) 29, Carlos Baerga (Cleveland) and Travis Fryman (Detroit) 28, Albert Belle (Cleveland) 27, Chris Hoiles (Baltimore) 26, Kenny Lofton (Cleveland), Tony Phillips (Detroit) and Rickey Henderson (Oakland/Toronto) 25, Tim Salmon (California), Mickey Tettleton (Detroit) and Mike Stanley (New York) 24, Greg Vaughn (Milwaukee) and Jay Buhner (Seattle) 22, Lance Johnson and Robin Ventura (Chicago) and Danny Tartabull (New York) 21.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers: Kevin Appier (Kansas City) 27, Jeff Montgomery (Kansas City) and Randy Johnson (Seattle) 22, Jack McDowell (Chicago), David Cone (Kansas City) and Jimmy Key (New York) 21, Danny Darwin (Boston), Mark Langston (California) and Alex Fernandez (Chicago) 20, Chuck Finley (California) 19, Wilson Alvarez (Chicago) 18, Ben McDonald (Baltimore) and Duane Ward (Toronto) 17.

WARP3 scores: Olerud 8.8 (best year), Griffey 7.8, Hoiles 7.6 (best year), Alomar 7.4, Gonzalez 7.3 (best year), Thomas 7.1, Salmon 6.8 (rookie), Henderson 6.6, Palmeiro (best year), Baerga, and Phillips 6.4, Fryman (best year) and Devon White Toronto) 6.0, Belle 5.8, Lou Whitaker (Detroit) 5.7, Stanley 5.4 (best year), Molitor 5.3, Johnson and Ventura 5.2.

Pitchers, Appier 7.2 (best year), Montgomery 6.7 (best year), Johnson 6.6 (breakout year), Langston 6.4 (best year), Fernandez 5.8, McDowell 5.7, Key 5.4, Ward 5.3 (last good year), Darwin 5.2, Cone and Finley 5.1, Alvarez 5.0.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 20): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Frank Thomas CHW 28 392 392 1.00 | 549 174 41 .317 1.033 4|
2 Paul Molitor TOR 0 209 392 0.53 | 636 211 22 .332 .911 22|
3 John Olerud TOR 0 198 392 0.51 | 551 200 24 .363 1.072 0|
4 Juan Gonzalez TEX 0 185 392 0.47 | 536 166 46 .310 1.000 4|
5 Ken Griffey SEA 0 182 392 0.46 | 582 180 45 .309 1.025 17|
6 Roberto Alomar TOR 0 102 392 0.26 | 589 192 17 .326 .900 55|
7 Albert Belle CLE 0 81 392 0.21 | 594 172 38 .290 .922 23|
8 Rafael Palmeiro TEX 0 52 392 0.13 | 597 176 37 .295 .926 22|
9 Jack McDowell CHW 0 51 392 0.13 | | 22-10 257 3.37 1.29 158
10 Carlos Baerga CLE 0 50 392 0.13 | 624 200 21 .321 .840 15|
11 Jimmy Key NYY 0 29 392 0.07 | | 18-6 237 3.00 1.11 173
12 Joe Carter TOR 0 25 392 0.06 | 603 153 33 .254 .802 8|
13 Jeff Montgomery KCR 0 15 392 0.04 | | 7-5 87 2.27 1.01 66 45
13 Mike Stanley NYY 0 15 392 0.04 | 423 129 26 .305 .923 1|
15 Kenny Lofton CLE 0 11 392 0.03 | 569 185 1 .325 .815 70|
16 Chris Hoiles BAL 0 10 392 0.03 | 419 130 29 .310 1.001 1|
16 Tony Phillips DET 0 10 392 0.03 | 566 177 7 .313 .841 16|
18 Mo Vaughn BOS 0 8 392 0.02 | 539 160 29 .297 .915 4|
19 Don Mattingly NYY 0 7 392 0.02 | 530 154 17 .291 .809 0|
19 Cal Ripken BAL 0 7 392 0.02 | 641 165 24 .257 .748 1|
The Big Hurt won a unanimous and undeserved MVP. There were several others better.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Jack McDowell CHW 21 124 140 0.89 | 22-10 257 3.37 1.29 158
2 Randy Johnson SEA 6 75 140 0.54 | 19-8 255 3.24 1.11 308 1
3 Kevin Appier KCR 1 30 140 0.21 | 18-8 239 2.56 1.11 186
4 Jimmy Key NYY 0 14 140 0.10 | 18-6 237 3.00 1.11 173
5 Duane Ward TOR 0 5 140 0.04 | 2-3 72 2.13 1.03 97 45
6 Pat Hentgen TOR 0 3 140 0.02 | 19-9 216 3.87 1.34 122
7 Juan Guzman TOR 0 1 140 0.01 | 14-3 221 3.99 1.45 194
Again the best was missed.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+---------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Tim Salmon CAL 28 140 140 1.00 | 515 146 31 .283 .918 5|
2 Jason Bere CHW 0 59 140 0.42 | | 12-5 143 3.47 1.33 129
3 Aaron Sele BOS 0 19 140 0.14 | | 7-2 112 2.74 1.33 93
4 Wayne Kirby CLE 0 12 140 0.09 | 458 123 6 .269 .695 17|
5 Rich Amaral SEA 0 8 140 0.06 | 373 108 1 .290 .715 19|
6 Brent Gates OAK 0 7 140 0.05 | 535 155 7 .290 .747 7|
7 Troy Neel OAK 0 5 140 0.04 | 427 124 19 .290 .840 3|
8 Jerry Dipoto CLE 0 1 140 0.01 | | 4-4 56 2.40 1.54 41 11
8 David Hulse TEX 0 1 140 0.01 | 407 118 1 .290 .701 29|
This one the BBWAA got right.

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Gene Lamont CHW 8 72 140 0.51 | 94-68 1
2 Buck Showalter NYY 7 63 140 0.45 | 88-74 2
3 Cito Gaston TOR 6 49 140 0.35 | 95-67 1
4 Kevin Kennedy TEX 3 28 140 0.20 | 86-76 2
5 Lou Piniella SEA 3 24 140 0.17 | 82-80 4
6 Mike Hargrove CLE 1 10 140 0.07 | 76-86 6
7 Johnny Oates BAL 0 5 140 0.04 | 85-77 3
8 Butch Hobson BOS 0 1 140 0.01 | 80-82 5

Top player: John Olerud. The batting champion used to get more respect, but not in this season. You bat .363, play excellent defense, and still get no respect. Well, here's some, belatedly.
#1 John Olerud, #2 Ken Griffey, Jr., #3 Juan Gonzalez, #4 Roberto Alomar, #5 Frank Thomas, #6 Chris Hoiles.

Top pitcher: Kevin Appier. The BBWAA never learns: the ERA leader is almost always a better choice than the wins leader.
#1 Kevin Appier, #2 Randy Johnson, #3 Mark Langston, #4 Jack McDowell, #5 Jimmy Key, #6 Jeff Montgomery.

Top rookie: Tim Salmon, easily.

Top manager: Gene LaMont, who got the White Sox to the top of the division.

1992 National League

2010-02-22T12:23:00.002-05:00

Atlanta won its second straight pennant, Pittsburgh their third straight division title even without Bobby Bonilla. The Braves won 98 to beat out Cincinnati by 8 games, San Diego was third at 82 wins, just ahead of Houston 4th with a .500 record, San Francisco lost 90 and Los Angeles lost 99. The Pirates' 96 wins were 9 more than Montreal, St. Louis won 83, and in the second division Chicago lost 84, New York lost 90, and Philadelphia lost 92.

Gary Sheffield led in batting average with a .330 mark, outpacing Andy Van Slyke at .324, while John Kruk and Bip Roberts came in at .323. Van Slyke led with 45 doubles and tied with Terry Pendleton at 199 hits. Deion Sanders led with 14 triples, Marquis Grissom with 78 steals. Fred McGriff led with 35 homers, followed by Barry Bonds at 34 and Sheffield at 33. Darren Daulton led with 109 RBI, trailed by Pendleton at 105, McGriff at 104, and Bonds at 103. Bonds also led in on-base, slugging, and OPS, and runs with 109.

Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine each won 20 games. Next highest was 16. Bill Swift led with a 2.08 ERA, followed by Bob Tewksbury at 2.16 and Maddux at 2.18. John Smoltz had 215 strikeouts, David Cone 214. Maddux led with 268 innings. Lee Smith had 43 saves. Terry Mulholland pitched 12 complete games.

Win Shares leaders, players; Barry Bonds (Pittsburgh) 41, Terry Pendleton (Atlanta) and Andy Van Slyke (Pittsburgh) 35, Ryne Sandberg (Chicago) 33, Barry Larkin (Cincinnati), Craig Biggio (Houston) and Gary Sheffield (San Diego) 32, Darren Daulton (Philadelphia) and Ray Lankford (St. Louis) 31, Jeff Bagwell (Houston) 29, Bip Roberts (Cincinnati), Steve Finley (Houston) and Will Clark (San Francisco) 28, Marquis Grissom (Montreal), Dave Hollins (Philadelphia) and Fred McGriff (San Diego) 27, Larry Walker (Montreal) 26, Mark Grace (Chicago) 25, Brett Butler (Los Angeles), John Kruk (Philadelphia) and Jay Bell (Pittsburgh) 24, David Justice (Atlanta) 23, Ken Caminiti (Houston) 21.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Greg Maddux (Chicago) 27, Bob Tewksbury (St. Louis) 21, Doug Drabek (Pittsburgh) 20, Tom Glavine (Atlanta), Mike Morgan (Chicago) and Jose Rijo (Cincinnati) 19, John Smoltz (Atlanta) and Doug Jones (Houston) 18, Ken Hill and Dennis Martinez (Montreal) and Curt Schilling (Philadelphia) 17, Greg Swindell (Cincinnati), Mel Rojas (Montreal), Sid Fernandez (New York), Andy Benes (San Diego), Rod Beck and Bill Swift (San Francisco) 16.

WARP3 scores: Bonds 12.3 (last season in Pittsburgh), Sandberg 9.9, Sheffield 9.3 (best season), Daulton 8.7 (best season), Van Slyke 8.3 (best season), Larkin 7.9, Ozzie Smith (St. Louis) 7.8, Lankford 7.4 (best season), Walker 7.3, Pendleton 6.8, Bagwell 6.7, McGriff 6.6, Clark 6.5, Kruk 6.1, Justice 5.6, Grace (best season) and Bell 5.4, Hollins (best season) and Butler 4.9, Roberts 4.8, Caminiti 4.7, Finley 4.6, Grissom 4.5.

Pitchers, Maddux 9.4, Fernandez 7.1 (best season), Schilling 6.4, Jones 6.3 (best season), Rijo 5.7, Swift 5.0, Glavine and Martinez 4.9, Tewksbury (best season), Drabek, and Benes 4.8, Hill 4.7, Tom Candiotti (Los Angeles) 4.6, John Franco (New York) 4.4, Smoltz and Rojas 4.3, Morgan (last good season) and Swindell 4.2.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 15): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+---+
1 Barry Bonds PIT 18 304 336 0.90 | 473 147 34 .311 1.080 39|
2 Terry Pendleton ATL 4 232 336 0.69 | 640 199 21 .311 .818 5|
3 Gary Sheffield SDP 2 204 336 0.61 | 557 184 33 .330 .965 5|
4 Andy Van Slyke PIT 0 145 336 0.43 | 614 199 14 .324 .886 12|
5 Larry Walker MON 0 111 336 0.33 | 528 159 23 .301 .859 18|
6 Darren Daulton PHI 0 100 336 0.30 | 485 131 27 .270 .908 11|
6 Fred McGriff SDP 0 100 336 0.30 | 531 152 35 .286 .950 8|
8 Bip Roberts CIN 0 64 336 0.19 | 532 172 4 .323 .826 44|
9 Marquis Grissom MON 0 54 336 0.16 | 653 180 14 .276 .741 78|
10 Tom Glavine ATL 0 18 336 0.05 | 77 19 0 .247 .557 0| 20-8 225 2.76 1.19 129
11 Greg Maddux CHC 0 14 336 0.04 | 88 15 1 .170 .418 0| 20-11 268 2.18 1.01 199
12 Barry Larkin CIN 0 12 336 0.04 | 533 162 12 .304 .831 15|
12 Ryne Sandberg CHC 0 12 336 0.04 | 612 186 26 .304 .881 17|
14 Doug Jones HOU 0 8 336 0.02 | 4 0 0 .000 .000 0| 11-8 112 1.85 1.01 93 36
14 John Kruk PHI 0 8 336 0.02 | 507 164 10 .323 .881 3|
Bonds over Pendleton this time.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Greg Maddux CHC 20 112 120 0.93 | 20-11 268 2.18 1.01 199
2 Tom Glavine ATL 4 78 120 0.65 | 20-8 225 2.76 1.19 129
3 Bob Tewksbury STL 0 22 120 0.18 | 16-5 233 2.16 1.02 91
4 Lee Smith STL 0 3 120 0.02 | 4-9 75 3.12 1.17 60 43
5 Doug Drabek PIT 0 1 120 0.01 | 15-11 257 2.77 1.06 177

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+---------+---+-----+-----
1 Eric Karros LAD 22 116 120 0.97 | 545 140 20 .257 .730 2|
2 Moises Alou MON 0 30 120 0.25 | 341 96 9 .282 .783 16|
3 Tim Wakefield PIT 2 29 120 0.24 | 28 2 0 .071 .175 0| 8-1 92 2.15 1.21 51
4 Reggie Sanders CIN 0 23 120 0.19 | 385 104 12 .270 .819 16|
5 Donovan Osborne STL 0 12 120 0.10 | 58 7 0 .121 .276 0| 11-9 179 3.77 1.29 104
6 Mike Perez STL 0 2 120 0.02 | 4 0 0 .000 .000 0| 9-3 93 1.84 1.10 46
7 Ben Rivera TOT 0 1 120 0.01 | + 33 3 0 .091 .234 0|+ 7-4 117 3.07 1.23 77
7 Frank Seminara SDP 0 1 120 0.01 | 34 4 0 .118 .261 0| 9-4 100 3.68 1.44 61
7 Brian Williams HOU 0 1 120 0.01 | 30 4 0 .133 .296 0| 7-6 96 3.92 1.39 54
7 Mark Wohlers ATL 0 1 120 0.01 | 2 0 0 .000 .000 0| 1-2 35 2.55 1.19 17 4

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Jim Leyland PIT 20 109 120 0.91 | 96-66 1
2 Felipe Alou MON 3 65 120 0.54 | 70-55 2
3 Bobby Cox ATL 1 29 120 0.24 | 98-64 1
4 Art Howe HOU 0 9 120 0.08 | 81-81 4
5 Lou Piniella CIN 0 4 120 0.03 | 90-72 2

Top player: Barry Bonds. Bonds was clearly established as the best player in the league by this time.

#1 Barry Bonds, #2 Andy Van Slyke, #3 Ryne Sandberg, #4 Terry Pendleton, #5 Gary Sheffield, #6 Darren Daulton.

Top pitcher: Greg Maddux stepped it up a notch this season, and would be the league's best for the next several seasons.

#1 Greg Maddux, #2 Bob Tewksbury, #3 Jose Rijo, #4 Tom Glavine, #5 Bill Swift, #6 Curt Schilling. An honorable mention for Doug Jones.

Top rookie: Reggie Sanders was the best of an unimpressive lot.

Top manager: Bobby Cox edging Jim Leyland.

1992 American League

2010-02-15T20:43:00.002-05:00

The Toronto Blue Jays won it all for the first time in their history! The Jays took the AL East with 96 wins, four ahead of Milwaukee. Baltimore was third with 89 wins. Cleveland and New York tied for 4th with 86 losses, Detroit was sixth with 87, and Boston last with 89 defeats. Toronto defeated Oakland in the ALCS, after the A's took the AL West with 96 victories also. Minnesota was next with 90 wins, and Chicago won 86 for third. Texas lost 85 and finished 4th, California and Kansas City lost 90, and Seattle lost 98 for the worst record in the league.

Dennis Eckersley won the MVP and Cy Young in a season where he had a 1.91 ERA, but pitched just 80 innings. He got an MVP award for recording 240 outs. I have a problem with that. Sure, he pitched great, but...80 innings?!?

Edgar Martinez won the batting title with a .343 mark. Kirby Puckett was second with a .329 figure. Puckett also led in hits (210) and total bases (313). Tony Phillips led with 114 runs scored. Martinez and Frank Thomas tied with 46 doubles. Thomas led in on-base and OPS. Lance Johnson had 12 triples. Juan Gonzalez had 43 homers, closely trailed by Mark McGwire at 42. McGwire led the loop in slugging percentage. Cecil Fielder led with 124 RBI, followed by Joe Carter at 119. Rookies topped the stolen base list, with Kenny Lofton nabbing 66 and Pat Listach 54.

Kevin Brown and Jack Morris tied for the league lead with 21 wins, followed by Jack McDowell at 20. Roger Clemens led with a 2.41 ERA, and Kevin Appier was second with a 2.46 mark. Randy Johnson had 241 strikeouts, with Melido Perez next at 218. McDowell had 13 complete games, Clemens five shutouts. Eckersley led with 51 saves.

Win Shares leaders, players; Roberto Alomar (Toronto) 34, Frank Thomas (Chicago) 33, Kirby Puckett (Minnesota) 31, Robin Ventura (Chicago) 30, Brady Anderson (Baltimore) and Mark McGwire (Oakland) 29, Tim Raines (Chicago), Carlos Baerga (Cleveland) and Paul Molitor (Milwaukee) 28, Shane Mack (Minnesota) and Dave Winfield (Toronto) 27, Rickey Henderson (Oakland) and Ken Griffey Jr. (Seattle) 25, Kenny Lofton (Cleveland), Mickey Tettleton and Lou Whitaker (Detroit), Edgar Martinez (Seattle), Rafael Palmeiro (Texas) and Joe Carter (Toronto) 24, Tony Phillips (Detroit), Chuck Knoblauch (Minnesota) and Danny Tartabull (New York) 23, Mike Devereaux (Baltimore) and Mike Bordick (Oakland) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Roger Clemens (Boston) 26, Mike Mussina (Baltimore) 24, Jack McDowell (Chicago), Charles Nagy (Cleveland) and Kevin Appier (Kansas City) 20, Frank Viola (Boston), Jim Abbott (Chicago), John Smiley (Minnesota), Dennis Eckersley (Oakland) and Kevin Brown (Texas) 18, Melido Perez (Chicago) and Juan Guzman (Toronto) 17.

WARP3 scores: Thomas 8.9, Ventura 8.6 (best year), McGwire 7.8, Martinez 7.6, Anderson 7.5, Alomar 7.3, Baerga 7.1 (best year), Puckett, Henderson, and Pat Listach (Milwaukee) 7.0, Raines 6.8, Mack 6.5 (best year), Molitor 6.4, Tettleton and Phillips 5.7, Bordick 5.6 (best year), Knoblauch 5.4, Griffey 5.2, Winfield 5.1 (last big year).

Pitchers, Clemens 8.8, Appier 7.8, Nagy 7.4 (best year), Mussina 7.3 (best year), Brown 6.9, Abbott and Eckersley 6.7, McDowell (best year) and Viola 6.1, Perez 6.0 (career year), Dave Fleming (Seattle) 5.7, Steve Olin (Cleveland) 5.6, Ju. Guzman 5.4, Jeff Montgomery (Kansas City) and Jose Guzman (Texas) 5.1, Smiley 4.9 (best year).

Actual award winners:
MVP:1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+---+------+---+--
1 Dennis Eckersley OAK 15 306 392 0.78 | | 7-1 80 1.91 0.91 93 51
2 Kirby Puckett MIN 3 209 392 0.53 | 639 210 19 .329 .864 17|
3 Joe Carter TOR 4 201 392 0.51 | 622 164 34 .264 .808 12|
4 Mark McGwire OAK 1 155 392 0.40 | 467 125 42 .268 .970 0|
5 Dave Winfield TOR 2 141 392 0.36 | 583 169 26 .290 .867 2|
6 Roberto Alomar TOR 3 118 392 0.30 | 571 177 8 .310 .832 49|
7 Mike Devereaux BAL 0 109 392 0.28 | 653 180 24 .276 .785 10|
8 Frank Thomas CHW 0 108 392 0.28 | 573 185 24 .323 .975 6|
9 Cecil Fielder DET 0 83 392 0.21 | 594 145 35 .244 .783 0|
10 Paul Molitor MIL 0 63 392 0.16 | 609 195 12 .320 .851 31|
11 Carlos Baerga CLE 0 31 392 0.08 | 657 205 20 .312 .809 10|
12 Edgar Martinez SEA 0 29 392 0.07 | 528 181 18 .343 .948 14|
13 Jack Morris TOR 0 18 392 0.05 | | 21-6 241 4.04 1.25 132
14 Brady Anderson BAL 0 16 392 0.04 | 623 169 21 .271 .823 53|
14 Roger Clemens BOS 0 16 392 0.04 | | 18-11 247 2.41 1.07 208
16 Juan Gonzalez TEX 0 15 392 0.04 | 584 152 43 .260 .833 0|
17 Ken Griffey SEA 0 13 392 0.03 | 565 174 27 .308 .896 10|
18 Pat Listach MIL 0 8 392 0.02 | 579 168 1 .290 .701 54|
19 Jack McDowell CHW 0 5 392 0.01 | | 20-10 261 3.18 1.24 178
20 George Bell CHW 0 3 392 0.01 | 627 160 25 .255 .712 5|
21 Mike Bordick OAK 0 2 392 0.01 | 504 151 3 .300 .729 12|
21 Mike Mussina BAL 0 2 392 0.01 | | 18-5 241 2.54 1.08 130
23 Albert Belle CLE 0 1 392 0.00 | 585 152 34 .260 .797 8|
The surprise was not so much that Eckersley, a guy that pitched but 80 innings, won the MVP, but that he won it so easily. It wasn't unanimous, but it was a clear victory. Of course, the lack of a clear favorite otherwise helped Eck.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Dennis Eckersley OAK 19 107 140 0.76 | 7-1 80 1.91 0.91 93 51
2 Jack McDowell CHW 2 51 140 0.36 | 20-10 261 3.18 1.24 178
3 Roger Clemens BOS 4 48 140 0.34 | 18-11 247 2.41 1.07 208
4 Mike Mussina BAL 2 26 140 0.19 | 18-5 241 2.54 1.08 130
5 Jack Morris TOR 1 10 140 0.07 | 21-6 241 4.04 1.25 132
6 Kevin Brown TEX 0 9 140 0.06 | 21-11 266 3.32 1.27 173
7 Charles Nagy CLE 0 1 140 0.01 | 17-10 252 2.96 1.20 169
Jack Morris, with an ERA over 4, got a first-place vote. Astonishing.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+--+------+---+-----+----+
1 Pat Listach MIL 20 122 140 0.87 | 579 168 1 .290 .701 54|
2 Kenny Lofton CLE 7 85 140 0.61 | 576 164 5 .285 .726 66|
3 Dave Fleming SEA 0 23 140 0.16 | | 17-10 228 3.39 1.25 112
4 Cal Eldred MIL 1 22 140 0.16 | | 11-2 100 1.79 0.99 62
That Listach thing just didn't work out.

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Tony LaRussa OAK 25 132 140 0.94 | 96-66 1
2 Phil Garner MIL 2 76 140 0.54 | 92-70 2
3 Johnny Oates BAL 0 27 140 0.19 | 89-73 3
4 Cito Gaston TOR 1 13 140 0.09 | 96-66 1
5 Mike Hargrove CLE 0 4 140 0.03 | 76-86 5

Top player: Roberto Alomar. A bit of a quirky pick, but it was one of those years with no clear favorite, no big standout, so it is a good year to give it to the best player on the best team. Alomar also led in Win Shares, although not in WARP.
#1 Roberto Alomar, #2 Frank Thomas, #3 Kirby Puckett, #4 Robin Ventura, #5 Brady Anderson, #6 Carlos Baerga.

Top pitcher: Roger Clemens. Yes, again.
#1 Roger Clemens, #2 Mike Mussina, #3 Kevin Appier, #4 Charles Nagy, #5 Jack McDowell.

Top rookie: Kenny Lofton had a strong season.

Top manager: Cito Gaston finally got the Blue Jays over the top.

1991 National League

2010-02-15T20:11:00.002-05:00

It was the beginning of a "Braves" new world: the first of a string of division championships by the Atlanta Braves. They went from worst to first, as their Series opponents, the Twins did. Things were worse in Atlanta: the Braves had finished last in the NL West the previous three seasons in a row, and hadn't won the division since 1982 under Joe Torre, and since 1969 before that. It had been a long dry spell in Atlanta. It wasn't easy for the Braves either, as they squeaked past the Dodgers by a one-game margin. San Diego was third with 84 wins. San Francisco lost 87, defending champs Cincinnati lost 88, and Houston lost 97.

In the East, Pittsburgh easily repeated with 98 wins. Atlanta's 7-game victory in the NLCS was a big upset. St. Louis was 2nd with 84 wins, Chicago lost 83, Philadelphia and New York lost 84, and Montreal lost 90.

Terry Pendleton led in batting average with a .319 mark, just ahead of Hal Morris at .318. Tony Gwynn was a close third at .317. Pendleton also led in hits (187) and total bases on his way to the MVP. Brett Butler led with 112 runs, Bobby Bonilla with 44 doubles, Ray Lankford with 15 triples. Howard Johnson had 38 homers, followed by Matt Williams with 34. Johnson also led with 117 RBI, closely followed by Barry Bonds and Will Clark at 116. Marquis Grissom edged Otis Nixon with 76 steals to 72. Clark led in slugging, Bonds in on-base and OPS.

Tom Glavine and John Smiley were the big winners with 20 each. Dennis Martinez led with a 2.39 ERA while Jose Rijo was second at 2.51. David Cone led with 241 strikeouts, followed by Greg Maddux with 198. Lee Smith was an easy leader with 47 saves, Rob Dibble was second with 31. Glavine and Martinez had 9 complete games each, Martinez five shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Ryne Sandberg (Chicago) and Barry Bonds (Pittsburgh) 37, Will Clark (San Francisco) 34, Bobby Bonilla (Pittsburgh) 31, Terry Pendleton (Atlanta) 27, Barry Larkin (Cincinnati) and Brett Butler (Los Angeles) 26, Ron Gant (Atlanta), Howard Johnson (New York), John Kruk (Philadelphia), Fred McGriff (San Diego), Felix Jose and Ozzie Smith (St. Louis) 25, Darryl Strawberry (Los Angeles) 24, Jeff Bagwell (Houston) 23, David Justice (Atlanta), Chris Sabo (Cincinnati), Jay Bell and Andy Van Slyke (Pittsburgh), Tony Gwynn (San Diego), Robby Thompson and Matt Williams (San Francisco) and Todd Zeile (St. Louis) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Tom Glavine (Atlanta) 23, Dennis Martinez (Montreal) and Mitch Williams (Philadelphia) 18, Greg Maddux (Chicago), Jose Rijo (Cincinnati), Mike Morgan (Los Angeles) and Tommy Greene (Philadelphia) 17, Steve Avery (Atlanta), Pete Harnisch (Houston) and Andy Benes (San Diego) 16, Tim Belcher (Los Angeles), David Cone (New York), Bruce Hurst (San Diego) and Lee Smith (St. Louis) 15.

WARP3 scores: Bonds 9.7, Larkin 8.7, Pendleton 8.6, Sandberg 7.9, Clark and Bonilla 7.6, Smith 6.9, Butler and Bell 6.4, McGriff 6.0, Gant and Williams 5.9, Bagwell 5.7 (rookie), Thompson and Larry Walker (Montreal) 5.2, Paul O'Neill (Cincinnati), Tony Fernandez (San Diego), and Ivan Calderon (Montreal) 5.1, Johnson 4.9 (last good season), Kruk and Justice 4.8, Sabo and Luis Gonzalez (Houston) 4.8, Zeile 4.4 (best season), Hal Morris (Cincinnati) 4.3.

Pitchers, Glavine 6.8 (best season), Williams 5.8 (career year), Martinez 5.7, Rijo 5.6, Harnisch 5.4 (best year), Maddux 5.3, Cone 5.0, Benes 4.9 (best year), Smith 4.8, Dwight Gooden (New York) 4.5, Greene 4.2, Morgan 4.1, Doug Drabek (Pittsburgh) 3.8, John Smiley (Pittsburgh) 3.6.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 15): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+-----+---+---+--+
1 Terry Pendleton ATL 12 274 336 0.82 | 586 187 22 .319 .880 10|
2 Barry Bonds PIT 10 259 336 0.77 | 510 149 25 .292 .924 43|
3 Bobby Bonilla PIT 1 191 336 0.57 | 577 174 18 .302 .883 2|
4 Will Clark SFG 0 118 336 0.35 | 565 170 29 .301 .895 4|
5 Howard Johnson NYM 0 112 336 0.33 | 564 146 38 .259 .877 30|
6 Ron Gant ATL 0 110 336 0.33 | 561 141 32 .251 .834 34|
7 Brett Butler LAD 1 103 336 0.31 | 615 182 2 .296 .744 38|
8 Lee Smith STL 0 89 336 0.26 | | 6-3 73 2.34 1.14 67 47
9 Darryl Strawberry LAD 0 76 336 0.23 | 505 134 28 .265 .852 10|
10 Fred McGriff SDP 0 23 336 0.07 | 528 147 31 .278 .890 4|
11 Tom Glavine ATL 0 16 336 0.05 | 74 17 0 .230 .531 1| 20-11 247 2.55 1.09 192
12 Jay Bell PIT 0 11 336 0.03 | 608 164 16 .270 .757 10|
12 David Justice ATL 0 11 336 0.03 | 396 109 21 .275 .880 8|
14 Andre Dawson CHC 0 5 336 0.01 | 563 153 31 .272 .790 4|
14 John Smiley PIT 0 5 336 0.01 | 70 7 0 .100 .237 0| 20-8 208 3.08 1.15 129
Pendleton edges Bonds in a close race with Bonilla a solid third. I understand why the writers did go for Pendleton, what with his and the Braves' surprise seasons.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Tom Glavine ATL 19 110 120 0.92 | 20-11 247 2.55 1.09 192
2 Lee Smith STL 4 60 120 0.50 | 6-3 73 2.34 1.14 67 47
3 John Smiley PIT 0 26 120 0.22 | 20-8 208 3.08 1.15 129
4 Jose Rijo CIN 1 13 120 0.11 | 15-6 204 2.51 1.08 172
5 Dennis Martinez MON 0 4 120 0.03 | 14-11 222 2.39 1.12 123
6 Steve Avery ATL 0 1 120 0.01 | 18-8 210 3.38 1.21 137
6 Andy Benes SDP 0 1 120 0.01 | 15-11 223 3.03 1.13 167
6 Mitch Williams PHI 0 1 120 0.01 | 12-5 88 2.34 1.34 84 30
John Smiley, the other 20-game winner, had 14 Win Shares.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Jeff Bagwell HOU 23 118 120 0.98 | 554 163 15 .294 .824 7|
2 Orlando Merced PIT 1 53 120 0.44 | 411 113 10 .275 .772 8|
3 Ray Lankford STL 0 28 120 0.23 | 566 142 9 .251 .693 44|
4 Brian Hunter ATL 0 7 120 0.06 | 271 68 12 .251 .746 0|
5 Bret Barberie MON 0 3 120 0.02 | 136 48 2 .353 .949 0|
5 Wes Chamberlain PHI 0 3 120 0.02 | 383 92 13 .240 .700 9|
5 Chuck McElroy CHC 0 3 120 0.02 | 10 3 0 .300 .700 0| 6-2 101 1.95 1.28 92 3
8 Mike Stanton ATL 0 1 120 0.01 | 6 3 0 .500 1.238 0| 5-5 78 2.88 1.06 54 7
Bags a deserving clear winner.

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Bobby Cox ATL 13 96 120 0.80 | 94-68 1
2 Jim Leyland PIT 9 74 120 0.62 | 98-64 1
3 Joe Torre STL 2 41 120 0.34 | 84-78 2
4 Tommy Lasorda LAD 0 5 120 0.04 | 93-69 2
Surprising that Cox did not sweep this award.

Top player: Barry Bonds. The writers look for fresh faces, and did not give Barry a repeat, but he deserved the award he narrowly lost.
#1 Barry Bonds, #2 Ryne Sandberg, #3 Terry Pendleton, #4 Barry Larkin, #5 Will Clark, #6 Bobby Bonilla.

Top pitcher: Tom Glavine deserved this award.
#1 Tom Glavine, #2 Dennis Martinez, #3 Greg Maddux, #4 Mitch Williams, #5 Jose Rijo.

Top rookie: Jeff Bagwell made a stellar debut.

Top manager: Bobby Cox built the team as GM, then managed it to greatness.

1991 American League

2010-02-10T10:39:00.002-05:00

Minnesota did a worst-to-first turn, although it wasn't quite that spectacular. They had won the World Series in 1987, and their 1990 record was 74-88. They improved to 95-67 and broke Oakland's stranglehold on the top spot. Chicago finished second, 8 games back, with Texas third at 85 wins, Oakland with 84, Seattle 83, Kansas City 82, and California 81. Yes, everyone finished at least .500. In the East division, Toronto won its second title in three year with 91 wins, Boston and Detroit tied for second with 84, Milwaukee was fourth with 83, New York lost 91 for 5th, Baltimore lost 95, and Cleveland brought up the rear with 105 losses.

Julio Franco took the batting title with a .341 average. Wade Boggs was second at .332. Paul Molitor led with 133 runs and 216 hits. Rafael Palmeiro had 44 doubles. Molitor and Lance Johnson had 13 triples each. Rickey Henderson stole 58 bases. Jose Canseco and Cecil Fielder tied for the lead with 44 homers, and Fielder led with 133 RBI, followed by Canseco at 122. Danny Tartabull led in slugging, while Frank (Big Hurt) Thomas led in on-base, OPS, and runs created.

Scott Erickson and Bill Gullickson each won 20 games for the lead. Roger Clemens and his 2.62 ERA edged Tom Candiotti at 2.65 for the lead. Clemens struck out 241, ahead of Randy Johnson at 228. Clemens also led with 271 innings. Bryan Harvey and his 46 saves finished ahead of Dennis Eckersley at 43.

Win Shares leaders, players; Cal Ripken (Baltimore) and Frank Thomas (Chicago) 34, Jose Canseco (Oakland) 31, Paul Molitor (Milwaukee) and Ken Griffey, Jr. (Seattle) 30, Danny Tartabull (Kansas City) and Julio Franco and Ruben Sierra (Texas) 28, Mickey Tettleton (Detroit) 27, Cecil Fielder and Lou Whitaker (Detroit) and Rafael Palmeiro (Texas) 26, Wade Boggs (Boston), Wally Joyner (California), Robin Ventura (Chicago), Dave and Rickey Henderson (Oakland) and Roberto Alomar (Toronto) 25 each, Steve Sax (New York) and Devon White (Toronto) 24, Tony Phillips (Detroit) and Joe Carter (Toronto) 23.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Roger Clemens (Boston) 26, Kevin Tapani (Minnesota) 21, Jim Abbott and Mark Langston (California) 20, Duane Ward (Toronto) 19, Bryan Harvey (California), Jack McDowell (Chicago), Scott Erickson and Jack Morris (Minnesota) 18, Jimmy Key (Toronto) 17, Mike Moore (Oakland) 16.

WARP3 scores: Ripken 12.5 (likely his best season), Thomas 9.5 (first full season), White 7.6 (best year), Ventura 7.5, Griffey 7.4, Palmeiro, R. Henderson, and Alomar 6.8, Tettleton 6.7 (best season), Molitor 6.6, Boggs 6.3, Canseco 6.0, Whitaker and Willie Randolph (New York) 5.8, Shane Mack (Minnesota) 5.6, Phillips 5.3, Greg Vaughn (Milwaukee) 5.2, Franco 5.0 (peak year), Sierra, D. Henderson, and Edgar Martinez (Seattle) 4.8, Joyner 4.7, Fielder 4.6.

Pitchers, Clemens 7.7, Abbott 6.6 (peak season), Bret Saberhagen (Kansas City) 6.2, Langston 5.9, Moore and Greg Swindell (Cleveland) 5.5, Tapani 5.3 (peak season), Nolan Ryan (Texas) 5.2, Harvey 5.1, Steve Farr (New York) 5.0, Chris Bosio (Milwaukee) 4.8, Jose Guzman (Toronto) 4.7, Charles Nagy (Cleveland), Frank Tanana (Detroit), and Kevin Appier (Kansas City) 4.6.

Actual award winners:
MVP: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+-----+----+--+
1 Cal Ripken BAL 15 318 392 0.81 | 650 210 34 .323 .940 6|
2 Cecil Fielder DET 9 286 392 0.73 | 624 163 44 .261 .860 0|
3 Frank Thomas CHW 1 181 392 0.46 | 559 178 32 .318 1.006 1|
4 Jose Canseco OAK 0 145 392 0.37 | 572 152 44 .266 .915 26|
5 Joe Carter TOR 1 136 392 0.35 | 638 174 33 .273 .833 20|
6 Roberto Alomar TOR 2 128 392 0.33 | 637 188 9 .295 .791 53|
7 Kirby Puckett MIN 0 78 392 0.20 | 611 195 15 .319 .812 11|
8 Ruben Sierra TEX 0 63 392 0.16 | 661 203 25 .307 .859 16|
9 Ken Griffey SEA 0 62 392 0.16 | 548 179 22 .327 .926 18|
10 Roger Clemens BOS 0 57 392 0.15 | | 18-10 271 2.62 1.05 241
11 Paul Molitor MIL 0 51 392 0.13 | 665 216 17 .325 .888 19|
12 Danny Tartabull KCR 0 32 392 0.08 | 484 153 31 .316 .990 6|
13 Jack Morris MIN 0 29 392 0.07 | | 18-12 247 3.43 1.29 163
14 Chili Davis MIN 0 21 392 0.05 | 534 148 29 .277 .892 5|
15 Julio Franco TEX 0 17 392 0.04 | 589 201 15 .341 .882 36|
16 Devon White TOR 0 15 392 0.04 | 642 181 17 .282 .797 33|
17 Scott Erickson MIN 0 12 392 0.03 | | 20-8 204 3.18 1.27 108
18 Rick Aguilera MIN 0 11 392 0.03 | | 4-5 69 2.35 1.07 61 42
19 Rafael Palmeiro TEX 0 6 392 0.02 | 631 203 26 .322 .922 4|
20 Robin Ventura CHW 0 3 392 0.01 | 606 172 23 .284 .810 2|
21 Dave Henderson OAK 0 1 392 0.00 | 572 158 25 .276 .811 6|
Fielder was 2nd for the second year in a row. A lot of that was apparently carryover votes, as the Tigers did not win.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Roger Clemens BOS 21 119 140 0.85 | 18-10 271 2.62 1.05 241
2 Scott Erickson MIN 3 56 140 0.40 | 20-8 204 3.18 1.27 108
3 Jim Abbott CAL 0 26 140 0.19 | 18-11 243 2.89 1.21 158
4 Jack Morris MIN 3 17 140 0.12 | 18-12 247 3.43 1.29 163
5 Bryan Harvey CAL 0 10 140 0.07 | 2-4 79 1.60 0.86 101 46
6 Mark Langston CAL 0 7 140 0.05 | 19-8 246 3.00 1.16 183
7 Kevin Tapani MIN 1 6 140 0.04 | 16-9 244 2.99 1.09 135
8 Bill Gullickson DET 0 5 140 0.04 | 20-9 226 3.90 1.33 91
9 Jack McDowell CHW 0 3 140 0.02 | 17-10 254 3.41 1.16 191
9 Duane Ward TOR 0 3 140 0.02 | 7-6 107 2.77 1.05 132 23
Clemens won handily despite not leading in wins, a victory for the good guys. Not that Clemens is one of the good guys.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+---------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Chuck Knoblauch MIN 26 136 140 0.97 | 565 159 1 .281 .701 25|
2 Juan Guzman TOR 1 68 140 0.49 | | 10-3 139 2.99 1.18 123
3 Milt Cuyler DET 1 22 140 0.16 | 475 122 3 .257 .672 41|
4 Ivan Rodriguez TEX 0 10 140 0.07 | 280 74 3 .264 .630 0|
5 Rich DeLucia SEA 0 7 140 0.05 | | 12-13 182 5.09 1.40 98
6 Mike Timlin TOR 0 2 140 0.01 | | 11-6 108 3.16 1.33 85 3
6 Mark Whiten TOT 0 2 140 0.01 | +407 99 9 .243 .685 4|
8 Leo Gomez BAL 0 1 140 0.01 | 391 91 16 .233 .711 1|
8 Doug Henry MIL 0 1 140 0.01 | | 2-1 36 1.00 0.83 28 15
8 Brent Mayne KCR 0 1 140 0.01 | 231 58 3 .251 .640 2|
8 Charles Nagy CLE 0 1 140 0.01 | | 10-15 211 4.13 1.39 109
8 Phil Plantier BOS 0 1 140 0.01 | 148 49 11 .331 1.034 1|
No idea how someone could vote for Milt Cuyler over Chuck Knoblauch.

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+--------
1 Tom Kelly MIN 27 138 140 0.99 | 95-67 1
2 Sparky Anderson DET 1 50 140 0.36 | 84-78 2
3 Cito Gaston TOR 0 17 140 0.12 | 72-57 1
4 Jim Lefebvre SEA 0 16 140 0.11 | 83-79 5
4 Joe Morgan BOS 0 16 140 0.11 | 84-78 3
6 Jeff Torborg CHW 0 6 140 0.04 | 87-75 2
7 Hal McRae KCR 0 3 140 0.02 | 66-58 6
7 Bobby Valentine TEX 0 3 140 0.02 | 85-77 3
9 Tony LaRussa OAK 0 2 140 0.01 | 84-78 4
10 Stump Merrill NYY 0 1 140 0.01 | 71-91 5

Top player: Cal Ripken. It may have been the finest year of an exemplary career. The Orioles could never seem to put a good team around him at this point.
#1 Cal Ripken, #2 Frank Thomas, #3 Ken Griffey, Jr., #4 Paul Molitor, #5 Julio Franco, #6 Rafael Palmeiro.

Top pitcher: Roger Clemens. We'll get this a lot now.
#1 Roger Clemens, #2 Jim Abbott, #3 Kevin Tapani, #4 Mark Langston, #5 Jack McDowell, #6 Tom Candiotti.

Top rookie: Chuck Knoblauch had a fine season, in the middle of a pennant race.

Top manager: Tom Kelly did it without a superstar.

1990 National League

2010-02-05T20:45:00.002-05:00

Cincinnati had one of the great all-time surprise seasons, leading wire-to-wire and sweeping the World Series over the favored A's. It was the season that really made manager Lou Piniella's reputation. After years as also-rans under Pete Rose, the Reds broke through. They won 91 games, ahead of Los Angeles by 5 and San Francisco by 6. Houston and San Diego tied for 4th, and Atlanta was last with 97 losses. Pittsburgh won the East as young Barry Bonds burst onto the scene, with New York four games behind. Montreal was 10 back with 85 victories. Chicago and Philadelphia tied for 4th, and St. Louis was last with 92 losses.

Willie McGee won the batting title even though he was traded to Oakland at the end of August. He posted a .335 average by the end of August, and Eddie Murray couldn't catch him, finishing at .330. Brett Butler and Lenny Dykstra tied for the hits lead with 192. Ryne Sandberg led in runs (116), total bases (344) and home runs (40), Matt Williams led in RBI (122). Darryl Strawberry was second in homers with 37, Bobby Bonilla second in RBI with 120. Vince Coleman led in steals (77), and Bonds led in slugging and OPS.

Doug Drabek led in wins with 22, while Ramon Martinez and Frank Viola won 20. Danny Darwin led in ERA with a 2.21 mark, followed by Zane Smith at 2.55. David Cone led in strikeouts with 233 and Dwight Gooden and Ramon Martinez were second at 223. John Franco led in saves at 33. Bonds won the MVP and Drabek the Cy Young.

Win Shares, players: Barry Bonds (Pittsburgh) 37, Lenny Dykstra (Philadelphia) 35, Ryne Sandberg (Chicago) 34, Eddie Murray (Los Angeles) 31, Matt Williams (San Francisco) 28, Brett Butler (San Francisco) 27, Kal Daniels (Los Angeles), Tim Wallach (Montreal) and Darryl Strawberry (New York) 26, Barry Larkin (Cincinnati), Dave Magadan (New York) and Will Clark (San Francisco) 25, Howard Johnson (New York) 24, Darren Daulton (Philadelphia), Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke (Pittsburgh) 23, Andre Dawson and Mark Grace (Chicago) and Bip Roberts (San Diego) 22, Ron Gant (Atlanta) and Kevin McReynolds (New York) 21.

WS, pitchers: Frank Viola (New York) and Doug Drabek (Pittsburgh) 20, Ed Whitson (San Diego) 19, Rob Dibble, Randy Myers and Jose Rijo (Cincinnati), Danny Darwin (Houston) and Ramon Martinez (Los Angeles) 17 each, Mike Harkey and Greg Maddux (Chicago), Dennis Martinez (Montreal), Jeff Brantley (San Francisco) and John Tudor (St. Louis) 15.

WARP3: Bonds 10.8 in his first great season, Dykstra 10.0, Larkin 8.6, Murray 7.5, Wallach 7.3, Sandberg 6.5, Roberts 6.4 (best year), Kevin Mitchell (San Francisco) 6.1, Williams 5.9, Jay Bell (Pittsburgh) 5.7, Daniels and Magadan (best year) 5.6, Daulton and Bonilla 5.5, Butler 5.4, J. Clark and Bill Doran (Houston/Cincinnati) 5.3, Chris Sabo (Cincinnati) 5.2, Strawberry 5.0, Will Clark (San Francisco) 4.9, Van Slyke 4.7, Gant 4.5, Johnson 4.3.

Pitchers, Viola 8.4, Whitson 6.7 (last good year), Drabek 5.4, Darwin 5.3, John Smoltz (Atlanta) 5.2, Brantley 4.9, Rijo, David Cone (New York) and Charlie Leibrandt (Atlanta) 4.8, Harkey (rookie, best year) and Greg Harris (San Diego) 4.5, Dibble and Tudor (last year) 4.4, Myers 4.3, Tom Glavine (Atlanta) 4.1.

Award voting:
MVP (top 10)
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Barry Bonds PIT 23 331
2 Bobby Bonilla PIT 1 212
3 Darryl Strawberry NYM 0 167
4 Ryne Sandberg CHC 0 151
5 Eddie Murray LAD 0 123
6 Matt Williams SFG 0 95
7 Barry Larkin CIN 0 82
8 Doug Drabek PIT 0 59
9 Lenny Dykstra PHI 0 41
10 Tim Wallach MON 0 36

Cy Young
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Doug Drabek PIT 23 118
2 Ramon Martinez LAD 1 70
3 Frank Viola NYM 0 19
4 Dwight Gooden NYM 0 8
5 Randy Myers CIN 0 1

Rookie
Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 David Justice ATL 23 118
2 Delino DeShields MON 1 60
3 Hal Morris CIN 0 13
4 John Burkett SFG 0 12
5 Mike Harkey CHC 0 7
6 Todd Zeile STL 0 4
7 Marquis Grissom MON 0 1
7 Larry Walker MON 0 1

Best player: Barry Bonds, beginning a string. Broke out with a .301 average, 33 HR and 114 RBI.
#1 Barry Bonds, #2 Lenny Dykstra, #3 Ryne Sandberg, #4 Eddie Murray, #5 Barry Larkin, #6 Tim Wallach.

Best pitcher: Frank Viola, although Drabek had more wins and more votes. Frankie V. was better.
#1 Frank Viola, #2 Doug Drabek, #3 Ed Whitson, #4 Danny Darwin, #5 Jose Rijo, #6 Rob Dibble.

Best rookie: David Justice burst onto the scene with a fine rookie season.

Best manager: Lou Piniella. Wire-to-wire!

1990 American League

2010-02-05T20:10:00.002-05:00

Oakland won its third straight pennant with a tremendous season from Rickey Henderson, acquired at midseason the previous year. The A's took 103 victories, 9 more than the White Sox. The rest of the West was Texas, California, Seattle, Kansas City, and Minnesota last with 88 losses. The East division was won by Boston for the second time in three years, but they managed only 88 victories, just ahead of Toronto with 86. Everyone else was under .500. Detroit was 3rd, followed by Cleveland, Baltimore, Milwaukee, and New York in last with 95 losses. The A's swept the Red Sox in the ALCS, then got swept in an upset by Cincinnati in the World Series.

George Brett won the batting title with a .329 average, followed by Rickey Henderson at .325 and Rafael Palmeiro at .319. Palmeiro led in hits with 191, Brett tied Jody Reed with 45 doubles. Tony Fernandez had 17 triples. Cecil Fielder led with 51 HR and 132 RBI, with Mark McGwire second in HR with 39 and Kelly Gruber second in RBI with 118. Henderson led the league in steals with 65, runs with 119, and in on-base average and OPS.

Bob Welch led the league with an impressive 27 wins, the most by a major league pitcher since Denny McLain's 31 in 1968. Dave Stewart won 22 and Roger Clemens 21. Clemens led in ERA with a 1.93 mark, second going to Chuck Finley at 2.40. Nolan Ryan's 232 strikeouts beat Mike Witt at 221. Stewart led with 267 innings. Bobby Thigpen set a new record with 57 saves.

Win Shares leaders, players: Rickey Henderson (Oakland) 39, Cecil Fielder and Alan Trammell (Detroit) 29, Mark McGwire (Oakland) and Julio Franco (Texas) 27, George Brett (Kansas City), Jose Canseco (Oakland) and Fred McGriff (Toronto) 26, Tony Fernandez and Kelly Gruber (Toronto) 25, Wade Boggs (Boston), Lance Parrish (California) and Ken Griffey Jr. (Seattle) 24, Jody Reed (Boston), Ivan Calderon and Carlton Fisk (Chicago), Tony Phillips (Detroit), Kirby Puckett (Minnesota), Jesse Barfield (New York) and Rafael Palmeiro (Texas) 22.

WS leaders, pitchers: Roger Clemens (Boston) 28, Chuck Finley (California) 23, Bobby Thigpen (Chicago) and Dave Stewart (Oakland) 21, Mike Boddicker (Boston) and Dennis Eckersley (Oakland) 19, Bob Welch (Oakland), Erik Hanson (Seattle) and Dave Stieb (Toronto) 18.

WARP3 scores: R. Henderson 12.0, Fernandez 7.8 (peak season), McGriff 6.8 (peak season), Trammell 6.6, Fielder and Canseco 6.1, McGwire 6.0, Parrish (last big season) and Cal Ripken (Baltimore) 5.7, Fisk 5.6, Brett 5.3 (last big year), Gruber and Randy Milligan (Baltimore) 5.1, Phillips 5.0, Dave Henderson (Oakland) 4.9, Franco and Barfield (last big year) 4.6, Lou Whitaker (Detroit) and Walt Weiss (Oakland) 4.4, Reed 4.3 (peak season), Kevin Seitzer (Kansas City) 4.2, Brook Jacoby (Cleveland) 4.0, Griffey 3.9.

Pitchers, Clemens 10.4, Finley 7.9 (peak season), Eckersley 7.2, Steve Farr (Kansas City) 7.0, Thigpen 6.8 (career year), Boddicker 5.8, Kevin Appier (Kansas City) 5.6, Hanson 5.5 (peak season), Stieb 5.0, Stewart 4.8 (peak season), Gregg Olson (Baltimore) 4.7, Doug Jones (Cleveland) 4.6, Tom Henke (Toronto) 4.3, Bret Saberhagen (Kansas City) 4.0. Welch was at 2.6.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 14)
Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Rickey Henderson OAK 14 317
2 Cecil Fielder DET 10 286
3 Roger Clemens BOS 3 212
4 Kelly Gruber TOR 0 175
5 Bobby Thigpen CHW 0 170
6 Dennis Eckersley OAK 1 112
7 George Brett KCR 0 60
8 Dave Stewart OAK 0 56
9 Bob Welch OAK 0 54
10 Fred McGriff TOR 0 30
11 Mark McGwire OAK 0 29
12 Jose Canseco OAK 0 26
13 Ellis Burks BOS 0 25
14 Rafael Palmeiro TEX 0 22

Cy Young (top 4)
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Bob Welch OAK 15 107
2 Roger Clemens BOS 8 77
3 Dave Stewart OAK 3 43
4 Bobby Thigpen CHW 2 20
What's funny is, Clemens did better than Welch in the MVP, but lost to him in the Cy Young vote.

Rookie (top 4)
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Sandy Alomar Jr. CLE 28 140
2 Kevin Maas NYY 0 47
3 Kevin Appier KCR 0 31
4 John Olerud TOR 0 13

Best player: Rickey Henderson, and it's not close. 1990 in the AL was all Rickey, all the time. The BBWAA came close to swooning over Cecil's 51 homers, but cooler heads prevailed.
#1 Rickey Henderson, #2 Fred McGriff, #3 Alan Trammell, #4 Cecil Fielder, #5 Mark McGwire, #6 Jose Canseco.

Best pitcher: Roger Clemens, and it's not close, but the glare of Bob Welch's 27 wins blinded the voters.
#1 Roger Clemens, #2 Chuck Finley, #3 Bobby Thigpen, #4 Dave Stewart, #5 Dennis Eckersley, #6 Mike Boddicker.

Best rookie: Sandy Alomar Jr. had the best season, though John Olerud would have the best career.

Best manager: Jeff Torborg managed Chicago to a 33-win improvement.

1989 National League

2010-01-25T17:54:00.002-05:00

Chicago won its second division title of the decade, but again fell short in the NLCS. The Cubs took 93 victories to best the Mets by six games. St. Louis was one behind that. Montreal was at .500, Pittsburgh lost 88, and Philadelphia lost 95. San Francisco won the pennant after winning the West with 92 victories, with San Diego at 89 and Houston at 86. Los Angeles lost 83, Cincinnati 87, and Atlanta 97.

Tony Gwynn edged Will Clark for the batting title .336 to .333, and also led in hits with 203 to Clark's 196. Clark led in walks (132) and tied Howard Johnson and Ryne Sandberg for the lead in runs (104). Kevin Mitchell led in HR (47), RBI (125), slugging, and OPS. Pedro Guerrero and Tim Wallach had 42 doubles, Robby Thompson 11 triples. Vince Coleman led in steals with 65.

Mike Scott led in wins with 20, followed by Greg Maddux at 19. Scott Garrelts led in ERA with a 2.28 mark that was just ahead of Orel Hershiser at 2.31. Jose DeLeon led in strikeouts with 201 to edge Tim Belcher at 200 and Sid Fernandez at 198. Mark Davis led in saves with 44. Belcher threw 8 shutouts, and Hershiser led in innings with 257.

Win Shares leaders, players; Will Clark (San Francisco) 44, Howard Johnson (New York) and Kevin Mitchell (San Francisco) 38, Jack Clark (San Diego) 31, Glenn Davis (Houston), Pedro Guerrero (St. Louis) and Tony Gwynn (San Diego) 30, Bobby Bonilla (Pittsburgh) 29, Ryne Sandberg (Chicago) 28, Lonnie Smith (Atlanta) 27, Eric Davis (Cincinnati) 26, Mark Grace (Chicago), Ken Caminiti (Houston), Tim Raines (Montreal) and Von Hayes (Philadelphia) 25, Barry Bonds (Pittsburgh) and Roberto Alomar (San Diego) 23, Jose Oquendo (St. Louis) 22, Eddie Murray (Los Angeles) and Kevin McReynolds (New York) 21.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Orel Hershiser (Los Angeles) 21, Greg Maddux (Chicago) 20, Mark Davis (San Diego) 19, Bruce Hurst and Ed Whitson (San Diego) and Joe Magrane (St. Louis) 18, Tim Burke (Montreal) 17, Mike Bielecki (Chicago), Jay Howell (Los Angeles), Dennis Martinez (Montreal) and Sid Fernandez (New York) 16.

WARP3: Mitchell 10.7, W. Clark 10.3, Bonilla 8.9, Johnson 8.7, L. Smith 7.7 (last big year), Sandberg 6.9, Gwynn 6.7, Bonds 6.6, Oquendo 6.2 (career year), J. Clark 6.1, Hayes 6.0 (last big year), Raines and Brett Butler San Francisco) 5.9, Ozzie Smith (St. Louis) 5.7, G. Davis 5.5, E. Davis 5.4, Guerrero 5.3 (last good year), Grace, Milt Thompson (St. Louis) and Kevin Elster (New York) 4.9.

Pitchers, Hershiser 8.1, Maddux and Howell 5.4, M. Davis 5.2, Jim Deshaies (Houston) and Doug Drabek (Pittsburgh) 5.1, John Smoltz (Atlanta) 5.0, Fernandez and Bryn Smith (Montreal) 4.8, Hurst, Whitson, Mark Langston (Montreal), Danny Darwin (Houston) and Rob Dibble (Cincinnati) 4.7, Martinez, Burke, and Mike Scott (Houston) 4.6, Magrane 4.3.

Actual Award winners:
MVP: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+--+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Kevin Mitchell SFG 20 314 336 0.93 | 543 158 47 .291 1.023 3|
2 Will Clark SFG 3 225 336 0.67 | 588 196 23 .333 .953 8|
3 Pedro Guerrero STL 1 190 336 0.57 | 570 177 17 .311 .868 2|
4 Ryne Sandberg CHC 0 157 336 0.47 | 606 176 30 .290 .853 15|
5 Howard Johnson NYM 0 153 336 0.46 | 571 164 36 .287 .928 41|
6 Mark Davis SDP 0 76 336 0.23 | 13 0 0 .000 .000 0| 4-3 93 1.85 1.05 92 44
7 Glenn Davis HOU 0 64 336 0.19 | 581 156 34 .269 .842 4|
8 Tony Gwynn SDP 0 57 336 0.17 | 604 203 4 .336 .813 40|
9 Eric Davis CIN 0 44 336 0.13 | 462 130 34 .281 .908 21|
10 Mitch Williams CHC 0 41 336 0.12 | 5 1 1 .200 1.000 0| 4-4 82 2.76 1.51 67 36
11 Lonnie Smith ATL 0 34 336 0.10 | 482 152 21 .315 .948 25|
12 Jack Clark SDP 0 16 336 0.05 | 455 110 26 .242 .869 6|
13 Jerome Walton CHC 0 14 336 0.04 | 475 139 5 .293 .721 24|
14 Mark Grace CHC 0 9 336 0.03 | 510 160 13 .314 .862 14|
15 Mike Scott HOU 0 6 336 0.02 | 75 10 1 .133 .327 0| 20-10 229 3.10 1.06 172
16 Bobby Bonilla PIT 0 5 336 0.01 | 616 173 24 .281 .848 8|
17 Brett Butler SFG 0 3 336 0.01 | 594 168 4 .283 .703 31|
17 Tim Raines MON 0 3 336 0.01 | 517 148 9 .286 .813 41|
17 Milt Thompson STL 0 3 336 0.01 | 545 158 4 .290 .733 27|
20 Scott Garrelts SFG 0 2 336 0.01 | 66 9 0 .136 .371 1| 14-5 193 2.28 1.01 119
They picked the wrong teammate on the pennant winner.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Mark Davis SDP 19 107 120 0.89 | 4-3 93 1.85 1.05 92 44
2 Mike Scott HOU 4 65 120 0.54 | 20-10 229 3.10 1.06 172
3 Greg Maddux CHC 0 17 120 0.14 | 19-12 238 2.95 1.28 135
4 Orel Hershiser LAD 1 7 120 0.06 | 15-15 257 2.31 1.18 178
4 Joe Magrane STL 0 7 120 0.06 | 18-9 235 2.91 1.24 127
6 Tim Belcher LAD 0 4 120 0.03 | 15-12 230 2.82 1.14 200 1
6 Scott Garrelts SFG 0 4 120 0.03 | 14-5 193 2.28 1.01 119
8 Rick Reuschel SFG 0 3 120 0.02 | 17-8 208 2.94 1.20 111
9 Mike Bielecki CHC 0 1 120 0.01 | 18-7 212 3.14 1.26 147
9 Mitch Williams CHC 0 1 120 0.01 | 4-4 82 2.76 1.51 67 36
I can see why the writers were confused enough to choose Davis. There was no true standout.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Jerome Walton CHC 22 116 120 0.97 | 475 139 5 .293 .721 24|
2 Dwight Smith CHC 2 68 120 0.57 | 343 111 9 .324 .875 9|
3 Gregg Jefferies NYM 0 18 120 0.15 | 508 131 12 .258 .706 21|
4 Derek Lilliquist ATL 0 6 120 0.05 | 63 12 0 .190 .397 0| 8-10 166 3.97 1.42 79
5 Andy Benes SDP 0 3 120 0.02 | 24 6 1 .250 .625 0| 6-3 67 3.51 1.23 66
5 Charlie Hayes TOT 0 3 120 0.02 | +304 78 8 .257 .671 3|
7 Greg Harris SDP 0 2 120 0.02 | 19 1 0 .053 .195 0| 8-9 135 2.60 1.17 106 6

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Don Zimmer CHC 23 118 120 0.98 | 93-69 1
2 Roger Craig SFG 1 62 120 0.52 | 92-70 1
3 Whitey Herzog STL 0 31 120 0.26 | 86-76 3
4 Art Howe HOU 0 4 120 0.03 | 86-76 3
5 Jack McKeon SDP 0 1 120 0.01 | 89-73 2

Top Player: Will Clark. "The Natural" was the best player in the league, and on the top team, but a teammate led the league in RBI. That usually pulls voters' focus. Clark's Hall of Fame argument would be helped if he had rightfully won this award.
#1 Will Clark, #2 Kevin Mitchell, #3 Howard Johnson, #4 Bobby Bonilla, #5 Lonnie Smith, #6 Ryne Sandberg.

Top pitcher: Orel Hershiser. By my count, this should be his 3rd in a row. That would help his Hall of Fame case, too.
#1 Orel Hershiser, #2 Greg Maddux, #3 Mark Davis, #4 Mike Scott, #5 Scott Garrelts. #6 Ed Whitson.

Top rookie: Jerome Walton. Not a good group, overall, partly because Craig Biggio had just a few too many ABs the year before.

Top manager: Roger Craig. Got the Giants to the pennant.

1989 American League

2010-01-25T17:08:00.002-05:00

It was the year of the "Earthquake Series," the only World Championship of the A's mini-dynasty. The Canseco/McGwire version of the Oakland team took 99 victories, seven more than Kansas City and eight more than California. Texas was 4th with 83 wins, Minnesota was 5th, Seattle lost 89 and Chicago lost 92. Toronto won the East, the second playoff appearence in franchise history as Cito Gaston took over for Jimy Williams in mid-season. Toronto edged resurgent Baltimore by two games, as the Orioles improved by 33 wins. Boston was 3rd with 83 wins and Milwaukee 4th at .500. New York lost 87, Cleveland 89, and Detroit 103.

Robin Yount won an unusual MVP, in that he did not lead in any offensive categories and his team did not place first in any standings. Kirby Puckett edged Carney Lansford in batting average .339 to .336. Wade Boggs led in on-base, Ruben Sierra in slugging, Fred McGriff in OPS. Boggs and Rickey Henderson tied for the runs lead at 113. Kirby Puckett had 215 hits. Boggs had 51 doubles. McGriff led with 36 home runs, just ahead of Joe Carter's 35. Ruben Sierra led in triples with 14, and in RBI with 119, ahead of Don Mattingly at 113. Henderson had 77 steals.

Bret Saberhagen led in wins with 23 and ERA with a 2.16 mark. Dave Stewart won 21, while Chuck Finley was second in ERA at 2.57 followed by Mike Moore at 2.61. Nolan Ryan led with 301 strikeouts and Roger Clemens was second with 230. Jeff Russell was tops with 38 saves. Saberhagen had 12 complete games, while Bert Blyleven had 5 shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Robin Yount (Milwaukee) and Ruben Sierra (Texas) 34, Rickey Henderson (New York/Oakland), Julio Franco (Texas) and Fred McGriff (Toronto) 30, Wade Boggs (Boston) 29, Paul Molitor (Milwaukee) and Kirby Puckett (Minnesota) 27, Cal Ripken (Baltimore), Don Mattingly (New York) and Alvin Davis (Seattle) 26, Lou Whitaker (Detroit) 25, Nick Esasky (Boston) 24, Chili Davis (California), Kevin Seitzer (Kansas City) and George Bell (Toronto) 22, Dwight Evans (Boston), Jim Eisenreich (Kansas City), Steve Sax (New York), Carney Lansford and Mark McGwire (Oakland) 21.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Bret Saberhagen (Kansas City) 28, Bert Blyleven (California) 22, Chuck Finley (California), Mark Gubicza and Jeff Montgomery (Kansas City) and Mike Moore (Oakland) 19, Gregg Olson (Baltimore), Roger Clemens (Boston), Kirk McCaskill (California) and Nolan Ryan (Texas) 18, Chris Bosio (Milwaukee) 17.

WARP3 scores: Boggs 8.0, Ripken 6.6, McGriff 6.4, Sierra 6.1, Molitor 5.9, Yount 5.8, Henderson 5.6, Puckett 5.3, Tony Fernandez (Toronto) 5.4, Franco 5.1, Harold Reynolds (Seattle) and Mickey Tettleton (Baltimore) 4.8, A. Davis 4.7, Evans (last big year) and Kelly Gruber (Toronto) 4.6, Sax and Ellis Burks (Boston) 4.3.

Pitchers, Saberhagen 9.4 (best year), Montgomery 5.9, Clemens 5.6, Blyleven 5.5 (last big year), Gubicza and Bosio 5.4, Moore, Olson (rookie), and Tom Henke (Toronto) 5.4, Doug Jones (Cleveland) 4.9, Finley 4.8, McCaskill and Tom Candiotti (Cleveland) 4.7, Jeff Russell (Texas) 4.6, Dennis Eckersley (Oakland) 4.4, Dan Plesac (Milwaukee) 4.3, Ryan 4.1.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 20): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-------+---+-----+-----+
1 Robin Yount MIL 8 256 392 0.65 | 614 195 21 .318 .896 19|
2 Ruben Sierra TEX 6 228 392 0.58 | 634 194 29 .306 .889 8|
3 Cal Ripken BAL 6 216 392 0.55 | 646 166 21 .257 .718 3|
4 George Bell TOR 4 205 392 0.52 | 613 182 18 .297 .788 4|
5 Dennis Eckersley OAK 3 116 392 0.30 | | 4-0 58 1.56 0.61 55 33
6 Fred McGriff TOR 0 96 392 0.24 | 551 148 36 .269 .924 7|
7 Kirby Puckett MIN 0 84 392 0.21 | 635 215 9 .339 .843 11|
8 Bret Saberhagen KCR 0 82 392 0.21 | | 23-6 262 2.16 0.96 193
9 Rickey Henderson TOT 0 67 392 0.17 | +541 148 12 .274 .810 77|
10 Bo Jackson KCR 0 46 392 0.12 | 515 132 32 .256 .805 26|
11 Dave Parker OAK 0 44 392 0.11 | 553 146 22 .264 .741 0|
12 Gregg Olson BAL 0 35 392 0.09 | | 5-2 85 1.69 1.21 90 27
13 Bert Blyleven CAL 0 32 392 0.08 | | 17-5 241 2.73 1.12 131
14 Dave Stewart OAK 0 30 392 0.08 | | 21-9 258 3.32 1.28 155
15 Don Mattingly NYY 0 25 392 0.06 | 631 191 23 .303 .828 3|
16 Joe Carter CLE 0 23 392 0.06 | 651 158 35 .243 .757 13|
17 Carney Lansford OAK 1 20 392 0.05 | 551 185 2 .336 .803 37|
18 Nick Esasky BOS 0 19 392 0.05 | 564 156 30 .277 .855 1|
19 Tony Fernandez TOR 0 9 392 0.02 | 573 147 11 .257 .680 22|
20 Mike Moore OAK 0 6 392 0.02 | | 19-11 242 2.61 1.14 172

Cy Young (top 5): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Bret Saberhagen KCR 27 138 140 0.99 | 23-6 262 2.16 0.96 193
2 Dave Stewart OAK 1 80 140 0.57 | 21-9 258 3.32 1.28 155
3 Mike Moore OAK 0 10 140 0.07 | 19-11 242 2.61 1.14 172
4 Bert Blyleven CAL 0 9 140 0.06 | 17-5 241 2.73 1.12 131
5 Nolan Ryan TEX 0 5 140 0.04 | 16-10 239 3.20 1.09 301

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Gregg Olson BAL 26 136 140 0.97 | | 5-2 85 1.69 1.21 90 27
2 Tom Gordon KCR 1 67 140 0.48 | | 17-9 163 3.64 1.28 153 1
3 Ken Griffey SEA 1 21 140 0.15 | 455 120 16 .264 .748 16|
4 Craig Worthington BAL 0 16 140 0.11 | 497 123 15 .247 .718 1|
5 Jim Abbott CAL 0 10 140 0.07 | | 12-12 181 3.92 1.46 115
6 Kevin Brown TEX 0 2 140 0.01 | | 12-9 191 3.35 1.24 104

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Frank Robinson BAL 23 125 140 0.89 | 87-75 2
2 Cito Gaston TOR 3 62 140 0.44 | 77-49 1
3 Tony LaRussa OAK 2 51 140 0.36 | 99-63 1
4 Doug Rader CAL 0 13 140 0.09 | 91-71 3
5 John Wathan KCR 0 1 140 0.01 | 92-70 2

Top player: Robin Yount. Another great season to spice up his career. Yount had a very broad range of skills.
#1 Robin Yount, #2 Ruben Sierra, #3 Fred McGriff, #4 Wade Boggs, #5 Cal Ripken, #6 Rickey Henderson.

Top pitcher: Bret Saberhagen at his peak. The odd/even paradox was mostly because they would wear him out during the good odd-numbered years, leaving him hurt for the even numbers.
#1 Bret Saberhagen, #2 Mike Moore, #3 Bert Blyleven, #4 Jeff Montgomery, #5 Chuck Finley, #6 Gregg Olson.

Rookie: Gregg Olson had an outstanding season.

Manager: Frank Robinson's Orioles managed a tremendous comeback.

1988 National League

2010-01-17T18:36:00.002-05:00

The LA Dodgers won one of the most improbable World Series ever, with seemingly half their roster out with injuries. The world did not reckon with the heroics of Kirk Gibson, the incredible season of Orel Hershiser, and the unstoppable force that was.....Mickey Hatcher? At any rate, the Dodgers took the West with 94 victories, seven more than the Reds (who were getting tired of finishing second), San Diego, San Francisco and Houston all just over .500, and Atlanta at 106 losses. New York won the East with 100 victories, 15 ahead of the Pirates. Montreal, Chicago, St. Louis and Philadelphia straggled behind.

No one gave the Dodgers much chance in the NLCS, but they beat the Mets in 7 games. They were seriously overmatched against the powerful young A's in the World Series....but won in 5 games. It was a year of destiny for the Dodgers.

Tony Gwynn won the batting title with an unimpressive mark of .313. Rafael Palmeiro was second at .307. Darryl Strawberry led in HR (39) and OPS. Will Clark led in walks and RBI (109). Vince Coleman led in steals (81). Andres Galarraga led in hits, doubles and total bases. Brett Butler led in runs. Kirk Gibson won a "leadership" MVP. Hershiser and Danny Jackson tied with 23 victories, Nolan Ryan led in strikeouts (228), Joe Magrane topped the ERA list at 2.18, and John Franco led in saves with 39. Hershiser took the Cy Young.

The Win Shares envelope, please:
Players; Will Clark (San Francisco) 37, Kirk Gibson (Los Angeles), Kevin McReynolds (New York) and Bobby Bonilla (Pittsburgh) 31, Darryl Strawberry (New York) 30, Barry Larkin (Cincinnati) and Andy Van Slyke (Pittsburgh) 28, Eric Davis (Cincinnati) and Brett Butler (San Francisco) 27, Kal Daniels (Cincinnati) and Barry Bonds (Pittsburgh) 26, Andres Galarraga (Montreal) 25, Steve Sax (Los Angeles) 24, Glenn Davis (Houston) and Tony Gwynn (San Diego) 23, Ryne Sandberg (Chicago), Roberto Alomar (San Diego) and Ozzie Smith (St. Louis) 22, Gerald Young (Houston) and Howard Johnson (New York) 21.

Pitchers; Orel Hershiser (Los Angeles) 25, Danny Jackson (Cincinnati) 22, Greg Maddux (Chicago) and John Franco (Cincinnati) 20, David Cone (New York) and Mark Davis (San Diego) 19, Tim Leary (Los Angeles) 17, Tom Browning (Cincinnati) 16, Jose Rijo (Cincinnati), Dennis Martinez (Montreal), Doug Drabek (Pittsburgh), Rick Reuschel (San Francisco) and Todd Worrell (St. Louis) 15 each.

WARP3: Gibson 8.9, Clark, Strawberry, and Van Slyke 8.7, Butler 8.3, Bonds 7.3, Larkin 7.2, O. Smith 7.2, Bonilla 6.7, Galarraga 6.5, Daniels 6.1, E. Davis 6.0, Chris Sabo (Cincinnati) 5.5, G. Davis 5.3, McReynolds and Sandberg 5.2, Alomar, Johnson, Bill Doran (Houston) and Tom Brunansky (St. Louis) 4.9.

Pitchers: Hershiser 9.2, Franco 6.5, Cone 6.1, Maddux 6.0, Davis 5.9, Jackson 5.4, Randy Myers (New York) 4.8, Leary and Rick Sutcliffe (Chicago) 4.6, Kevin Gross (Philadelphia) 4.4, Rijo 4.3, Jamie Moyer (Chicago) and Mike Scott (Houston) 4.2.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 13)
Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Kirk Gibson LAD 13 272
2 Darryl Strawberry NYM 7 236
3 Kevin McReynolds NYM 4 162
4 Andy Van Slyke PIT 0 160
5 Will Clark SFG 0 135
6 Orel Hershiser LAD 0 111
7 Andres Galarraga MON 0 105
8 Glenn Davis HOU 0 72
9 Danny Jackson CIN 0 41
10 David Cone NYM 0 37
11 Tony Gwynn SDP 0 29
12 John Franco CIN 0 23
13 Eric Davis CIN 0 14

Cy Young
Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Orel Hershiser LAD 24 120
2 Danny Jackson CIN 0 54
3 David Cone NYM 0 42

Rookie
Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Chris Sabo CIN 11 79
2 Mark Grace CHC 7 61
3 Tim Belcher LAD 3 35
4 Ron Gant ATL 1 22
5 Roberto Alomar SDP 2 11
6 Damon Berryhill CHC 0 3
6 Gregg Jefferies NYM 0 3
8 Ricky Jordan PHI 0 2

Best Player: the voting gave Gibson a narrow margin over Strawberry; WS likes Clark, and WARP gives Gibson a small advantage. Kirk Gibson was who I thought at the time, and he was 3rd in OPS+ behind Strawberry and Clark. I'll go with the "inspirational leader."
#1 Kirk Gibson, #2 Will Clark, #3 Darryl Strawberry, #4 Andy Van Slyke, #5 Brett Butler, #6 Barry Larkin.

Best Pitcher: Hershiser by a mile. It is hard to be more dominating.
#1 Orel Hershiser, #2 John Franco, #3 Greg Maddux, #4 Danny Jackson, #5 David Cone, #6 Mark Davis.

Best Rookie: Roberto Alomar led rookies with 22 Win Shares, based on his defensive prowess.

Best Manager: Tommy LaSorda. Got to be.

1988 American League

2010-01-17T18:09:00.002-05:00

1988 was the first of three straight pennants for the Oakland A's. The A's won 104 games and were the talk of the baseball world. "The Bash Brothers" were the biggest thing in baseball, and Jose Canseco won the MVP with a 40-40 season: 40 HR and 40 SB. If we had known then what we know now.....

The A's beat Minnesota for the West by 13 games, even though Minnesota won more games than the year before, when they won the pennant. Kansas City was third at 84 wins. Following were California, Chicago, Texas and Seattle. The East featured a superb race to the finish, with Boston winning 89 to edge Detroit by one game, Milwaukee and Toronto by two, and New York by 3.5. Cleveland was 6th, and Baltimore lost 107 games, the first 21 in a row. That's in spite of having two Hall of Famers in their primes on the roster.

Wade Boggs won another batting title with a .366 average, followed by Kirby Puckett at .356. Boggs also led in on-base and OPS, as well as runs with 128 and doubles with 45. Jose Canseco led in home runs with 42 and RBI with 124, was second in runs with 120, and led in slugging and OPS+. Tougher hitting home park for Jose. Puckett had 234 hits, Rickey Henderson 93 steals, and there was a three-way tie for triples.

Frank Viola had 24 wins, Dave Stewart 21 and Mark Gubicza 20. Allan Anderson edged Teddy Higera by a fraction of a point of ERA, both registering at 2.45. Viola was third at 2.64. Roger Clemens led with 291 strikeouts, followed by Mark Langston at 235. Dennis Eckersley had 45 saves and Jeff Reardon 42. Stewart and Clemens had 14 complete games each, Clemens eight shutouts.

This Win Shares news just in:
Players; Jose Canseco (Oakland) 39, Kirby Puckett (Minnesota) 32, Wade Boggs (Boston), Robin Yount (Milwaukee) and Dave Winfield (New York) 31, Mike Greenwell (Boston) 30, Rickey Henderson (New York) and Mark McGwire (Oakland) 28, Paul Molitor (Milwaukee) 27, Joe Carter (Cleveland), George Brett (Kansas City) and Dave Henderson (Oakland) 26, Cal Ripken (Baltimore) and Tony Fernandez (Toronto) 25, Ellis Burks (Boston), Don Mattingly (New York) and Fred McGriff (Toronto) 24, Dwight Evans (Boston), Alan Trammell (Detroit) and Kelly Gruber (Toronto) 23.

Pitchers; Frank Viola (Minnesota) 25, Mark Gubicza (Kansas City) 24, Roger Clemens (Boston) and Teddy Higuera (Milwaukee) 22, Greg Swindell (Cleveland), Allan Anderson (Minnesota) and Mark Langston (Seattle) 19, Doug Jones (Cleveland) and Dave Stewart (Oakland) 18, Tom Candiotti (Cleveland), Mike Henneman (Detroit), Charlie Leibrandt (Kansas City) and Charlie Hough (Texas) 17.

WARP3: Canseco 8.7 (his career year), Boggs 8.1, Greenwell 6.8 (his career year), Gruber 6.2, Puckett and Trammell 6.0, R. Henderson and McGriff 5.9, Yount and D. Henderson 5.8 (best year), Molitor and Fernandez 5.4, Gary Gaetti (Minnesota) 5.3, Ripken 5.2, Scott Fletcher (Texas) 5.1, Brett 5.0, Kent Hrbek (Minnesota) 4.6, Eddie Murray (Baltimore) 4.5, McGwire, Terry Steinbach (Oakland) and Kevin Seitzer (Kansas City) 4.2.

Pitchers, Viola 8.1, Gubicza 7.8, Clemens 7.5, Swindell 6.3 (best year), Higuera 6.2 (last big year), Anderson 5.8 (career year), Langston 5.6, Candiotti 5.5, Leibrandt 5.4, Henneman 5.0 (best year), Dave Stieb (Toronto) 4.2, Jones, Bruce Hurst (Boston) and Jeff Reardon (Minnesota) 4.1, Mike Moore (Seattle) 4.0.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 13)
Place Name Team 1st Place Points
Jose Canseco OAK 28 392
2 Mike Greenwell BOS 0 242
3 Kirby Puckett MIN 0 219
4 Dave Winfield NYY 0 164
5 Dennis Eckersley OAK 0 156
6 Wade Boggs BOS 0 107
7 Alan Trammell DET 0 62
8 Paul Molitor MIL 0 50
9 Dwight Evans BOS 0 49
10 Frank Viola MIN 0 39
11 Robin Yount MIL 0 34
12 George Brett KCR 0 29
13 Dave Henderson OAK 0 28

Cy Young
Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Frank Viola MIN 27 138
2 Dennis Eckersley OAK 1 52
3 Mark Gubicza KCR 0 26
4 Dave Stewart OAK 0 16
5 Bruce Hurst BOS 0 12
6 Roger Clemens BOS 0 8

Note: Eckersley had 15 Win Shares.

Rookie
Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Walt Weiss OAK 17 103
2 Bryan Harvey CAL 3 49
3 Jody Reed BOS 6 48
4 Don August MIL 0 22
5 Dave Gallagher CHW 2 18
6 Melido Perez CHW 0 9
7 Mike Schooler SEA 0 2

Best player: Jose Canseco. Boggs has some stats that are stellar, but Canseco's are just as good and his team was a bigger surprise. Both Win Shares and WARP like him.
#1 Jose Canseco, #2 Wade Boggs, #3 Kirby Puckett, #4 Mike Greenwell, #5 Rickey Henderson, #6 Robin Yount.

Best pitcher: Sweet Music had a stellar year. Can't see how Hurst beat out Clemens in the BBWAA voting, though.
#1 Frank Viola, #2 Mark Gubicza, #3 Roger Clemens, #4 Teddy Higuera, #5 Greg Swindell, #6 Allan Anderson.

Best rookie: No clear favorite. Weiss won since he was a regular for a winner. I'll go with Walt too.

Best manager: Tony LaRussa, who brought home the top team in the league.

1987 National League

2010-01-16T12:06:00.002-05:00

The St. Louis Cardinals won their third division title and third pennant of the 1980s with their familiar brand of "Whiteyball," a run-and-gun offense styled by manager and de facto GM Whitey Herzog. Whitey had first say over all player moves, and something was working. In their big park, the Cardinals went for speed and defense, with one power hitter on hand, in this case Jack Clark. Clark would have been the hands-down MVP, but he was hurt and missed the last month. That may have helped lead to some of the oddest award choices ever seen.

The Cardinals outlasted their two rivals, New York and Montreal, for the division flag. St. Louis won 95 games, the Mets 92, and the Expos 91. It was a good race all year. The Phillies and Pirates were just under .500 in a tie for fourth, and the Cubs last with 85 losses, mediocre but not bad. The bad teams were in the West. San Francisco won the division with 90 victories, and the Reds were second with just 84. Houston ran third but posted 86 losses, more than any Eastern team. LA lost 89, Atlanta 92, and San Diego, just three years removed from their 1984 pennant, lost 97.

Tony Gwynn won the batting title for the last-place Padres with a .370 average. Pedro Guerrero was second at .338. Jack Clark, his season truncated, still led in on-base and slugging and, of course, OPS. Tim Raines led with 123 runs, followed by Vince Coleman at 121. Gwynn had 218 hits. Tim Wallach had 42 doubles, Juan Samuel 15 triples. Andre Dawson led with 49 HR and 137 RBI. Dale Murphy was next in homers with 44, Wallach next in RBI with 123. Coleman stole 109 bases. Murphy and Gwynn tied for the lead in runs created.

No pitcher won 20 games; Rick Sutcliffe led with 18, and Shane Rawley won 17. Nolan Ryan led with 270 strikeouts and a 2.76 ERA, though his record was just 8-16. It was a weird year. Mike Dunne (yes, Mike Dunne) was second in ERA at 3.03. Mike Scott was second in strikeouts at 233. Steve Bedrosian led with 40 saves and ended up taking the Cy Young. Orel Hershiser led with 265 innings, Fernando Valenzuela and Rick Reuschel tied with 12 complete games.

Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Tim Raines (Montreal) 34, Jack Clark and Ozzie Smith (St. Louis) 33, Eric Davis (Cincinnati) and Darryl Strawberry (New York) 30, Dale Murphy (Atlanta) and Tony Gwynn (San Diego) 29, Pedro Guerrero (Los Angeles) and Tim Wallach (Montreal) 28, Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 26. Andre Dawson had 20 WS.

Pitchers; Orel Hershiser (Los Angeles) 21, Tim Burke (Montreal) 20, Rick Sutcliffe (Chicago) and Bob Welch (Los Angeles) 19, Mike Scott (Houston) 18, Todd Worrell (St. Louis) 17, Andy McGaffigan (Montreal) and Steve Bedrosian (Philadelphia) 16, Lee Smith (Chicago), John Franco (Cincinnati), Nolan Ryan and Dave Smith (Houston), and Rick Reuschel (Pittsburgh) 15 each.

WARP3 scores: Gwynn 9.4, Davis 8.8, Ozzie 8.5, Murphy 8.4, Raines 7.7, Schmidt 7.6, Strawberry 6.5, Randy Ready (San Diego, career year) 6.3, Clark, Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke (both Pittsburgh) 6.2, Juan Samuel (Philadelphia) 5.6, Guerrero and Wallach 5.4, Bill Doran (Houston) 5.3, Benito Santiago (San Diego) 5.2, Will Clark (San Francisco) 4.9.

Pitchers; Hershiser 7.1, Sutcliffe 6.8, Welch 6.6, Scott 5.6, Ryan 5.0, Burke and Worrell 4.8, L, Smith 4.6, Franco 4.4, D. Smith 4.1, Dwight Gooden (New York) 4.0, Fernando Valenzuela (Los Angeles) 3.5, Bedrosian 3.4.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 15):
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Andre Dawson CHC 11 269
2 Ozzie Smith STL 9 193
3 Jack Clark STL 3 186
4 Tim Wallach MON 1 165
5 Will Clark SFG 0 128
6 Darryl Strawberry NYM 0 95
7 Tim Raines MON 0 80
8 Tony Gwynn SDP 0 75
9 Eric Davis CIN 0 73
10 Howard Johnson NYM 0 42
11 Dale Murphy ATL 0 34
12 Vince Coleman STL 0 20
13 Juan Samuel PHI 0 19
14 Mike Schmidt PHI 0 13
15 Pedro Guerrero LAD 0 12

Cy Young:
Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Steve Bedrosian PHI 9 57
2 Rick Sutcliffe CHC 4 55
3 Rick Reuschel TOT 8 54
4 Orel Hershiser LAD 2 14
5 Dwight Gooden NYM 1 12
5 Nolan Ryan HOU 0 12
7 Mike Scott HOU 0 9
8 Bob Welch LAD 0 3

Rookie (top 5)
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Benito Santiago SDP 24 120
2 Mike Dunne PIT 0 66
3 Joe Magrane STL 0 10
4 Casey Candaele MON 0 9
5 Gerald Young HOU 0 7

Best Player: Ozzie Smith. I thought Ozzie deserved the MVP at the time, and I still do today. Raines tops the Win Shares, Gwynn the WARP3, but Ozzie does well both places and he played for the winners. Dawson was a big whiff by the BBWAA, one of the worst selections ever.
1. Ozzie Smith; 2. Tony Gwynn; 3. Tim Raines; 4. Eric Davis; 5. Darryl Strawberry; 6. Jack Clark.

Best Pitcher: Orel Hershiser, although "none of the above" might be fitting here. Hershiser was 16-16 on the eve of his monster season, but was 3rd in wins, 3rd in ERA, 4th in strikeouts, 1st in innings. It's easy to see how Bedrosian snuck in and stole this award.
1. Orel Hershiser; 2. Rick Sutcliffe; 3. Bob Welch; 4. Mike Scott; 5. Nolan Ryan.

Best rookie: Benito Santiago, although this was his best season.

Best manager: Whitey Herzog of the Cardinals, rebounding from a below .500 season to win the pennant.

1987 American League

2010-01-16T11:45:00.002-05:00

The AL East put on a marvelous race, with Toronto leading most of the way only to fold at the end as Detroit won the division, taking 98 victories to Toronto's 96. Milwaukee was close behind with 91, while New York had 89. Boston lost 84, Baltimore 95, and Cleveland 101. The West division was ho-hum, with everyone struggling just to stay above .500. But like 1985, when Kansas City trudged through the season only to win it all at the end, Minnesota came up big in the postseason. The Twins won 85 games to take a close race with the Royals by two games. Oakland, at .500, was 4 games out. Seattle lost 84, Chicago 85, Texas and California 87 as the Angels slid to last one year after winning the West. Toronto led the league in pitching, Detroit in offense, both were good the other way too, while Minnesota was middle-of-the-pack all over. But they were obviously clutch.

Wade Boggs won the batting title at .363, followed by Paul Molitor at .353 and Alan Trammell at .343. Boggs also led in on-base and OPS. Molitor scored 114 runs, followed by George Bell at 111, while Kevin Seitzer and Kirby Puckett tied at 207 hits closely followed by Trammell at 205. Molitor had 41 doubles, Willie Wilson 15 triples, and rookie Mark McGwire swatted 49 home runs and led the league in slugging. Bell led in RBI with 134 and won the MVP in spite of Toronto's late collapse. Dwight Evans was second in RBI at 123. Bell was second in homers at 47. Harold Reynolds led with 60 steals, one ahead of Wilson.

Dave Stewart and Roger Clemens each won 20 games, followed by Mark Langston at 19. Langston led with 262 strikeouts and Clemens was second with 256. Jimmy Key paced the loop with a 2.76 ERA and Frank Viola was second at 2.90, with Clemens third at 2.97. Tom Henke led with 34 saves, followed by Dave Righetti and Jeff Reardon with 31. Charlie Hough led with 285 innings, while Clemens had 18 complete games and seven shutouts.

Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Alan Trammell (Detroit) 35, Wade Boggs (Boston) 32, Mark McGwire (Oakland) 30, Paul Molitor (Milwaukee) and Kirby Puckett (Minnesota) 29, Don Mattingly (New York) 27, Robin Yount (Milwaukee) and George Bell (Toronto) 26, Dwight Evans (Boston) and Kent Hrbek (Minnesota) 25, Danny Tartabull (Kansas City) and Tony Fernandez (Toronto) 24, Brian Downing (California), Kevin Seitzer (Kansas City) and Carney Lansford (Oakland) 23, Wally Joyner (California), Brook Jacoby (Cleveland), Darrell Evans (Detroit), Willie Randolph (New York) and Lloyd Moseby (Toronto) 22.

Pitchers; Roger Clemens (Boston) 28, Frank Viola (Minnesota) 24, Bret Saberhagen (Kansas City) and Jimmy Key (Toronto) 23, Jack Morris (Detroit) and Mark Langston (Seattle) 21, Charlie Leibrandt (Kansas City) and Teddy Higuera (Milwaukee) 20, Bert Blyleven (Minnesota) and Tom Henke (Toronto) 18, Floyd Bannister (Chicago), Dave Stewart (Oakland), Charlie Hough (Texas) and Jim Clancy (Toronto) 17.

WARP3, players: Trammell 10.0, Boggs 7.6, Fernandez 7.3, McGwire 5.6, Molitor 5.5, Bell 5.4, Randolph 5.3, Rickey Henderson (New York) and Ernie Whitt (Toronto) 4.8, Lansford, Mattingly, and Jesse Barfield (Toronto) 4.7, Jacoby 4.4.

WARP3, pitchers: Clemens 9.7, Viola 7.1, Saberhagen 6.9, Liebrandt and Higuera 5.7, Key 5.5, Morris and Mark Gubicza (Kansas City) 5.0, Langston and Bruce Hurst (Boston) 4.9, Stewart 4.7, Blyleven 4.6.

Actual voting:
MVP (top 10):
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 George Bell TOR 16 332
2 Alan Trammell DET 12 311
3 Kirby Puckett MIN 0 201
4 Dwight Evans BOS 0 127
5 Paul Molitor MIL 0 125
6 Mark McGwire OAK 0 109
7 Don Mattingly NYY 0 92
8 Tony Fernandez TOR 0 79
9 Wade Boggs BOS 0 64
10 Gary Gaetti MIN 0 47

Cy Young:
Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Roger Clemens BOS 21 124
2 Jimmy Key TOR 4 64
3 Dave Stewart OAK 2 32
4 Doyle Alexander TOT 1 8
5 Mark Langston SEA 0 7
6 Teddy Higuera MIL 0 5
6 Frank Viola MIN 0 5
8 Jeff Reardon MIN 0 4
9 Jack Morris DET 0 3

Rookie:
Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Mark McGwire OAK 28 140
2 Kevin Seitzer KCR 0 64
3 Matt Nokes DET 0 32
4 Mike Greenwell BOS 0 9
5 Devon White CAL 0 5
6 Mike Henneman DET 0 1
6 Nelson Liriano TOR 0 1

Best Player: It was obvious to everyone at the time, except 16 members of the BBWAA and RBI numnuts, that Alan Trammell was the top player, MVP, and whatever else. Wade Boggs might have outplayed him a bit, but for me;
1. Alan Trammell; 2. Wade Boggs; 3. Mark McGwire; 4. Paul Molitor; 5. George Bell; 6. Tony Fernandez.

Best Pitcher: Roger Clemens. Another great Rocket year. Not quite as dominating as other seasons, but still ahead of the crowd.
1. Roger Clemens; 2. Frank Viola; 3. Bret Saberhagen; 4. Jimmy Key; 5. Teddy Higuera; 6. Charlie Liebrandt.

Best rookie: Mark McGwire, easily. 49 homers! Seitzer a solid second.

Best manager: props to Sparky Anderson.

1986 National League

2010-01-08T14:17:00.002-05:00

Meet the Mets, meet the Mets. A talented team broke through and won the NL East, then the NLCS and finally a 7-game Series against the Red Sox. The Mets won 108 games, while second-place Philadelphia won 86. St. Louis dropped from the pennant to 82 losses, Montreal lost 83, Chicago lost 90, and Pittsburgh was last with 98 losses. Houston's Astros took the West with 96 wins, and went to Game 6 of the NLCS. Cincinnati was second with 86 wins, San Francisco third with 83 wins, while San Diego lost 88, Los Angeles lost 89, and Atlanta the same but with one less win.

Tim Raines edged Steve Sax and Tony Gwynn for the batting title, as Raines batted .334, Sax .332, and Gwynn .329. Vince Coleman had triple-digit steals again, swiping 107 followed by Eric Davis with 80. Mike Schmidt won the MVP by leading in HR, RBI and OPS. Schmidt's 37 HR were followed by Glenn Davis and Dave Parker at 31, while his 119 RBI were trailed by Parker at 116 and Gary Carter at 105. Gwynn led in hits with 211 and tied with Von Hayes in runs at 107. Hayes had 46 doubles, Mitch Webster 13 triples.

Fernando Valenzuela led in wins with 21, and Mike Krukow had 20. Mike Scott in ERA and strikeouts (and won the Cy Young). Scott's 2.22 ERA was trailed by Bobby Ojeda at 2.57 and Ron Darling at 2.81. Scott at 306 strikeouts was followed by Valenzuela at 242. Todd Worrell edged Jeff Reardon in saves 36 to 35. Valenzuela pitched 20 complete games.

Win Shares leaders, players; Tim Raines (Montreal) 32, Steve Sax (Los Angeles) and Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 31, Keith Hernandez (New York) and Tony Gwynn (San Diego) 29, Kevin Bass (Houston) 27, Von Hayes (Philadelphia) and Kevin McReynolds (New York) 26, Eric Davis (Cincinnati) and Darryl Strawberry (New York) 25, Glenn Davis (Houston) 24, Buddy Bell (Cincinnati), Gary Carter and Lenny Dykstra (New York) and Ozzie Smith (St. Louis) 23, Dale Murphy (Atlanta) and Mitch Webster (Montreal) 22, Chili Davis (San Francisco) 21, Ryne Sandberg (Chicago), Dave Parker (Cincinnati) and Bob Brenly (San Francisco) 20.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Mike Scott (Houston) 27, Fernando Valenzuela (Los Angeles) 21, Rick Rhoden (Pittsburgh) 20, Todd Worrell (St. Louis) 19, Bob Ojeda (New York) 18, Lee Smith (Chicago), Bob Knepper (Houston), Ron Darling and Dwight Gooden (New York) 17, Bill Gullickson (Cincinnati), Roger McDowell (New York), Mike Krukow (San Francisco), Bob Forsch and John Tudor (St. Louis) 16.

WARP3 scores: Raines 8.6, Gwynn 8.4, Schmidt 7.4, Hernandez 6.8, Bass 6.3 (career year), Smith and Dykstra 6.0, Sax (best year) and Carter (last really big year) 5.9, Johnny Ray (Pittsburgh) 5.2, G. Davis 5.1, E. Davis, Webster (career year), and Denny Walling (Houston) 5.0, Hayes and Tony Pena (Pittsburgh) 4.9, Robby Thompson (San Francisco) 4.8, McReynolds 4.7, Strawberry 4.4, C. Davis and Mookie Wilson (New York) 4.3, Bell and Hubie Brooks (New York) 4.1.

Pitchers, Rhoden 7.7, Scott 7.5, Valenzuela 7.2 (last year), Worrell 5.2 (rookie), L. Smith 4.8, Bob Welch (Los Angeles) 4.5, Gene Garber (Atlanta) 4.4, Ojeda and Lance McCullers (San Diego) 4.1, Gullickson, David Palmer (Atlanta) and Kent Tekulve (Philadelphia) 4.0.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 15): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+--+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Mike Schmidt PHI 15 287 336 0.85 | 552 160 37 .290 .937 1|
2 Glenn Davis HOU 6 231 336 0.69 | 574 152 31 .265 .837 3|
3 Gary Carter NYM 1 181 336 0.54 | 490 125 24 .255 .776 1|
4 Keith Hernandez NYM 2 179 336 0.53 | 551 171 13 .310 .859 2|
5 Dave Parker CIN 0 144 336 0.43 | 637 174 31 .273 .807 1|
6 Tim Raines MON 0 99 336 0.29 | 580 194 9 .334 .889 70|
7 Kevin Bass HOU 0 73 336 0.22 | 591 184 20 .311 .842 22|
8 Von Hayes PHI 0 41 336 0.12 | 610 186 19 .305 .859 24|
9 Tony Gwynn SDP 0 34 336 0.10 | 642 211 14 .329 .848 37|
10 Mike Scott HOU 0 33 336 0.10 | 95 12 0 .126 .292 0| 18-10 275 2.22 0.92 306
11 Bill Doran HOU 0 32 336 0.10 | 550 152 6 .276 .741 42|
12 Eric Davis CIN 0 21 336 0.06 | 415 115 27 .277 .901 80|
13 Steve Sax LAD 0 13 336 0.04 | 633 210 6 .332 .830 40|
14 Ray Knight NYM 0 9 336 0.03 | 486 145 11 .298 .775 2|
15 Mike Krukow SFG 0 8 336 0.02 | 82 12 0 .146 .345 1| 20-9 245 3.05 1.06 178
Schmidt won a close race with no clear front-runner.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Mike Scott HOU 15 98 120 0.82 | 18-10 275 2.22 0.92 306
2 Fernando Valenzuela LAD 9 88 120 0.73 | 21-11 269 3.14 1.15 242
3 Mike Krukow SFG 0 15 120 0.12 | 20-9 245 3.05 1.06 178
4 Bob Ojeda NYM 0 9 120 0.08 | 18-5 217 2.57 1.09 148
5 Ron Darling NYM 0 2 120 0.02 | 15-6 237 2.81 1.20 184
5 Rick Rhoden PIT 0 2 120 0.02 | 15-12 254 2.84 1.13 159
7 Sid Fernandez NYM 0 1 120 0.01 | 16-6 204 3.52 1.23 200 1
7 Dwight Gooden NYM 0 1 120 0.01 | 17-6 250 2.84 1.11 200
Scott edged Fernando.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Todd Worrell STL 23 118 120 0.98 | 7 1 0 .143 .571 0| 9-10 104 2.08 1.23 73 36
2 Robby Thompson SFG 0 46 120 0.38 | 549 149 7 .271 .698 12|
3 Kevin Mitchell NYM 1 22 120 0.18 | 328 91 12 .277 .811 3|
4 Charlie Kerfeld HOU 0 17 120 0.14 | 9 1 0 .111 .311 0| 11-2 94 2.69 1.21 77 7
5 Will Clark SFG 0 5 120 0.04 | 408 117 11 .287 .787 4|
6 Barry Bonds PIT 0 4 120 0.03 | 413 92 16 .223 .746 36|
7 Jim Deshaies HOU 0 1 120 0.01 | 43 2 0 .047 .210 0| 12-5 144 3.25 1.27 128
7 John Kruk SDP 0 1 120 0.01 | 278 86 4 .309 .828 2|
7 Barry Larkin CIN 0 1 120 0.01 | 159 45 3 .283 .722 8|
7 Bruce Ruffin PHI 0 1 120 0.01 | 55 4 0 .073 .164 0| 9-4 146 2.46 1.24 70
Worrell was a clear winner, but it was a talented field. There are two or three Hall of Famers here.

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Hal Lanier HOU 19 108 120 0.90 | 96-66 1
2 Davey Johnson NYM 3 62 120 0.52 | 108-54 1
3 Roger Craig SFG 2 42 120 0.35 | 83-79 3
4 John Felske PHI 0 3 120 0.02 | 86-75 2
5 Jim Leyland PIT 0 1 120 0.01 | 64-98 6

Top player: Tim Raines. There are three clear favorites based on performance, and neither played for a winner. The award could go to either Raines, Schmidt or Gwynn, all are deserving. I'll bypass Schmidt because he's won before, and take Raines over Gwynn.
#1 Tim Raines, #2 Mike Schmidt, #3 Tony Gwynn, #4 Steve Sax, #5 Keith Hernandez, #6 Kevin Bass.

Top pitcher: Mike Scott was clearly the best, although having 18 wins vs. Fernando's 21 almost cost him the writers' vote.
#1 Mike Scott, #2 Rick Rhoden, #3 Fernando Valenzuela, #4 Todd Worrell, #5 Bobby Ojeda, #6 Lee Smith.

Top rookie: Todd Worrell, although others would have better careers.

Top manager: Dave Johnson, guiding the contentious Mets to the World Series.

1986 American League

2010-01-08T13:35:00.002-05:00

Boston's Red Sox were the story of the year, winning the AL East with 95 victories, then taking 7 games to defeat the Angels in the ALCS. Boston won the division over New York at 90 victories, Detroit at 87, Toronto at 86, Cleveland at 84, and 84-loss Milwaukee and 89-loss Baltimore. It was a very strong and competitive division. California had a relatively easy time of it in the West, with only Texas joining them over .500 at 87 victories. Defending champs Kansas City lost 86 and tied for third with Oakland, Chicago lost 90, Minnesota lost 91, and Seattle lost 95. The Angels gave a surprisingly good showing in the playoffs until closer Donnie Moore's meltdown. Boston had a meltdown of their own in the World Series, blowing Game 6 and losing in 7.

Wade Boggs edged out Don Mattingly for the batting title .357 to .352. Jesse Barfield led in homers with 40, followed by Dave Kingman at 35. Joe Carter led in RBI with 121, followed by Jose Canseco with 117 and Mattingly at 113. Rickey Henderson led in runs with 130, trailed by Kirby Puckett at 117, and steals with 87, followed by John Cangelosi and Gary Pettis at 50. Brett Butler had 14 triples. Mattingly led in hits, doubles, total bases and OPS.

Roger Clemens won the MVP and Cy Young as he led in wins and ERA, and was 2nd in strikeouts to Mark Langston. Jack Morris was second to Clemens' 24 wins with 21, and Teddy Higuera won 20. Following Clemens in ERA at 2.48 was Higuera at 2.79 and Mike Witt at 2.84. Dave Righetti led in saves with 46. Morris tossed six shutouts, and Tom Candiotti had 17 complete games.

Win Shares leaders, players; Wade Boggs (Boston) 37, Don Mattingly (New York) 34, Cal Ripken (Baltimore), Jim Rice (Boston), Joe Carter (Cleveland) and Jesse Barfield (Toronto) 28, Alan Trammell (Detroit), Kirby Puckett (Minnesota) and Rickey Henderson (New York) 26, Tony Bernazard (Cleveland) 25, Dwight Evans (Boston), Pete O'Brien (Texas) and Tony Fernandez (Toronto) 24, Brian Downing (California), Robin Yount (Milwaukee), Gary Gaetti (Minnesota) and George Bell (Toronto) 23, Marty Barrett (Boston) 22, Wally Joyner (California), Brook Jacoby (Cleveland) and Jose Canseco (Oakland) 21.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Roger Clemens (Boston) 29, Teddy Higuera (Milwaukee) 25, Mike Witt (California) 23, Mark Eichhorn (Toronto) 21, Jack Morris (Detroit) and Dave Righetti (New York) 20, Kirk McCaskill (California) and Bert Blyleven (Minnesota) 18, Tom Candiotti (Cleveland) 17, Bruce Hurst (Boston) 16.

WARP3 scores: Barfield 8.5 (best year), Mattingly and Ripken 8.3, Trammell 7.9, Boggs 7.4, Henderson 7.0, Lou Whitaker (Detroit) 5.7, Fernandez 5.6, Bernazard 5.4 (best year), Carter 5.2 (best year), Rice 5.1 (last good year), Dick Schofield (California) 5.0, Gary Pettis (California) 4.9, Gaetti 4.8 (best year), Scott Fletcher (Texas) 4.6, Frank White (Kansas City) 4.3, Tony Phillips (Oakland) and Lance Parrish (Detroit) 4.1.

Pitchers, Clemens 9.0, Higuera 8.6 (career year), Eichhorn 8.1 (career year), Righetti 6.0 (career year), Witt 5.7 (career year), Blyleven and Hurst 5.4, Mike Moore (Seattle) 4.8, Candiotti and Jimmy Key (Toronto) 4.6, Oil Can Boyd (Boston) 4.5, Morris 4.2, Greg Harris (Texas) 4.1, McCaskill 4.0 (best year).

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 15): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Roger Clemens BOS 19 339 392 0.86 | | 24-4 254 2.48 0.97 238
2 Don Mattingly NYY 5 258 392 0.66 | 677 238 31 .352 .967 0|
3 Jim Rice BOS 4 241 392 0.61 | 618 200 20 .324 .874 0|
4 George Bell TOR 0 125 392 0.32 | 641 198 31 .309 .881 7|
5 Jesse Barfield TOR 0 107 392 0.27 | 589 170 40 .289 .927 8|
6 Kirby Puckett MIN 0 105 392 0.27 | 680 223 31 .328 .903 20|
7 Wade Boggs BOS 0 87 392 0.22 | 580 207 8 .357 .939 0|
8 Wally Joyner CAL 0 74 392 0.19 | 593 172 22 .290 .805 5|
9 Joe Carter CLE 0 72 392 0.18 | 663 200 29 .302 .849 29|
10 Dave Righetti NYY 0 71 392 0.18 | | 8-8 107 2.45 1.15 83 46
11 Doug DeCinces CAL 0 56 392 0.14 | 512 131 26 .256 .784 2|
12 Mike Witt CAL 0 34 392 0.09 | | 18-10 269 2.84 1.08 208
13 Don Baylor BOS 0 32 392 0.08 | 585 139 31 .238 .783 3|
14 Tony Fernandez TOR 0 17 392 0.04 | 687 213 10 .310 .766 25|
15 Teddy Higuera MIL 0 7 392 0.02 | | 20-11 248 2.79 1.21 207
Clemens a clear winner over Mattingly and Rice.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Roger Clemens BOS 28 140 140 1.00 | 24-4 254 2.48 0.97 238
2 Teddy Higuera MIL 0 42 140 0.30 | 20-11 248 2.79 1.21 207
3 Mike Witt CAL 0 35 140 0.25 | 18-10 269 2.84 1.08 208
4 Dave Righetti NYY 0 20 140 0.14 | 8-8 107 2.45 1.15 83 46
5 Jack Morris DET 0 13 140 0.09 | 21-8 267 3.27 1.16 223
6 Mark Eichhorn TOR 0 2 140 0.01 | 14-6 157 1.72 0.96 166 10
Easy victory for Clemens here.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+--------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Jose Canseco OAK 16 110 140 0.79 | 600 144 33 .240 .775 15|
2 Wally Joyner CAL 12 98 140 0.70 | 593 172 22 .290 .805 5|
3 Mark Eichhorn TOR 0 23 140 0.16 | | 14-6 157 1.72 0.96 166 10
4 Cory Snyder CLE 0 16 140 0.11 | 416 113 24 .272 .799 2|
5 Danny Tartabull SEA 0 4 140 0.03 | 511 138 25 .270 .836 4|
6 Ruben Sierra TEX 0 1 140 0.01 | 382 101 16 .264 .779 7|
Canseco by a slim margin over Joyner.

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 John McNamara BOS 13 95 140 0.68 | 95-66 1
2 Bobby Valentine TEX 12 90 140 0.64 | 87-75 2
3 Gene Mauch CAL 2 44 140 0.31 | 92-70 1
4 Pat Corrales CLE 1 18 140 0.13 | 84-78 5
5 Lou Piniella NYY 0 5 140 0.04 | 90-72 2

Top player: Don Mattingly. I took his award last year, but give him this one. He was clearly the best hitter in the league, leading in OPS in a tough park for hitters.
#1 Don Mattingly, #2 Wade Boggs, #3 Cal Ripken, #4 Jesse Barfield, #5 Alan Trammell, #6 Jim Rice.

Top pitcher: Roger Clemens. Clemens had all the stats and led a winner.
#1 Roger Clemens, #2 Ted Higuera, #3 Mark Eichhorn, #4 Mike Witt, #5 Dave Righetti, #6 Bert Blyleven.

Top rookie: Wally Joyner was just a bit better than Jose Canseco.

Top manager: John McNamara brought the Red Sox home in a tough field.

1985 National League

2010-01-07T15:53:00.002-05:00

The St. Louis Cardinals returned to the top spot, winning 101 games and surviving a heated race with the Mets by a three-game margin. Montreal was third with 84 wins, followed by Chicago, Philadelphia, and the empty husk of Pittsburgh, as the Pirates lost 104 games in the midst of a cocaine-induced collapse. Los Angeles took the West with 95 victories, ahead of resurgent Cincinnati's 89. Houston and San Diego tied for third with 83 wins, Atlanta was 5th with 96 losses, and San Francisco last with 100 defeats.

Willie McGee easily won the batting title and also led in hits and triples, and copped the MVP award. Dale Murphy led in HR and runs, Dave Parker in doubles and RBI, and Pedro Guerrero in OPS. Vince Coleman stole 110 bases.

Dwight Gooden won a pitcher's Triple Crown by leading in wins, ERA and strikeouts, easily taking the Cy Young. He did this as the second-youngest player in the league. He was actually the youngest real player, as younger Jose Gonzalez only accumulated 11 at bats. Jeff Reardon led in saves.

Win Shares leaders, players; Tim Raines (Montreal) and Willie McGee (St. Louis) 36, Pedro Guerrero (Los Angeles) 35, Gary Carter (Montreal) 33, Dale Murphy (Atlanta) 31, Tommy Herr (St. Louis) 30, Dave Parker (Cincinnati) 29, Ryne Sandberg (Chicago) and Bill Doran (Houston) 28, Keith Hernandez (New York) 27, Mike Scioscia (Los Angeles) and Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 26, Ozzie Smith (St. Louis) 25, Vance Law (Montreal) and Darryl Strawberry (New York) 24, Mike Marshall (Los Angeles) and Tim Wallach (Montreal) 23, Jack Clark (St. Louis) 22, Ron Oester (Cincinnati), Jose Cruz (Houston), Juan Samuel (Philadelphia) and Garry Templeton (San Diego) 21.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Dwight Gooden (New York) 33, John Tudor (St. Louis) 27, Orel Hershiser (Los Angeles) 23, Fernando Valenzuela (Los Angeles) 21, Rick Reuschel (Pittsburgh) 20, Tom Browning (Cincinnati) 18, Rick Mahler (Atlanta), Lee Smith (Chicago) and Ron Darling (New York) 17, John Franco (Cincinnati), Bryn Smith (Montreal) and Danny Cox (St. Louis) 16.

WARP3 scores: Guerrero 9.7 (best year), Raines 9.5, Smith 7.9, McGee (best year) and Carter 7.8, Scioscia 6.1 (best year), Sandberg 6.0, Wallach 5.9, Doran (best year) and Hernandez 5.8, Templeton 5.7, Schmidt and Strawberry 5.5, Herr 5.4 (best year), Marshall 5.2 (career year), Murphy 5.1, Law 5.0 (career year), Parker 4.8, Oester 4.5 (best year), Tony Gwynn (San Diego) and Andy Van Slyke (St. Louis) 4.4.

Pitchers, Gooden 11.7, Tudor 7.9, Reuschel 7.8, Mahler 5.8, Hershiser 5.6, Valenzuela 5.3, Franco 4.5, Dennis Eckersley (Chicago) and Bob Welch (Los Angeles) 4.4, Kevin Gross (Philadelphia) 4.3, Shane Rawley (Philadelphia) 4.2, Tim Burke (Montreal) 4.1.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 15): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+--+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Willie McGee STL 14 280 336 0.83 | 612 216 10 .353 .887 56|
2 Dave Parker CIN 6 220 336 0.65 | 635 198 34 .312 .916 5|
3 Pedro Guerrero LAD 3 208 336 0.62 | 487 156 33 .320 .999 12|
4 Dwight Gooden NYM 1 162 336 0.48 | 93 21 1 .226 .545 0| 24-4 277 1.53 0.97 268
5 Tom Herr STL 0 119 336 0.35 | 596 180 8 .302 .795 31|
6 Gary Carter NYM 0 116 336 0.35 | 555 156 32 .281 .853 1|
7 Dale Murphy ATL 0 63 336 0.19 | 616 185 37 .300 .927 10|
8 Keith Hernandez NYM 0 61 336 0.18 | 593 183 10 .309 .814 3|
8 John Tudor STL 0 61 336 0.18 | 94 13 0 .138 .395 0| 21-8 275 1.93 0.94 169
10 Jack Clark STL 0 20 336 0.06 | 442 124 22 .281 .895 1|
11 Vince Coleman STL 0 16 336 0.05 | 636 170 1 .267 .655 110|
12 Tim Raines MON 0 15 336 0.04 | 575 184 11 .320 .880 70|
13 Ryne Sandberg CHC 0 14 336 0.04 | 609 186 26 .305 .868 54|
14 Hubie Brooks MON 0 11 336 0.03 | 605 163 13 .269 .723 6|
14 Mike Marshall LAD 0 11 336 0.03 | 518 152 28 .293 .857 3|
McGee won a close vote.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Dwight Gooden NYM 24 120 120 1.00 | 24-4 277 1.53 0.97 268
2 John Tudor STL 0 65 120 0.54 | 21-8 275 1.93 0.94 169
3 Orel Hershiser LAD 0 17 120 0.14 | 19-3 240 2.03 1.03 157
4 Joaquin Andujar STL 0 6 120 0.05 | 21-12 270 3.40 1.29 112
5 Fernando Valenzuela LAD 0 4 120 0.03 | 17-10 272 2.45 1.15 208
6 Tom Browning CIN 0 3 120 0.02 | 20-9 261 3.55 1.21 155
7 Jeff Reardon MON 0 1 120 0.01 | 2-8 88 3.18 1.07 67 41
Gooden was a deserving unanimous choice, and Tudor was a clear second with a year that would have won the award most years.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Vince Coleman STL 24 120 120 1.00 | 636 170 1 .267 .655 110|
2 Tom Browning CIN 0 72 120 0.60 | 88 17 0 .193 .467 0| 20-9 261 3.55 1.21 155
3 Mariano Duncan LAD 0 9 120 0.08 | 562 137 6 .244 .633 38|
4 Chris Brown SFG 0 7 120 0.06 | 432 117 16 .271 .787 2|
5 Glenn Davis HOU 0 3 120 0.02 | 350 95 20 .271 .807 0|
6 Roger McDowell NYM 0 2 120 0.02 | 19 3 0 .158 .411 0| 6-5 127 2.83 1.14 70 17
6 Joe Orsulak PIT 0 2 120 0.02 | 397 119 0 .300 .707 24|
8 Joe Hesketh MON 0 1 120 0.01 | 44 4 0 .091 .258 0| 10-5 155 2.49 1.09 113
Coleman was a unanimous choice with his triple-digit steals.

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Whitey Herzog STL 11 86 120 0.72 | 101-61 1
2 Pete Rose CIN 10 85 120 0.71 | 89-72 2
3 Tommy Lasorda LAD 3 39 120 0.32 | 95-67 1
4 Davey Johnson NYM 0 4 120 0.03 | 98-64 2
5 Buck Rodgers MON 0 2 120 0.02 | 84-77 3
Herzog edged Rose in a virtual dead heat.

Top player: Pedro Guerrero. He was the top hitter in the league, and played for a division winner. Raines could have been the pick, but the difference in the meta-stats is not statistically significant, and Guerrero's team won something.
#1 Pedro Guerrero, #2 Tim Raines, #3 Willie McGee, #4 Gary Carter, #5 Dale Murphy, #6 Ryne Sandberg.

Top pitcher: Dwight Gooden, with one of the best years in recent memory. Only that could relegate Tudor's great year to #2.
#1 Dwight Gooden, #2 John Tudor, #3 Rick Reuschel, #4 Orel Hershiser, #5 Fernando Valenzuela, #6 Rick Mahler.

Top rookie: Tom Browning and his 20 wins, although Coleman's showy steal total for a winner took all the attention.

Top manager: Whitey Herzog, guiding the Cardinals in.

1985 American League

2010-01-07T15:12:00.002-05:00

With their fine 1970s team fading, the Kansas City Royals finally won a World Championship, behind a terrific pitching staff and an offense that had George Brett and not much else. The Royals won 91 times to edge the Angels in the AL West by a game, then took the ALCS and the World Series in 7 games each. None of it was easy, but it was quite a ride.

The White Sox were third in the West with 85 wins, Minnesota and Oakland tied for fourth, Seattle was 6th and Texas lost 99 times to finish last. The AL East was where the action was supposed to be, with Toronto posting 99 wins to beat New York by two games, followed by Detroit, Baltimore and Boston, with Milwaukee 6th and Cleveland bringing up the rear with 102 losses.

Wade Boggs won the batting title with a .368 average and led in on-base, while George Brett was second with a .335 mark and led in slugging and OPS. Darrell Evans led in HR with 40, followed by Carlton Fisk at 37. Don Mattingly led in RBI with 145, doubles with 48 and total bases. Eddie Murray was second with 124 RBI. Rickey Henderson led in steals with 80 and runs with 146. Boggs had 240 hits and Willie Wilson 21 triples.

Ron Guidry led in wins with 22 followed by Bret Saberhagen with 20. Dave Stieb led in ERA with 2.48, followed by Charlie Liebrandt at 2.69 and Saberhagen at 2.87. Bert Blyleven led in strikeouts with 206 and Floyd Bannister was second with 198. Dan Quisenberry led in saves with 37. Blyleven pitched 24 complete games and five shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Rickey Henderson (New York) 38, George Brett (Kansas City) 37, Don Mattingly (New York) 32, Wade Boggs (Boston) 31, Eddie Murray (Baltimore) 28, Phil Bradley (Seattle) and Jesse Barfield (Toronto) 26, Cal Ripken (Baltimore) and Harold Baines (Chicago) 25, Carlton Fisk (Chicago), Kirk Gibson and Lou Whitaker (Detroit) 24, Brett Butler (Cleveland) and Mike Davis (Oakland) 23, Alvin Davis (Seattle) 22, Dwight Evans (Boston), Brian Downing (California), Paul Molitor (Milwaukee), Dave Winfield (New York), and George Bell, Tony Fernandez, and Lloyd Moseby (Toronto) 21.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Charlie Liebrandt and Bret Saberhagen (Kansas City) and Dave Stieb (Toronto) 24, Dan Quisenberry (Kansas City) and Bert Blyleven (Cleveland/Minnesota) 23, Bob James (Chicago) 22, Charlie Hough (Texas) 21, Donnie Moore (California) and Doyle Alexander (Toronto) 20, Willie Hernandez and Jack Morris (Detroit), Mike Moore (Seattle) and Jimmy Key (Toronto) 19.

WARP3 scores: Henderson 9.7, Barfield 8.1, Brett 7.7, Boggs 7.6, Mattingly 7.3, Ripken 6.9, Fernandez 6.3, Rich Gedman (Boston) 5.9, Murray 5.8, Willie Randolph (New York) 5.7, M. Davis 5.3 (career year), Evans 4.8, Whitaker and Butler 4.5, Gibson 4.4, Lance Parrish (Detroit) 4.3, Bradley (best year), Fisk, and Alan Trammell (Detroit) 4.1.

Pitchers, Saberhagen 7.5, Liebrandt 7.2 (best year), Hough 7.0 (best year), Quisenberry (best year) and Oil Can Boyd (Boston) 6.4, Moore 5.5 (career year), Tom Seaver (Chicago) 5.3, Stieb 5.1, Jay Howell (Oakland) 4.5, Morris, Dave Righetti and Ron Guidry (both New York) 4.4, Blyleven 4.2.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 15): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+---+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Don Mattingly NYY 23 367 392 0.94 | 652 211 35 .324 .939 2|
2 George Brett KCR 5 274 392 0.70 | 550 184 30 .335 1.022 9|
3 Rickey Henderson NYY 0 174 392 0.44 | 547 172 24 .314 .934 80|
4 Wade Boggs BOS 0 159 392 0.41 | 653 240 8 .368 .928 2|
5 Eddie Murray BAL 0 130 392 0.33 | 583 173 31 .297 .906 5|
6 Donnie Moore CAL 0 96 392 0.24 | | 8-8 103 1.92 1.09 72 31
7 Jesse Barfield TOR 0 88 392 0.22 | 539 156 27 .289 .905 22|
8 George Bell TOR 0 84 392 0.21 | 607 167 28 .275 .807 21|
9 Harold Baines CHW 0 49 392 0.12 | 640 198 22 .309 .815 1|
10 Bret Saberhagen KCR 0 45 392 0.11 | | 20-6 235 2.87 1.06 158
11 Dan Quisenberry KCR 0 39 392 0.10 | | 8-9 129 2.37 1.22 54 37
12 Dave Winfield NYY 0 35 392 0.09 | 633 174 26 .275 .799 19|
13 Carlton Fisk CHW 0 29 392 0.07 | 543 129 37 .238 .808 17|
14 Darrell Evans DET 0 17 392 0.04 | 505 125 40 .248 .875 0|
15 Ron Guidry NYY 0 15 392 0.04 | | 22-6 259 3.27 1.10 143
Mattingly handily won the BBWAA voting.

Cy Young (top 5): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Bret Saberhagen KCR 23 127 140 0.91 | 20-6 235 2.87 1.06 158
2 Ron Guidry NYY 4 88 140 0.63 | 22-6 259 3.27 1.10 143
3 Bert Blyleven TOT 1 9 140 0.06 |+17-16 294 3.16 1.15 206
3 Dan Quisenberry KCR 0 9 140 0.06 | 8-9 129 2.37 1.22 54 37
5 Charlie Leibrandt KCR 0 7 140 0.05 | 17-9 238 2.69 1.22 108
Saberhagen over Guidry in a fairly close race.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+-------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Ozzie Guillen CHW 16 101 140 0.72 | 491 134 1 .273 .650 7|
2 Teddy Higuera MIL 9 67 140 0.48 | | 15-8 212 3.90 1.17 127
3 Ernest Riles MIL 0 29 140 0.21 | 448 128 5 .286 .717 2|
4 Oddibe McDowell TEX 1 25 140 0.18 | 406 97 18 .239 .735 25|
5 Stew Cliburn CAL 1 16 140 0.11 | | 9-3 99 2.09 1.14 48 6
6 Brian Fisher NYY 0 7 140 0.05 | | 4-4 98 2.38 1.08 85 14
7 Tom Henke TOR 1 5 140 0.04 | | 3-3 40 2.02 0.92 42 13
8 Mark Salas MIN 0 2 140 0.01 | 360 108 9 .300 .791 0|
Guillen and Higuera led a weak field.

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Bobby Cox TOR 16 104 140 0.74 | 99-62 1
2 Dick Howser KCR 4 66 140 0.47 | 91-71 1
3 Gene Mauch CAL 8 57 140 0.41 | 90-72 2
4 Billy Martin NYY 0 19 140 0.14 | 91-54 2
5 Jackie Moore OAK 0 4 140 0.03 | 77-85 5
6 Tony LaRussa CHW 0 1 140 0.01 | 85-77 3
6 John McNamara BOS 0 1 140 0.01 | 81-81 5

Top player: Rickey Henderson emerges as the best player this year. Mattingly won the MVP for his RBI, but it was Henderson giving him someone to drive in so often.
#1 Rickey Henderson, #2 George Brett, #3 Don Mattingly, #4 Wade Boggs, #5 Jesse Barfield, #6 Cal Ripken.

Top pitcher: Bret Saberhagen, 20-game winner for the Royals.
#1 Bret Saberhagen, #2 Charlie Liebrandt, #3 Dan Quisenberry, #4 Charlie Hough, #5 Dave Stieb. The Royals won on their pitching, which is why the top three pitchers are Royals.

Top rookie: Ozzie Guillen is the right choice, by a slim margin. He had 15 Win Shares to Teddy Higuera's 14.

Top manager: Bobby Cox managed Toronto to their first title of any kind. KC's Dick Howser was great too.

1984 National League

2010-01-07T14:39:00.002-05:00

It was Ryne Sandberg's year, all year long. The Cubs hadn't won anything since the 1945 pennant, and after blowing it so big in 1969 it all seemed to fall into place...including their exceptional second baseman. Even more, Rick Sutcliffe arrived in a June 13 trade and went 16-1 the rest of the way, winning the Cy Young Award for his trouble. The Cubs won 96 games, while the Mets took second with 90 wins. St. Louis won 84, while Philadelphia was 4th at .500. Montreal was 5th, Pittsburgh last while in the throes of a drug-enduced collapse.

Then the Padres won the NLCS. They had a young star of their own in Tony Gwynn, but the Chicago faithful just thought it wasn't fair. Destiny again denied the Cubbies. The Padres took the West with 92 wins, and no other team was over .500. Atlanta and Houston tied for 2nd, twelve games back. Los Angeles was 4th, Cincinnati 5th, and San Francisco last.

Gwynn led the league in batting at .351 by a 30-point margin, with Lee Lacy second. Mike Schmidt led in OPS by a fraction of a point over Dale Murphy, who led in slugging. The two tied for the home run lead at 36, and Schmidt tied Gary Carter in RBI at 106. Muprhy's 100 was the only other triple-digit number. Gary Matthews led in on-base, Sandberg in runs with 114, Tim Raines in steals with 75 to edge Juan Samuel at 72. Gwynn had 213 hits, Raines and Johnny Ray 38 doubles, Sandberg and Samuel 19 triples.

Joaquin Andujar led the league with 20 wins (Sutcliffe won 20, but the first 4 were in the AL) while Mario Soto won 18. Alejandro Pena led in ERA with a 2.48 mark. Dwight Gooden led in strikeouts with 276 and was second in ERA at 2.60. Bruce Sutter led in saves with 45. Andujar led with 261 innings, 1/3 more than Fernando Valenzuela, and Soto pitched 13 complete games.

Here's the 1984 NL Win Shares leaders: Ryne Sandberg (Chicago) 38, Tony Gwynn (San Diego) 35, Dale Murphy (Atlanta) and Keith Hernandez (New York) 33, Tim Raines (Montreal) 32, Gary Carter (Montreal) 30, Jose Cruz (Houston) 29, Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 26, Kevin McReynolds (San Diego) 25, Darryl Strawberry (New York) 24, Gary Matthews (Chicago), Pedro Guerrero (Los Angeles), Mookie Wilson (New York) and Alan Wiggins (San Diego) 23, Leon Durham (Chicago) 22, Hubie Brooks (New York), Von Hayes (Philadelphia), Tony Pena (Pittsburgh), Carmelo Martinez (San Diego) and Chili Davis (San Francisco) 21.

For pitchers, it's Bruce Sutter (St. Louis) 23, Rick Rhoden (Pittsburgh) 20, Rick Mahler (Atlanta), Mario Soto (Cincinnati), Orel Hershiser , Alejandro Pena and Fernando Valenzuela (Los Angeles) , and Dwight Gooden (New York) all with 18, Jesse Orosco (New York) and Joaquin Andujar (St. Louis) 17, Rick Sutcliffe (Chicago) 16, Lee Smith (Chicago), Charlie Lea (Montreal) and Goose Gossage (San Diego) 15.

WARP3 numbers have Sandberg and Schmidt 8.6, Cruz 8.4 (best year at age 36), Carter 7.4 in his last Montreal year, Gwynn 7.2, Hernandez 7.1, Raines 6.4, Murphy 6.0, Johnny Ray (Pittsburgh) and Bob Brenly (San Francisco) 5.6, Pena 5.5 (best year), Ozzie Smith (St. Louis) 5.3, Tim Wallach (Montreal) 5.2, Willie McGee (St. Louis) 4.9, Lee Lacy (Pittsburgh) 4.8, Wiggins 4.7 (best year), Davis 4.5 (best year), Mike Scioscia (Los Angeles) 4.3, McReynolds and Hayes 4.2, Phil Garner (Houston) 4.0.

Pitchers went Sutter 7.2 (last great year), Rhoden 5.7, Hershiser and Gooden (both rookies) 5.4, Valenzuela 5.1, Pena 5.0 (best year), Mahler and Bill Dawley (Houston) 4.5, Sutcliffe 4.3 (4.6 counting Cleveland work), Rick Honeycutt (Los Angeles) 4.2, Soto and Ted Power (Cincinnati) 3.9.

No wonder we went ga-ga over Gooden, the state of NL pitching at the time was pretty sad.
Actual award voting:
MVP (top 15): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+----------+---+------+--+
1 Ryne Sandberg CHC 22 326 336 0.97 | 636 200 19 .314 .887 32|
2 Keith Hernandez NYM 1 195 336 0.58 | 550 171 15 .311 .859 2|
3 Tony Gwynn SDP 1 184 336 0.55 | 606 213 5 .351 .853 33|
4 Rick Sutcliffe TOT 0 151 336 0.45 | 56 14 0 .250 .579 0| 16-1 150 2.69 1.08 155
5 Gary Matthews CHC 0 70 336 0.21 | 491 143 14 .291 .838 17|
6 Bruce Sutter STL 0 67 336 0.20 | 10 0 0 .000 .000 0| 5-7 123 1.54 1.08 77 45
7 Mike Schmidt PHI 0 55 336 0.16 | 528 146 36 .277 .919 5|
8 Jose Cruz HOU 0 53 336 0.16 | 600 187 12 .312 .842 22|
9 Dale Murphy ATL 0 52 336 0.15 | 607 176 36 .290 .919 19|
10 Jody Davis CHC 0 49 336 0.15 | 523 134 19 .256 .736 5|
11 Tim Raines MON 0 41 336 0.12 | 622 192 8 .309 .830 75|
12 Leon Durham CHC 0 38 336 0.11 | 473 132 23 .279 .874 16|
13 Rich Gossage SDP 0 34 336 0.10 | 22 4 0 .182 .399 0| 10-6 102 2.90 1.08 84 25
14 Gary Carter MON 0 32 336 0.10 | 596 175 27 .294 .853 2|
15 Dwight Gooden NYM 0 28 336 0.08 | 70 14 0 .200 .405 0| 17-9 218 2.60 1.07 276

Sandberg wasn't unanimous, for some reason.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Rick Sutcliffe TOT 24 120 120 1.00 | 16-1 150 2.69 1.08 155
2 Dwight Gooden NYM 0 45 120 0.38 | 17-9 218 2.60 1.07 276
3 Bruce Sutter STL 0 33 120 0.28 | 5-7 123 1.54 1.08 77 45
4 Joaquin Andujar STL 0 12 120 0.10 | 20-14 261 3.34 1.10 147
5 Rich Gossage SDP 0 3 120 0.02 | 10-6 102 2.90 1.08 84 25
6 Mario Soto CIN 0 2 120 0.02 | 18-7 237 3.53 1.13 185
Sutcliffe was unanimous, although he shouldn't have been.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------
1 Dwight Gooden NYM 23 118 120 0.98 | 70 14 0 .200 .405 0| 17-9 218 2.60 1.07 276
2 Juan Samuel PHI 1 67 120 0.56 | 701 191 15 .272 .749 72|
3 Orel Hershiser LAD 0 15 120 0.12 | 50 10 0 .200 .459 0| 11-8 190 2.66 1.11 150 2
4 Dan Gladden SFG 0 9 120 0.08 | 342 120 4 .351 .857 31|
5 Ron Darling NYM 0 3 120 0.02 | 67 10 0 .149 .324 0| 12-9 206 3.81 1.38 136
6 Carmelo Martinez SDP 0 2 120 0.02 | 488 122 13 .250 .736 1|
7 Terry Pendleton STL 0 1 120 0.01 | 262 85 1 .324 .777 20|
7 Jeff Stone PHI 0 1 120 0.01 | 185 67 1 .362 .859 27|

Manager: 1st Max |
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share | W-L Rank
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+------+---------+-----+
1 Jim Frey CHC 16 101 120 0.84 | 96-65 1
2 Davey Johnson NYM 4 72 120 0.60 | 90-72 2
3 Dick Williams SDP 4 41 120 0.34 | 92-70 1
4 Bob Lillis HOU 1 2 120 0.02 | 80-82 2

Top player: Ryne Sandberg. You could make an argument that Murphy outplayed him, but it was clearly Sandberg's year.
#1 Ryne Sandberg, #2 Tony Gwynn, #3 Keith Hernandez, #4 Mike Schmidt, #5 Jose Cruz, #6 Dale Murphy.

Top pitcher: Bruce Sutter, with no starter really impressive, Sutcliffe's winning percentage notwithstanding. Sutter was clearly the best pitcher in the league, rare for a reliever.
#1 Bruce Sutter, #2 Rick Rhoden, #3 Dwight Gooden, #4 Orel Hershiser, #5 Fernando Valenzuela, #6 Mario Soto.

Top rookie: Dwight Gooden was very impressive. Orel Hershiser was the next best.

Top manager: Dick Williams impressed me the most, although the writers gave the Cubs guys a near-sweep.

1984 American League

2010-01-07T11:10:00.002-05:00

The Tigers bolted from the gate for a 35-5 start, and ran away from the league. The West division sported only one team over .500. It was definitely Detroit's year, and a total team effort. Reliever Willie Hernandez swept the awards, winning the MVP and Cy Young after saving 32 of 32 attempts, but that was a bit over the top. He pitched 140 innings, more than today's closers, but it was too much, really.
In the East behind the Tigers and their 104 wins were Toronto in 2nd, with 89 wins, New York with 87, Boston with 86, and defending champs Baltimore with 85. Cleveland was 6th while Milwaukee dropped to last. Kansas City won the West with 84 wins, and California and Minnesota tied for 2nd three games back and at .500. Oakland was 4th, Chicago and Seattle tied for 5th, and Texas last.

Don Mattingly won the batting title at .343, a few points ahead of teammate Dave Winfield at .340. Tony Armas led in homers (43) and RBI (123). Dwight Evans led in OPS and runs (121). Mattingly also led in hits (207) and doubles (44), and tied Eddie Murray in OPS+. Lloyd Moseby and Dave Collins had 15 triples each. Jim Rice was second in RBI at 122. Rickey Henderson led in steals at 66.

Mike Boddicker led in wins and ERA as the only 20-game winner, Mark Langston led in strikeouts and Dan Quisenberry in saves with 44. Boddicker's 2.79 ERA was trailed by Dave Stieb at 2.83 and Bert Blyleven at 2.87. Blyleven and Jack Morris won 19 each. Langston's 204 strikeouts were trailed by Stieb at 198 and Mike Witt at 196. Stieb edged Charlie Hough with 267 innings to 266.

Here's the top Win Shares people:

Players, Cal Ripken (Baltimore) 37, Eddie Murray (Baltimore) 33, Dwight Evans (Boston), Alan Trammell (Detroit) and Don Mattingly (New York) 29, Wade Boggs (Boston) and Rickey Henderson (Oakland) 28, Robin Yount (Milwaukee) and Alvin Davis (Seattle) 27, Kirk Gibson (Detroit), Dave Winfield (New York), Buddy Bell (Texas) and Lloyd Moseby (Toronto) 26, Carney Lansford (Oakland) 25, Harold Baines (Chicago), Chet Lemon (Detroit) and Kent Hrbek (Minnesota) 24, Mike Easler (Boston) and Willie Wilson (Kansas City) 23, Fred Lynn (California), Lou Whitaker (Detroit) and Dwayne Murphy (Oakland) 22.

Skipping to pitchers, it's Dave Stieb (Toronto) 25, Willie Hernandez (Detroit) and Dan Quisenberry (Kansas City) 24, Mike Boddicker (Baltimore) and Doyle Alexander (Toronto) 23, Frank Viola (Minnesota) 22, Bert Blyleven (Cleveland) and Bud Black (Kansas City) 20, Mark Langston (Seattle) 19, Storm Davis (Baltimore), Richard Dotson (Chicago) and Mike Smithson (Minnesota) 18.

Looking at WARP3, it's Ripken at 12.1, Trammell 8.4, Bell 7.4 (best year), Murray 7.0 (his top season), Mattingly 6.7, Yount and Moseby (best year) 6.4, Boggs and Lemon (best year) 6.2, Lansford 5.9 (best year), Henderson 5.8, Baines 5.4, Winfield 5.3, Tim Teufel (Minnesota) 5.2, Evans and Frank White (Kansas City) 4.7, Davis (rookie), and Easler (best year) 4.3.

Pitchers, Blyleven and Jim Beattie (Seattle) 6.6, Stieb and Hernandez (career year) 6.4, Boddicker (best year), Langston (rookie), and Phil Niekro (New York) 5.4, Bill Caudill (Oakland) 5.1, Quiz, Alexander (best year), Dave Righetti (New York), Ernie Camacho (Cleveland) and Geoff Zahn (California) 4.7, Mike Witt (California) 4.6, Black (career year) and Ray Burris (Oakland) 4.5, Viola 4.3.

Here's how the actual award voting went, from baseball-reference.com.
MVP
Place Name Team First-place votes Total points
1 Willie Hernandez DET 16 306
2 Kent Hrbek MIN 5 247
3 Dan Quisenberry KCR 5 235
4 Eddie Murray BAL 2 197
5 Don Mattingly NYY 0 113
6 Kirk Gibson DET 0 96
7 Tony Armas BOS 0 87
8 Dave Winfield NYY 0 83
9 Alan Trammell DET 0 76
10 Willie Wilson KCR 0 61
11 Dwight Evans BOS 0 39
12 Alvin Davis SEA 0 26
13 Harold Baines CHW 0 10
13 Dave Kingman OAK 0 10
13 Jim Rice BOS 0 10
16 Lance Parrish DET 0 8
16 Willie Upshaw TOR 0 8
18 Brian Downing CAL 0 6
19 Steve Balboni KCR 0 5
19 George Bell TOR 0 5
19 Andre Thornton CLE 0 5
22 Buddy Bell TEX 0 4
22 Lloyd Moseby TOR 0 4
22 Dave Stieb TOR 0 4
25 Juan Beniquez CAL 0 2
25 Mike Boddicker BAL 0 2
27 Doyle Alexander TOR 0 1
27 Cal Ripken Jr. BAL 0 1

Cy Young
Place Name Team First-place votes Total points
1 Willie Hernandez DET 12 88
2 Dan Quisenberry KCR 9 71
3 Bert Blyleven CLE 4 45
4 Mike Boddicker BAL 3 41
5 Dan Petry DET 0 3
6 Frank Viola MIN 0 2
7 Jack Morris DET 0 1
7 Dave Stieb TOR 0 1

Rookie
Place Name Team First-place votes Total Points
1 Alvin Davis SEA 25 134
2 Mark Langston SEA 3 82
3 Kirby Puckett MIN 0 23
4 Tim Teufel MIN 0 5
5 Mike Young BAL 0 3
6 Roger Clemens BOS 0 2
7 Mark Gubicza KCR 0 1
7 Al Nipper BOS 0 1
7 Ron Romanick CAL 0 1

Ripken's defensive value made him the best player in the league in 1984, as well as several other years. This was so even though the Orioles did not win the division. No depth, after a terrific bench in 1983. 2. Murray, 3. Trammell, 4. Mattingly, 5. Evans, #6 Buddy Bell.

I'll go with the Win Shares and say Dave Stieb was the top pitcher, although Willie Hernandez certainly had a spectacular year. #1 Stieb, #2 Willie Hernandez, #3 Bert Blyleven, #4 Mike Boddicker, #5 Bud Black, #6 Dan Quisenberry.

Alvin Davis was the top rookie, with his closest competition being teammate Mark Langston. Both were superb in giving lift to the downtrodden Mariners.

Top manager: Sparky Anderson, getting the Tigers out of the gate quickly and marching virtually unchallenged to the World Championship.

1983 National League

2010-01-05T16:23:00.002-05:00

The Phillies took only the fourth pennant in their history, but couldn't repeat their only World Championship of three years earlier. They did it with the backbone of those 1980 champions, filling in with a number of grizzled veterans. The lineup often read like a 1970s All-Star team, and the Phils usually had more members of the Big Red Machine in their lineup than Cincinnati did. Philadelphia won 90, six more than second-place Pittsburgh and eight more than Montreal. St. Louis fell to fourth, Chicago was 5th and New York last. Los Angeles won the West with their own mixture of 1970s All-Stars combined with some young guns, taking 91 victories. Atlanta was three games back, Houston was third with 85 wins. San Diego was 4th at .500, with San Francisco 5th and Cincinnati last.

Atlanta's Dale Murphy won his second straight MVP although the Braves fell three games short. Murphy led in RBI (121) and OPS, but he played in a good hitters' park so home run leader Mike Schmidt led in OPS+. Bill Madlock won the batting title at .323, leading Lonnie Smith's .321. Tim Raines led in steals with 90 and runs with 133. Andre Dawson and Jose Cruz had 189 hits each. Johnny Ray, Al Oliver, and Bill Buckner each had 38 doubles. Brett Butler had 13 triples.

John Denny led the league in wins with 19 and was 2nd in ERA to take the Cy Young. Atlee Hammaker lead in ERA with a 2.24 mark. Steve Carlton led in strikeouts with 275, followed by Mario Soto at 242. Lee Smith led in saves with 29. Soto had 18 complete games.

Win Shares leaders, players; Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 35, Dale Murphy (Atlanta) and Pedro Guerrero (Los Angeles) 32, Jose Cruz and Dickie Thon (Houston) 30, Tim Raines (Montreal) 29, Andre Dawson (Montreal) and Darrell Evans (San Francisco) 28, Gary Carter (Montreal) and Terry Kennedy (San Diego) 24, Bill Doran (Houston) 22, Tony Pena (Pittsburgh) 21, Eddie Milner (Cincinnati), Johnny Ray (Pittsburgh), Alan Wiggins (San Diego) and Jack Clark (San Francisco) 20, Glenn Hubbard (Atlanta), Dusty Baker and Ken Landreaux (Los Angeles), Tim Wallach (Montreal), Joe Morgan (Philadelphia), Dale Berra (Pittsburgh), Jeffery Leonard (San Francisco) and Lonnie Smith (St. Louis) 19.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Mario Soto (Cincinnati) 25, John Denny (Philadelphia) 23, Jesse Orosco (New York) 20, Lee Smith (Chicago) 19, Steve Carlton and Al Holland (Philadelphia) 18, Steve Rogers (Montreal) and Kent Tekulve (Pittsburgh) 17, Craig McMurtry (Atlanta), Bob Welch (Los Angeles) and Rick Rhoden (Pittsburgh) 16.

WARP3 scores: Thon 9.9 (career year), Schmidt 7.5, Carter 7.2, Cruz 7.1, Murphy 6.8, Raines 6.5, Guerrero 6.3, Darrell Porter (St. Louis) 5.7, Dawson, Evans, and Doran (rookie) 5.6, Pena 4.9, Ozzie Smith (St. Louis) 4.8, George Hendrick (St. Louis) 4.6, Ray and Hubbard (best year) 4.5, Kennedy 4.4, Terry Puhl (Houston) 4.3, Milner (career year), Wallach, Smith 5.4, and Ken Oberkfell (St. Louis) 4.1.

Pitchers, Denny 8.9 (career year), Smith 6.9, Orosco 6.6 (best year), Carlton 6.5, Soto 6.1, Holland (best year) and Steve Howe (Los Angeles) 4.9, Atlee Hammaker (San Francisco) 4.8, Rhoden 4.7, Tekulve 4.5.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 15): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+--------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Dale Murphy ATL 21 318 336 0.95 | 589 178 36 .302 .933 30|
2 Andre Dawson MON 1 213 336 0.63 | 633 189 32 .299 .877 25|
3 Mike Schmidt PHI 1 191 336 0.57 | 534 136 40 .255 .923 7|
4 Pedro Guerrero LAD 1 182 336 0.54 | 584 174 32 .298 .904 23|
5 Tim Raines MON 0 83 336 0.25 | 615 183 11 .298 .822 90|
6 Jose Cruz HOU 0 76 336 0.23 | 594 189 14 .318 .848 30|
7 Dickie Thon HOU 0 67 336 0.20 | 619 177 20 .286 .798 34|
8 Bill Madlock PIT 0 45 336 0.13 | 473 153 12 .323 .830 3|
9 Al Holland PHI 0 42 336 0.12 | 7 0 0 .000 .000 0| 8-4 92 2.26 1.01 100 25
10 Terry Kennedy SDP 0 37 336 0.11 | 549 156 17 .284 .776 1|
11 George Hendrick STL 0 33 336 0.10 | 529 168 18 .318 .866 3|
12 Tony Pena PIT 0 25 336 0.07 | 542 163 15 .301 .773 6|
13 John Denny PHI 0 24 336 0.07 | 77 13 0 .169 .372 2| 19-6 243 2.37 1.16 139
14 Darrell Evans SFG 0 16 336 0.05 | 523 145 30 .277 .894 6|
14 Mario Soto CIN 0 16 336 0.05 | 88 11 0 .125 .294 0| 17-13 274 2.70 1.10 242
Murphy was the clear choice for his second straight award.

Cy Young (top 5): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 John Denny PHI 20 103 120 0.86 | 19-6 243 2.37 1.16 139
2 Mario Soto CIN 2 61 120 0.51 | 17-13 274 2.70 1.10 242
3 Jesse Orosco NYM 1 19 120 0.16 | 13-7 110 1.47 1.04 84 17
4 Steve Rogers MON 1 15 120 0.12 | 17-12 273 3.23 1.23 146
5 Larry McWilliams PIT 0 7 120 0.06 | 15-8 238 3.25 1.23 199
Denny, then Soto, then the rest.

Rookie (top 5): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Darryl Strawberry NYM 18 106 120 0.88 | 420 108 26 .257 .848 19|
2 Craig McMurtry ATL 6 49 120 0.41 | 70 6 0 .086 .209 0| 15-9 225 3.08 1.30 105
3 Mel Hall CHC 0 32 120 0.27 | 410 116 17 .283 .840 6|
4 Gary Redus CIN 0 8 120 0.07 | 453 112 17 .247 .795 39|
5 Bill Doran HOU 0 7 120 0.06 | 535 145 8 .271 .736 12|
Strawberry had 18 Win Shares and a WARP3 of 5.6.

Top player: Dickie Thon. He got mostly overlooked in the MVP voting, but he was the best player in the league. A pitch to the eye early in 1984 nearly ended his career, and derailed his Hall of Fame track.
#1 Dickie Thon, #2 Mike Schmidt, #3 Dale Murphy, #4 Tim Raines, #5 Jose Cruz, #6 Gary Carter.

Top pitcher: John Denny was the best in a down year for NL pitchers.
#1 John Denny, #2 Mario Soto, #3 Jesse Orosco, #4 Lee Smith, #5 Steve Carlton, #6 Al Holland.

Top rookie: Bill Doran, with stats held down by the Astrodome. Strawberry got all the attention, as would continue to happen.

Top manager: Tommy LaSorda, whose Dodgers led the league in victories.

1983 American League

2010-01-05T15:49:00.002-05:00

Earl Weaver retired, and doom was predicted for the Orioles, but then that thing that often happens happens again. A team stressed by a high-pressure manager relaxes when a low-key guy (Joe Altobelli, here) takes over, and makes a seemingly effortless run at the pennant. The Orioles even won it all, for the first time since 1970. Soon, Altobelli's magic wore off, and Weaver briefly came out of retirement, but this was a sort of last hurrah for the 1970s era Birds. Detroit was 2nd, 6 games back, with New York 3rd, Toronto 4th, and Milwaukee 5th but with 87 wins off their pennant season. Five strong teams in the AL East. Boston was 6th at 78-84, and Cleveland last but with only 92 losses.

The West was another story, as the White Sox won the division with 99 wins, but no one else was over .500. Kansas City was 2nd, 20 games out. Texas, Oakland, California, Minnesota, and Seattle (with 102 losses) followed in order. The Chisox, unchallenged during the season, couldn't keep up with Baltimore in the ALCS.

Among individuals, Wade Boggs broke out with his first batting title, batting .361. Rod Carew followed with a .339 mark. Jim Rice led in HR with 39 and tied with Cecil Cooper in RBI with 126, Rickey Henderson was over 100 steals again, and George Brett led in OPS, but Cal Ripken won the MVP as he led in runs, hits, doubles, runs created, and played superb defense. Robin Yount had 10 triples, and Boggs edged Eddie Murray for the lead in runs created.

LaMarr Hoyt won the Cy Young by leading with 24 wins. Richard Dotson won 22 and Ron Guidry 21. Rick Honeycutt led in ERA with a 2.42 mark, follwed by Mike Boddicker at 2.77. Jack Morris led in strikeouts with 232, followed by Floyd Bannister at 193. Dan Quisenberry led in saves with 45. Morris pitched 294 innings, Guidry had 21 complete games. Boddicker tossed five shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Cal Ripken (Baltimore) 35, Wade Boggs (Boston) 34, Robin Yount (Milwaukee) 33, Eddie Murray (Baltimore) 31, Rickey Henderson (Oakland) 30, Lou Whitaker (Detroit) 29, Carlton Fisk (Chicago) and Alan Trammell (Detroit) 26, Cecil Cooper (Milwaukee) and Lloyd Moseby (Toronto) 25, Jim Rice (Boston), Lance Parrish (Detroit) and George Brett (Kansas City) 24, Paul Molitor (Milwaukee) 23, Larry Herndon (Detroit), Dave Winfield (New York) and Willie Upshaw (Toronto) 22, Chet Lemon (Detroit), Jim Gantner (Milwaukee), John Castino (Minnesota) and Don Baylor (New York) 21.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Dan Quisenberry (Kansas City) 28, Dave Stieb (Toronto) 24, Scott McGregor (Baltimore), Rich Dotson (Chicago) and Bob Stanley (Boston) 21, LaMarr Hoyt (Chicago) and Jack Morris (Detroit) 20, Ron Guidry (New York) 19, Charlie Hough (Texas) 18, Tippy Martinez (Baltimore) and Floyd Bannister (Chicago) 17, Mike Boddicker (Baltimore), Matt Young (Seattle), Goose Gossage (New York) and Rick Honeycutt (Texas) 16.

WARP3 scores: Ripken 10.3, Trammell 7.9, Boggs and Whitaker 7.1, Yount 6.7, Henderson 6.4, Murray and Lemon 6.0, Parrish 5.5, Fisk and Herndon 4.7, Gantner 4.3 (best year), Moseby and Molitor 4,2, Ted Simmons (Milwaukee) 4.1, Cooper 4.0 (last good year), Upshaw 3.8 (best year).

Pitchers, Quisenberry 6.4, Stieb 5.5, Guidry 5,4, Hough 5.3, Stanley and Young (rookie, career year) 5.2, Honeycutt 4.9 (before going to LA in a trade), Dotson 4.8 (best year), McGregor (best year) and Jim Beattie (Seattle) 4.5, Boddicker (rookie), Gossage, and Martinez (career year) 4.4, Geoff Zahn (California) 3.9, Bruce Hurst (Boston) 3.8, Hoyt and John Tudor (Boston) 3.6.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 20): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Cal Ripken BAL 15 322 392 0.82 | 663 211 27 .318 .888 0|
2 Eddie Murray BAL 10 290 392 0.74 | 582 178 33 .306 .930 5|
3 Carlton Fisk CHW 3 209 392 0.53 | 488 141 26 .289 .874 9|
4 Jim Rice BOS 0 150 392 0.38 | 626 191 39 .305 .911 0|
5 Cecil Cooper MIL 0 123 392 0.31 | 661 203 30 .307 .849 2|
6 Dan Quisenberry KCR 0 107 392 0.27 | | 5-3 139 1.94 0.93 48 45
7 Dave Winfield NYY 0 85 392 0.22 | 598 169 32 .283 .858 15|
8 Lou Whitaker DET 0 84 392 0.21 | 643 206 12 .320 .837 17|
9 Lance Parrish DET 0 66 392 0.17 | 605 163 27 .269 .796 1|
10 Harold Baines CHW 0 49 392 0.12 | 596 167 20 .280 .776 7|
11 Willie Upshaw TOR 0 41 392 0.10 | 579 177 27 .306 .887 10|
12 Wade Boggs BOS 0 25 392 0.06 | 582 210 5 .361 .931 3|
13 La Marr Hoyt CHW 0 24 392 0.06 | | 24-10 261 3.66 1.02 148
14 Lloyd Moseby TOR 0 21 392 0.05 | 539 170 18 .315 .875 27|
15 Bob Stanley BOS 0 11 392 0.03 | | 8-10 145 2.85 1.26 65 33
15 Alan Trammell DET 0 11 392 0.03 | 505 161 14 .319 .856 30|
17 Greg Luzinski CHW 0 9 392 0.02 | 502 128 32 .255 .854 2|
18 Robin Yount MIL 0 6 392 0.02 | 578 178 17 .308 .886 12|
19 Ted Simmons MIL 0 4 392 0.01 | 600 185 13 .308 .799 4|
20 Richard Dotson CHW 0 3 392 0.01 | | 22-7 240 3.22 1.31 137
Five good candidates for MVP, though the writers concentrated on the two Orioles. With Ripken, they chose the right one.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 La Marr Hoyt CHW 17 116 140 0.83 | 24-10 261 3.66 1.02 148
2 Dan Quisenberry KCR 9 81 140 0.58 | 5-3 139 1.94 0.93 48 45
3 Jack Morris DET 2 38 140 0.27 | 20-13 294 3.34 1.16 232
4 Richard Dotson CHW 0 9 140 0.06 | 22-7 240 3.22 1.31 137
5 Ron Guidry NYY 0 5 140 0.04 | 21-9 250 3.42 1.17 156
6 Scott McGregor BAL 0 3 140 0.02 | 18-7 260 3.18 1.22 86
Odd that Quisenberry was ahead of Hoyt in MVP voting, but behind him here. Quiz would have been a better choice. Second straight award that Quiz could have won, but went to a mediocre starter with league-leading wins total instead.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Ron Kittle CHW 15 104 140 0.74 | 520 132 35 .254 .818 8|
2 Julio Franco CLE 8 78 140 0.56 | 560 153 8 .273 .693 32|
3 Mike Boddicker BAL 5 70 140 0.50 | | 16-8 179 2.77 1.08 120
Writers went for the slow slugger over more all-around talents. Never a good choice for top rookie.

Top player: Cal Ripken. After 1982's sterling rookie campaign, Ripken really burst onto the scene here. Impressive offensively and defensively. There were other excellent players this year, but Ripken was the right choice.
#1 Cal Ripken, #2 Wade Boggs, #3 Robin Yount, #4 Eddie Murray, #5 Alan Trammell, #6 Rickey Henderson.

Top pitcher: Quisenberry was terrific, doing things no one else was doing. His unusual delivery apparently made it hard for the writers to take him seriously. KC fans knew.
#1 Dan Quisenberry, #2 Dave Stieb, #3 Ron Guidry, #4 Charlie Hough, #5 Bob Stanley, #6 Rich Dotson.

Top rookie: Matt Young was the best, followed by Mike Boddicker. Julio Franco would be the best player over time. Kittle, a 32-year old in a 25-year old body, was a bad choice.

Top manager: Joe Altobelli, guiding the Orioles through a tough pennant race and to the World Series crown.

1982 National League

2010-01-02T16:09:00.002-05:00

Before the season, the Phillies sent Larry Bowa and minor leaguer Ryne Sandberg to the Cubs for Ivan DeJesus in what would go down as one of the worst trades of all time. When the season starts, the Atlanta Braves break from the gate with 13 straight wins, and build a lead they will not relinquish, although they will have to fight off the Dodgers, who finish one game back, and the Giants, who end two back. San Diego is 4th at exactly .500, Houston is 5th, and the Reds, with the best record in the league last season, collapse to the worst record in the league this year with 101 losses. The fabled outfield of Cesar Cedeno, Clint Hurdle, and Paul Householder does not live up to (overblown) expectations.

St. Louis wins the East, three games ahead of Philadelphia. Montreal is 6 back, Pittsburgh 8 back. Chicago is 5th and New York last. The Cardinals then win the NLCS, and also the World Series, their only title of the Whitey Herzog era.

Al Oliver wins the batting title at .331, followed by Bill Madlock at .319. Dave Kingman leads in HR with 37, closely followed by Dale Murphy with 36 and Mike Schmidt with 35. Oliver and Murphy tie in RBI with 109, followed by Bill Buckner with 105. Tim Raines leads in steals at 78, then came Lonnie Smith at 68. Smith led with 120 runs. Oliver led with 204 hits and 43 doubles. Dickie Thon had 10 triples. Mike Schmidt is the OPS leader. Murphy, of the surprise Braves, wins the MVP.

Steve Carlton led in wins (23, second was Steve Rogers and Fernando Valenzuela with 19) and in strikeouts with 286, followed by Mario Soto with 274. Rogers led in ERA with 2.40, followed by Joe Niekro and Joaquin Andjuar at 2.47. Bruce Sutter led in saves with 36. Carlton had six shutouts and 19 complete games, and won the Cy Young.

Win Shares leaders, players; Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 37, Dale Murphy (Atlanta) 32, Gary Carter (Montreal) 31, Pedro Guerrero (Los Angeles) 30, Joe Morgan (San Francisco) 29, Terry Kennedy and Sixto Lezcano (San Diego) 28, Jason Thompson (Pittsburgh) 27, Andre Dawson and Al Oliver (Montreal), Jack Clark (San Francisco) and Lonnie Smith (St. Louis) 26, Leon Durham (Chicago) and Bill Madlock (Pittsburgh) 25, Keith Hernandez (St. Louis) 24, Gary Matthews (Philadelphia) 23, Phil Garner and Dickie Thon (Houston), Dusty Baker (Los Angeles) and Ruppert Jones (San Diego) 22.

WS leaders, pitchers; Joe Niekro (Houston) and Steve Carlton (Philadelphia) 25, Steve Rogers (Montreal) 24, Joaquin Andujar (St. Louis) 22, Greg Minton (San Francisco) 21, Mario Soto (Cincinnati) and Fernando Valenzuela (Los Angeles) 20, Gene Garber (Atlanta) 19, Jeff Reardon (Montreal) 18, Jerry Reuss (Los Angeles), Tim Lollar (San Diego) and Bruce Sutter (St. Louis) 17, Nolan Ryan (Houston) and Bob Forsch (St. Louis) 16.

WARP3: Carter 9.3, Guerrero 8.5, Lezcano 7.7 (last good year), Schmidt 7.5, Dawson 7.3, Murphy 7.0, Morgan and L. Smith 6.3, Oliver 6.2 (last good year), Thompson (last big year) and Thon 5.9, Ozzie Smith (St. Louis) 5.7, Kennedy 5.4 (best year), Hernandez 5.1, Jones 5.0, Dave Concepcion (Cincinnati) 4.7, Steve Sax (Los Angeles) 4.5, Madlock (last big year) and Ken Landreaux (Los Angeles) 4.4, Tim Wallach (Montreal) 4.2.

Pitchers, Niekro (career year) and Rogers 7.2, Minton 7.1 (career year), Soto 7.0, Carlton 6.5, Valenzuela and Bruce Berenyi (Cincinnati) 5.4, Andujar 5.1 (best year), Garber 4.9 (best year), Reardon (best year) and Steve Bedrosian (Atlanta) 4.5, Reuss 4.4, John Candelaria Pittsburgh) 4.2.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 18)
1 Dale Murphy ATL 14 283
2 Lonnie Smith STL 8 218
3 Pedro Guerrero LAD 0 175
3 Al Oliver MON 0 175
5 Bruce Sutter STL 2 134
6 Mike Schmidt PHI 0 54
7 Jack Clark SFG 0 53
8 Greg Minton SFG 0 44
9 Steve Carlton PHI 0 41
10 Bill Buckner CHC 0 38
11 Bill Madlock PIT 0 37
12 Gary Carter MON 0 35
13 Ozzie Smith STL 0 25
14 George Hendrick STL 0 20
14 Terry Kennedy SDP 0 20
16 Joe Morgan SFG 0 17
17 Keith Hernandez STL 0 12
17 Jason Thompson PIT 0 12

Cy Young
1 Steve Carlton PHI 20 112
2 Steve Rogers MON 1 29
3 Bruce Sutter STL 2 25
3 Fernando Valenzue LAD 1 25
5 Phil Niekro ATL 0 18
6 Greg Minton SFG 0 4
7 Joaquin Andujar STL 0 1
7 Gene Garber ATL 0 1

Rookie
1 Steve Sax LAD 9 63
2 Johnny Ray PIT 6 57
3 Willie McGee STL 5 39
4 Chili Davis SFG 3 32
5 Luis DeLeon SDP 0 10
6 Ryne Sandberg CHC 1 9
7 Steve Bedrosian ATL 0 4
8 Dave LaPoint STL 0 1
8 Eric Show SDP 0 1

Best player: Gary Carter. Through the mid-1980s, Carter would be the best player in the NL, combining his defense at catcher and cleanup-hitter offense. He was the main engine behind the contending Expos.
#1 Gary Carter, #2 Mike Schmidt, #3 Dale Murphy, #4 Pedro Guerrero, #5 Sixto Lezcano, #6 Andre Dawson.

Best pitcher: Steve Rogers. The other Steve had more wins, but Rogers was the ERA+ leader and the better pitcher this year.
#1 Steve Rogers, #2 Joe Niekro, #3 Steve Carlton, #4 Greg Minton, #5 Mario Soto, #6 Joaquin Andujar.

Best rookie: Chili Davis is who I would have voted for at the time. With perfect hindsight, I say Ryne Sandberg.

Best manager: Whitey Herzog, in his World Series-winning year.

1982 American League

2010-01-02T15:45:00.002-05:00

The Brewers win the pennant! The Brewers win the pennant! For the only time in their AL history, Milwaukee took the league championship. They made only two postseasons, the other being the previous year. Harvey's Wallbangers had what it took to get to the World Series: average or below pitching, but enough bats to club everyone into submission. They lost in 7 games to the Cardinals.

Milwaukee won a close division race by beating the Orioles 95 wins to 94. Boston was third with 89, Detroit 4th with 83. New York lost 83, Cleveland and Toronto 84 as no AL East team was really bad. In the West, the Angels took top honors with 93 wins, over Kansas City with 90. Chicago won 85. Seattle was 4th, but with 86 losses would have finished behind all AL East teams. Oakland lost 94, Texas 98, and Minnesota 102 to round out the AL West.

Willie Wilson won the batting title, beating out Robin Yount by a point .332 to .331. Reggie Jackson and Gorman Thomas tied for the home run lead at 39, and Hal McRae led in RBI with 133. Rickey Henderson stole 130 bases for a new single-season record. Yount led in hits, total bases, slugging and OPS. Paul Molitor scored 136 runs. McRae and Yount had 46 doubles each, Wilson 15 triples. Dwight Evans led in on-base.

Lamarr Hoyt led in wins with 19, followed by Geoff Zahn and Pete Vuckovich with 18. Floyd Bannister led in strikeouts with 209, followed by Len Barker at 187. Rick Sutcliffe had a 2.96 ERA, trailed by Bob Stanley at 3.10 and Jim Palmer at 3.13. Dan Quisenberry led in saves with 35. Dave Steib led in innings, complete games and shutouts. The Cy Young voting was a controversial affair.

Win Shares leaders, players; Robin Yount (Milwaukee) 39, Dwight Evans (Boston) 31, Paul Molitor (Milwaukee) 30, Eddie Murray (Baltimore) and Cecil Cooper (Milwaukee) 29, Doug DeCinces (California), Toby Harrah (Cleveland) and Rickey Henderson (Oakland) 28 each, George Brett (Kansas City) 27, Hal McRae (Kansas City) 26, Brian Downing (California), Willie Wilson (Kansas City), Gorman Thomas (Milwaukee) and Buddy Bell (Texas) 25, Lance Parrish (Detroit) and Dwayne Murphy (Oakland) 24, Cal Ripken (Baltimore) 23, Reggie Jackson (California), Steve Kemp and Greg Luzinski (Chicago) and Lou Whitaker (Detroit) 22.

WS leaders, pitchers; Dave Stieb (Toronto) 25, Dan Quisenberry (Kansas City) 22, Dan Spillner (Cleveland) 21, Jim Palmer (Baltimore), Bob Stanley (Boston), Rick Sutcliffe (Cleveland), Bill Caudill (Seattle) and Jim Clancy (Toronto) 20 each, Dan Petry (Detroit) 18, Dennis Eckersley (Boston), Goose Gossage (New York), Floyd Bannister (Seattle) and Luis Leal (Toronto) 17.

WARP3: Yount 9.6, DeCinces 7.3, Evans 6.6, Murray 6.4, Downing and Whitaker 6.1, Molitor 5.8, Cooper, Wilson, and Ripken (rookie) 5.5, Alan Trammell (Detroit) 5.4, Parrish and Fred Lynn (California) 5.3, Brett 5.2, McRae and Frank White (Kansas City) 5.0, Bell and U.L. Washington (Kansas City) 4.9, Harrah 4.7 (last big year).

Pitchers, Caudill 6.9 (career year), Stanley 6.2 (best year), Stieb 5.9, Spillner (career year) and Gossage 5.5, Sutcliffe 5.4, Quisenberry 5.2, Lamarr Hoyt (Chicago) 5.1, Eckersley 4.5, Mark Clear (California) 4.3.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 12)
1 Robin Yount MIL 27 385
2 Eddie Murray BAL 0 228
3 Doug DeCinces CAL 0 178
4 Hal McRae KCR 0 175
5 Cecil Cooper MIL 0 152
6 Reggie Jackson CAL 1 107
7 Dwight Evans BOS 0 57
8 Gorman Thomas MIL 0 44
9 Dan Quisenberry KCR 0 39
10 Rickey Henderson OAK 0 38
11 Dave Winfield NYY 0 33
12 Paul Molitor MIL 0 29

Interesting, that guy who put Reggie #1. Can he be impeached?

Cy Young
1 Pete Vuckovich MIL 14 87
2 Jim Palmer BAL 4 59
3 Dan Quisenberry KCR 4 40
4 Dave Stieb TOR 5 36
5 Rick Sutcliffe CLE 1 14
6 Geoff Zahn CAL 0 7
7 Bill Caudill SEA 0 4
7 Bob Stanley BOS 0 4
9 Dan Petry DET 0 1
Words cannot express. For the record, Vuckovich had 13 Win Shares in his last good year.

Rookie
1 Cal Ripken Jr. BAL 24 132
2 Kent Hrbek MIN 4 90
3 Wade Boggs BOS 0 10
4 Ed Vande Berg SEA 0 9
5 Gary Gaetti MIN 0 4
6 Dave Hostetler TEX 0 3
7 Von Hayes CLE 0 2
8 Jesse Barfield TOR 0 1

Best player: Robin Yount. Remember "M-V-P!" "M-V-P!"? Yount was terrific all-around in lifting his team to the title. He was the best by any definition you care to name.
#1 Robin Yount, #2 Dwight Evans, #3 Eddie Murray, #4 Doug DeCinces, #5 Paul Molitor, #6 Cecil Cooper.

Best pitcher: Dave Stieb. Pete Vuckovich won one of the worst award votes ever. Jim Palmer was the sentimental second choice. Quiz would have been a better pick than either, and Stieb was best of all.
#1 Dave Stieb, #2 Dan Quisenberry, #3 Dan Spillner, #4 Bill Caudill, #5 Bob Stanley, #6 Rick Sutcliffe. The best pitchers in the league, other than Stieb, were relievers.

Best rookie: Cal Ripken. Of course. Kent Hrbek was pretty good too.

Best manager: Harvey Kuenn. He only managed the Brewers for 116 games, but he took over from Buck Rodgers and guided the team to the pennant.

1981 National League

2010-01-01T17:41:00.002-05:00

The strike wiped out about 1/3 of the season, and the teams with the best records in each division did not make the playoffs: that about sums up the 1981 NL. The Cardinals and Reds sported the best records in their divisions, but did not win either half, and so did not qualify for the postseason. It is one of the biggest injustices in baseball history. Philadelphia and Los Angeles won the first halves, while Montreal and Houston won the seconds. For Montreal, it was the only postseason appearance in their history.

Bill Madlock won the batting title at .341, while Mike Schmidt won the MVP leading in HR (31), RBI (91), OPS by a wide margin, and runs. Tim Raines led in steals with 71. Pete Rose had 140 hits, Bill Buckner 35 doubles.

Tom Seaver led in wins with 14, Nolan Ryan in ERA at 1.69, and rookie Fernando Valenzuela in strikeouts with 180. Valenzuela and Steve Carlton had 13 wins, Carlton 179 strikeouts. Bob Knepper had a 2.18 ERA, Burt Hooton 2.28. Bruce Sutter had 25 saves. Valenzuela had 11 complete games, 8 of them shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 30, Andre Dawson (Montreal) 25, George Foster (Cincinnati) 24, Dave Concepcion (Cincinnati) and Keith Hernandez (St. Louis) 20, Ken Griffey (Cincinnati) and Gary Mathews (Philadelphia) 19, Tim Raines (Montreal) and George Hendrick (St. Louis) 18, Gary Carter (Montreal) and Pete Rose (Philadelphia) 17, Art Howe (Houston), Ron Cey and Dusty Baker (Los Angeles) 16, Ron Oester (Cincinnati), Bill Madlock (Pittsburgh) and Jack Clark (San Francisco) 15.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Tom Seaver (Cincinnati) and Fernando Valenzuela (Los Angeles) 17, Steve Carlton (Philadelphia) 16, Nolan Ryan (Houston) 15, Rick Camp (Atlanta) 14, Bob Knepper (Houston), Burt Hooton and Jerry Reuss (Los Angeles) and Bruce Sutter (St. Louis) 13, Mario Soto (Cincinnati), Don Sutton (Houston), Gary Lucas (San Diego) and Doyle Alexander (San Francisco) 11.

WARP3 scores: Schmidt 10.5, Dawson 9.3, Concepcion 7.5, Foster 7.2 (last big year), Hernandez 5.9, Madlock 5.6, Howe 5.4 (career year), Hendrick and Carter 5.2, Oester 5.0, Griffey and Cey 4.7, Pedro Guerrero (Los Angeles) 4.6, Craig Reynolds (Houston) 4.4, Raines 4.3 (rookie), Joe Morgan (San Francisco) 4.2, Tom Herr (St. Louis) 4.0, Rose and Baker 3.9.

Pitchers, Valenzuela 6.4, Carlton 6.1, Ryan 6.0, Camp 5.4, Hooton (last good year), Reuss, Alexander, and Vida Blue (San Francisco) 4.7, Lucas 4.5 (career year), Seaver and Knepper 4.3.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 21): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------------+---+--+
1 Mike Schmidt PHI 21 321 336 0.96 | 354 112 31 .316 1.080 12|
2 Andre Dawson MON 2 215 336 0.64 | 394 119 24 .302 .918 26|
3 George Foster CIN 0 146 336 0.43 | 414 122 22 .295 .892 4|
4 Dave Concepcion CIN 0 108 336 0.32 | 421 129 5 .306 .767 4|
5 Fernando Valenzuela LAD 1 90 336 0.27 | 64 16 0 .250 .543 0| 13-7 192 2.48 1.05 180
6 Gary Carter MON 0 77 336 0.23 | 374 94 16 .251 .756 1|
7 Dusty Baker LAD 0 65 336 0.19 | 400 128 9 .320 .808 10|
8 Bruce Sutter STL 0 59 336 0.18 | 9 0 0 .000 .100 0| 3-5 82 2.62 1.07 57 25
9 Steve Carlton PHI 0 41 336 0.12 | 67 9 0 .134 .383 0| 13-4 190 2.42 1.13 179
10 Bill Buckner CHC 0 35 336 0.10 | 421 131 10 .311 .829 5|
10 Pete Rose PHI 0 35 336 0.10 | 431 140 0 .325 .781 4|
10 Tom Seaver CIN 0 35 336 0.10 | 55 11 1 .200 .570 0| 14-2 166 2.54 1.12 87
13 Gary Matthews PHI 0 31 336 0.09 | 359 108 9 .301 .849 15|
14 Jose Cruz HOU 0 25 336 0.07 | 409 109 13 .267 .745 5|
14 George Hendrick STL 0 25 336 0.07 | 394 112 18 .284 .841 4|
16 Nolan Ryan HOU 0 23 336 0.07 | 51 11 0 .216 .521 0| 11-5 149 1.69 1.12 140
17 Bill Madlock PIT 0 20 336 0.06 | 279 95 6 .341 .907 18|
18 Art Howe HOU 0 16 336 0.05 | 361 107 3 .296 .770 1|
19 Tim Raines MON 0 15 336 0.04 | 313 95 5 .304 .829 71|
20 Rick Camp ATL 0 9 336 0.03 | 12 0 0 .000 .000 0| 9-3 76 1.78 1.05 47 17
20 Keith Hernandez STL 0 9 336 0.03 | 376 115 8 .306 .864 12|

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Fernando Valenzuela LAD 8 70 120 0.58 | 13-7 192 2.48 1.05 180
2 Tom Seaver CIN 8 67 120 0.56 | 14-2 166 2.54 1.12 87
3 Steve Carlton PHI 5 50 120 0.42 | 13-4 190 2.42 1.13 179
4 Nolan Ryan HOU 3 28 120 0.23 | 11-5 149 1.69 1.12 140
5 Bruce Sutter STL 0 1 120 0.01 | 3-5 82 2.62 1.07 57 25

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Fernando Valenzuela LAD 17 107 120 0.89 | 64 16 0 .250 .543 0| 13-7 192 2.48 1.05 180
2 Tim Raines MON 6 85 120 0.71 | 313 95 5 .304 .829 71|
3 Hubie Brooks NYM 0 8 120 0.07 | 358 110 4 .307 .756 9|
4 Bruce Berenyi CIN 0 5 120 0.04 | 42 8 0 .190 .484 0| 9-6 126 3.50 1.38 106
4 Juan Bonilla SDP 0 5 120 0.04 | 369 107 1 .290 .681 4|
6 Tony Pena PIT 0 4 120 0.03 | 210 63 2 .300 .707 1|
7 Mookie Wilson NYM 0 1 120 0.01 | 328 89 3 .271 .689 24|

Top player: Mike Schmidt. For the second year in a row, no one was better. Schmidt was clearly the best player in the league at this point.
#1 Mike Schmidt, #2 Andre Dawson, #3 George Foster, #4 Dave Concepcion, #5 Keith Hernandez, #6 George Hendrick.

Top pitcher: Fernando Valenzuela. The Mexican rookie won the award in very close voting.
#1 Fernando Valenzuela, #2 Nolan Ryan, #3 Steve Carlton, #4 Tom Seaver, #5 Rick Camp.

Top rookie: Fernando again, although Raines was also impressive and drew significant voting. It was a pretty good year for NL rookies.

Top manager: Tommy LaSorda got the Dodgers to another World Series crown.

1981 American League

2010-01-01T17:08:00.002-05:00

It was a strike year, and baseball nearly struck out. The players walked out in early June, about 1/3 of the way into the season, and things weren't settled until August, and after hastily-held camps and an All-Star game to kick things off, the final 1/3 of the season got underway. Of course this was bungled, as the games played were declared to be a "first half" and those remaining to be a "second half" with half winners to play each other. Therefore, there was no incentive for first half winners, who couldn't even get a bye, to play hard in the second half. Worse, a couple of teams with the best overall records didn't even make the playoffs. They should've had the full-season winners play the second-set winners for a playoff. That would have made things meaningful for everyone.

New York and Oakland won the first halves, Milwaukee and Kansas City the second halves, and Milwaukee and Oakland had the best overall records. New York won the two-tiered playoffs, the first ever. Six Eastern teams played above .500 for the year, three in the West. The Blue Jays had the worst overall record.

Carney Lansford won the batting title at .336, while Dwight Evans led in OPS. Evans was part of a four-way tie with Bobby Grich, Eddie Murray and Tony Armas for the home run lead at 22. Murray led in RBI with 78. Rickey Henderson led in steals with 56. Henderson scored 89 runs, Cecil Cooper had 35 doubles, Evans led in runs created.

Wins was a four-way tie with Dennis Martinez, Jack Morris, Pete Vuckovich and Steve McCatty with 14 each. Dave Righetti led in ERA at 2.05, followed by Sammy Stewart at 2.32 and Steve McCatty at 2.33. Len Barker led in strikeouts with 127, and Rollie Fingers in saves. His 28 saves and 1.04 ERA got Fingers the MVP and Cy Young, in just 78 innings. Rick Langford had 18 complete games, Dennis Leonard 202 innings.

Win Shares leaders, players; Rickey Henderson (Oakland) 27, Dwight Evans (Boston) 26, Cecil Cooper (Milwaukee) 22, Eddie Murray (Baltimore) and Bobby Grich (California) 21, Gorman Thomas and Robin Yount (Milwaukee) and Dwayne Murphy (Oakland) 20, Carney Lansford (Boston), Toby Harrah (Cleveland), Tony Armas (Oakland) and Buddy Bell (Texas) 18, Rick Burleson (California), Steve Kemp (Detroit), Tom Paciorek (Seattle) and Jim Sundberg (Texas) 17.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Steve McCatty (Oakland) 18, Rollie Fingers (Milwaukee) 17, Jack Morris (Detroit) 16, Dave Stieb (Toronto) 15, Bert Blyleven (Cleveland) and Dennis Leonard (Kansas City) 14, Milt Wilcox (Detroit) and Larry Gura (Kansas City) 13.

WARP3 scores: Evans 8.9, Henderson 8.2, Grich 7.8, Bell and Burleson (best year) 6.7, Chet Lemon (Chicago) 6.2, Yount 6.1, Alan Trammell (Detroit) 6.0, Murray 5.5, Kemp 5.4, Cooper 4.8, Tony Bernazard (Chicago) 4.7, Lou Whitaker (Detroit) 4.6, Mike Hargrove (Cleveland) 4.5, Thomas, Sundberg, Bill Almon and Greg Luzinski (both Chicago) 4.4, Paciorek 4.2 (best year), Lansford and Ken Singleton (Baltimore) 4.1.

Pitchers, Fingers 8.3, Blyleven 6.9, McCatty 6.3 (career year), Stieb 5.7, John Denny (Cleveland) and Goose Gossage (New York) 4.7, Doug Corbett (Minnesota) 4.5, Gura 4.3, Dave Righetti (New York) and Sammy Stewart (Baltimore) 4.2, Leonard 4.1 (last good year), Ken Forsch (California) 4.0.

Actual award winners;
MVP (top 15): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+----------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Rollie Fingers MIL 15 319 392 0.81 | | 6-3 78 1.04 0.87 61 28
2 Rickey Henderson OAK 12 308 392 0.79 | 423 135 6 .319 .845 56|
3 Dwight Evans BOS 0 140 392 0.36 | 412 122 22 .296 .937 3|
4 Tony Armas OAK 1 139 392 0.35 | 440 115 22 .261 .774 5|
5 Eddie Murray BAL 0 137 392 0.35 | 378 111 22 .294 .895 2|
6 Carney Lansford BOS 0 109 392 0.28 | 399 134 4 .336 .828 15|
7 Dave Winfield NYY 0 98 392 0.25 | 388 114 13 .294 .824 11|
8 Cecil Cooper MIL 0 96 392 0.24 | 416 133 12 .320 .858 5|
9 Rich Gossage NYY 0 62 392 0.16 | | 3-2 47 0.77 0.77 48 20
10 Tom Paciorek SEA 0 46 392 0.12 | 405 132 14 .326 .888 13|
11 Dwayne Murphy OAK 0 45 392 0.11 | 390 98 15 .251 .777 10|
12 Kirk Gibson DET 0 40 392 0.10 | 290 95 9 .328 .848 17|
13 Steve McCatty OAK 0 22 392 0.06 | | 14-7 186 2.33 1.08 91
14 Bobby Grich CAL 0 19 392 0.05 | 352 107 22 .304 .921 2|
15 Jack Morris DET 0 17 392 0.04 | | 14-7 198 3.05 1.17 97
Fingers won by a very slim margin over Henderson.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Rollie Fingers MIL 22 126 140 0.90 | 6-3 78 1.04 0.87 61 28
2 Steve McCatty OAK 6 84 140 0.60 | 14-7 186 2.33 1.08 91
3 Jack Morris DET 0 21 140 0.15 | 14-7 198 3.05 1.17 97
4 Pete Vuckovich MIL 0 8 140 0.06 | 14-4 150 3.55 1.30 84
5 Rich Gossage NYY 0 3 140 0.02 | 3-2 47 0.77 0.77 48 20
5 Dennis Martinez BAL 0 3 140 0.02 | 14-5 179 3.32 1.31 88
7 Britt Burns CHW 0 2 140 0.01 | 10-6 157 2.64 1.20 108
7 Ron Guidry NYY 0 2 140 0.01 | 11-5 127 2.76 0.99 104
9 Larry Gura KCR 0 1 140 0.01 | 11-8 172 2.72 1.01 61
Fingers more solidly here.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+---+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Dave Righetti NYY 23 127 140 0.91 | | 8-4 105 2.05 1.07 89
2 Rich Gedman BOS 5 64 140 0.46 | 205 59 5 .288 .751 0|
3 Bob Ojeda BOS 0 36 140 0.26 | | 6-2 66 3.12 1.13 28
4 Mike Jones KCR 0 8 140 0.06 | | 6-3 76 3.21 1.35 29
5 Shooty Babitt OAK 0 4 140 0.03 | 156 40 0 .256 .615 5|
5 Dave Engle MIN 0 4 140 0.03 | 248 64 5 .258 .703 0|
5 Mike Witt CAL 0 4 140 0.03 | | 8-9 129 3.28 1.32 75
8 George Bell TOR 0 2 140 0.01 | 163 38 5 .233 .606 3|
9 Brad Havens MIN 0 1 140 0.01 | | 3-6 78 3.58 1.28 43
9 Gary Ward MIN 0 1 140 0.01 | 295 78 3 .264 .684 5|
First year of 1st, 2nd, 3rd balloting rather than one name.

Top player: Dwight Evans. Dewey was robbed in the voting, finishing 3rd just ahead of Tony Armas. What!?! Ridiculous!
#1 Dwight Evans, #2 Rickey Henderson, #3 Bobby Grich, #4 Eddie Murray, #5 Robin Yount, #6 Cecil Cooper.

Top pitcher: Rollie Fingers is the best choice. He was truly a dominating closer, the last time he would be that.
#1 Rollie Fingers, #2 Steve McCatty, #3 Dave Stieb, #4 Bert Blyleven, #5 Jack Morris.

Top rookie: Dave Righetti had an exceptional year.

Top manager: Billy Martin managed Oakland to the best record in the league.

1980 National League

2009-12-31T19:20:00.002-05:00

Two great division races ended in a year for the Phillies, with their first-ever World championship in their long existence. All the other teams dating back so far had won long before. The Phils didn't have it easy, outlasting Montreal by a single game, and defending champs Pittsburgh by eight. St. Louis, New York, and Chicago finished under .500. Houston got its first division title in the West, by a game over the Dodgers and 3.5 over the Reds. Atlanta, San Francisco, and San Diego trailed. Philadelphia then went the distance to beat Houston in the NLCS, and beat Kansas City in six to win the World Series. The Cardinals led the league in offense, and the Astros in pitching, but the Phillies gave up the fewest runs on the road.

Mike Schmidt led the league in HR (48), RBI (121), total bases, slugging, and OPS. Bob Horner was second with 35 homers, George Hendrick with 109 RBI. Bill Buckner won the batting title with a .324 average, a bit ahead of Keith Hernandez's .321. Hernandez scored 111 runs. Steve Garvey had 200 hits. Pete Rose had 42 doubles, Omar Moreno and Tony Scott 13 triples. Ron LeFlore stole 97 bases to Omar Moreno's 96.

Steve Carlton led the league in wins (24) and strikeouts (286), and was 2nd in ERA with 2.34 to Don Sutton's 2.20. Joe Niekro was the other 20-game winner with exactly that. Nolan Ryan was second with 200 strikeouts. Bruce Sutter led in saves with 28. Carlton led with 304 innings, Jerry Reuss had six shutouts, Steve Rogers 14 complete games.

Win Shares leaders, players: Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 37, Gary Carter (Montreal) 30, Andre Dawson (Montreal) 29, Dale Murphy (Atlanta) and Keith Hernandez (St. Louis) 28, Darrell Evans (San Francisco) 27, Cesar Cedeno (Houston) 26, Ken Griffey (Cincinnati) and Jose Cruz (Houston) 25, Dusty Baker (Los Angeles), Lee Mazzilli (New York) and Jack Clark (San Francisco) 24, George Foster (Cincinnati), Terry Puhl (Houston) and Ron Cey (Los Angeles) 23, Dave Collins (Cincinnati), Steve Garvey (Los Angeles), Mike Easler (Pittsburgh), Gene Richards and Dave Winfield (San Diego) and Ted Simmons (St. Louis) 22.

WS leaders, pitchers: Steve Carlton (Philadelphia) 29, Jerry Reuss (Los Angeles) 21, Rick Camp (Atlanta), Don Sutton (Los Angeles) and Steve Rogers (Montreal) 20, Tom Hume (Cincinnati) 19, Tug McGraw (Philadelphia) 18, Phil Niekro (Atlanta) and Jim Bibby (Pittsburgh) 17, Bruce Sutter (Chicago) and Vida Blue (San Francisco) 16, Rick Reuschel (Chicago), Vern Ruhle (Houston) and Rollie Fingers (San Diego) 15.

WARP3: Schmidt 10.0 (best year), Carter 7.4, Hernandez 7.1, Dawson 6.7, Cey 6.6 (last big year), Garry Templeton (St. Louis) 6.3, Ozzie Smith (San Diego) 6.0, Evans 5.8, Murphy 5.7 (first big season), Simmons 5.6, Baker 5.4, Cruz 5.1, Foster and Puhl (best year) 4.9, Cedeno (last big season), Reggie Smith (Los Angeles) and Bob Horner (Atlanta) 4.6, Richards 4.5 (career year), Easler 4.4.

Pitchers, Carlton 9.3, Rogers and Reuschel 6.0, McGraw 5.5, Blue 5.3, Camp and Hume (best year) 4.8, Sutter 4.6, Sutton 4.5, Scott Sanderson (Montreal) 4.3, Reuss and Bill Caudill (Chicago) 4.1, Ruhle (career year) 4.0.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 12)
Code:

Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Mike Schmidt PHI 24 336
2 Gary Carter MON 0 193
3 Jose Cruz HOU 0 166
4 Dusty Baker LAD 0 138
5 Steve Carlton PHI 0 134
6 Steve Garvey LAD 0 131
7 Andre Dawson MON 0 72
8 George Hendrick STL 0 50
9 Bob Horner ATL 0 42
10 Bake McBride PHI 0 32
11 Keith Hernandez STL 0 29
12 Dale Murphy ATL 0 23

Cy Young (top 4)
Code:

Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Steve Carlton PHI 23 118
2 Jerry Reuss LAD 1 55
3 Jim Bibby PIT 0 28
4 Joe Niekro HOU 0 11

Can we retroactively revoke the BBWAA membership of the guy who put Reuss 1st?

Rookie (top 5)
Code:

Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Steve Howe LAD 12 80
2 Bill Gullickson MON 5 53
3 Lonnie Smith PHI 4 49
4 Ron Oester CIN 1 16
5 Dave Smith HOU 2 13

Top player: Mike Schmidt
Top pitcher: Steve Carlton

These are no-brainers. The Phillies won, and those two did most of the work.
Players: #1 Mike Schmidt, #2 Gary Carter, #3 Andre Dawson, #4 Dale Murphy, #5 Keith Hernandez, #6 Darrell Evans.

Pitchers: #1 Steve Carlton, #2 Jerry Reuss, #3 Steve Rogers, #4 Rick Camp, #5 Tom Hume, #6 Tug McGraw.

Top rookie: Lonnie Smith. This one is tough. I think I would go for a Phillies clean sweep, as they won their first (and still only) World Series. Jeff Reardon, Leon Durham, Al Holland, and Bob Walk also drew a vote each in the balloting. No clear winner.

Top manager: Dallas Green, for guiding the Phillies to their very first World Series victory.

1980 American League

2009-12-31T18:49:00.002-05:00

A magical season for George Brett and the Royals, as they won the West and then beat the Yankees in the ALCS, with Brett hitting .390 for the year (in 117 games, due to injury). The dream ended in a six-game World Series loss, but the sweep over the New York team that had beaten them in three playoff series 1977-79 was sweet. KC took an easy division win with 97 victories, 14 more than the surprise A's, who went from 54-108 to 83-79 in one year to place second. The rest were under .500, with Minnesota 3rd, Texas 4th, Chicago 5th, California slipping from 1st to 6th, and Seattle last with 103 losses.

New York took the East title in a dogfight with Baltimore, 103 wins to 100. Milwaukee placed third with 86 victories, Boston 4th just ahead of Detroit, Cleveland 6th and Toronto last again. The Jays showed incremental improvement with 95 losses, their first season (of 4) with less than 100.

Brett led hitters in the percentage categories like batting average and OPS. Teammate Willie Wilson led in runs with 133 and hits with 230. Reggie Jackson and Ben Oglivie tied with 41 HR. Cecil Cooper led in RBI with 122, and Rickey Henderson stole 100 bases. Brett and Oglivie tied for second in RBI with 118. Robin Yount had 49 doubles while Wilson and Alfredo Griffin had 15 triples. In spite of his limited playing time, Brett led the league in Runs Created.

Steve Stone led in wins with 25, Rudy May had the ERA lead at 2.46, and Len Barker led in strikeouts with 187. Mike Norris was 2nd in all those categories with 22, 2.53, and 180 respectively. Goose Gossage and Dan Quisenberry tied for the saves lead with 33. Rick Langford had an astounding (for the era) 28 complete games and pitched 290 innings. Tommy John tossed six shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players: George Brett (Kansas City) 36, Rickey Henderson (Oakland) 34, Al Bumbry (Baltimore) 33, Willie Wilson (Kansas City), Reggie Jackson and Willie Randolph (New York) 31, Ken Singleton (Baltimore), Cecil Cooper and Ben Oglivie (Milwaukee) and Dwayne Murphy (Oakland) 27, Eddie Murray (Baltimore) 26, Mike Hargrove (Cleveland) and Robin Yount (Milwaukee) 25, Chet Lemon (Chicago) 24, Toby Harrah (Cleveland) 23, Tony Armas (Oakland) 22, Miguel Dilone (Cleveland), Alan Trammell (Detroit), Rick Cerone (New York), Buddy Bell and Al Oliver (Texas) 21.

WS leaders, pitchers: Mike Norris (Oakland) 25, Doug Corbett (Minnesota) 24, Larry Gura (Kansas City) 22, Britt Burns (Chicago) 21, Steve Stone (Baltimore) 20, Dan Quisenberry (Kansas City), Tommy John (New York), Rick Langford (Oakland) and Jim Clancy (Toronto) 19, Scott McGregor (Baltimore), Dennis Leonard (Kansas City), Goose Gossage (New York) and Matt Keough (Oakland) 18.

WARP3: Brett 9.2, Bumbry 7.6 (a career year), Henderson 6.6 (first full year), Oglivie 5.9 (career year), Wilson and Yount 5.8, Bobby Grich (California) 5.7, Cooper 5.5, Randolph 5.4, Bell 5.2, Jackson 5.0, Rick Burleson (Boston) 4.9, Paul Molitor (Milwaukee) 4.6, Murphy (best year) and Cerone 4.2 (career year), Lance Parrish (Detroit) 4.1, Bucky Dent (New York) 4.0, Trammell 3.9.

Pitchers, Corbett 6.9 as a rookie, Burns 6.3 as a rookie, Norris 5.9 in his career year, Rudy May (New York) 5.0, Gura (best year) and Clancy 4.7, Dave Stieb (Toronto) 4.6, Moose Haas (Milwaukee) 4.5, Danny Darwin (Texas) 4.4, Tom Burgmeier (Boston) 4.3, John and Bob Stanley (Boston) 4.1, Quisenberry, Gossage, and Floyd Bannister (Seattle) 4.0, Fergie Jenkins (Texas) 3.9.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 13)
Code:

Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 George Brett KCR 17 335
2 Reggie Jackson NYY 5 234
3 Rich Gossage NYY 4 218
4 Willie Wilson KCR 1 169
5 Cecil Cooper MIL 0 160
6 Eddie Murray BAL 0 106
7 Rick Cerone NYY 1 77
8 Dan Quisenberry KCR 0 70
9 Steve Stone BAL 0 53
10 Rickey Henderson OAK 0 51
11 Al Oliver TEX 0 31
12 Tony Armas OAK 0 29
13 Al Bumbry BAL 0 27
13 Ben Oglivie MIL 0 27

Cy Young
Code:

Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Steve Stone BAL 13 100
2 Mike Norris OAK 13 91
3 Rich Gossage NYY 2 37
4 Tommy John NYY 0 14
5 Dan Quisenberry KCR 0 7
6 Larry Gura KCR 0 1
6 Scott McGregor BAL 0 1

Rookie
Code:

Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Joe Charboneau CLE 15 102
2 Dave Stapleton BOS 3 40
3 Doug Corbett MIN 3 38
4 Damaso Garcia TOR 3 35
5 Britt Burns CHW 4 33
6 Rick Peters DET 0 3
7 Richard Dotson CHW 0 1

Best player: George Brett. Brett, Rickey and Bumbry are all deserving to some extent, but George's team won. Even with just 118 games played, it was George's year.
#1 George Brett, #2 Al Bumbry, #3 Rickey Henderson, #4 Willie Wilson, #5 Ben Oglivie, #6 Cecil Cooper.

Best pitcher: Mike Norris. Stone won a split BBWAA decision, but Norris was the best in 1980. Billy Martin overworked him, and he was never the same again.
#1 Matt Norris, #2 Doug Corbett, #3 Britt Burns, #4 Larry Gura, #5 Dan Quisenberry.

Best rookie: Doug Corbett. Charboneau won on the basis of press clippings, but Burns and Corbett both had better years. Neither lasted very long, either, but they did last a bit longer than "Super Joe."

Best manager: Billy Martin. He blew out a pitcher's arm or two, but going from 108 losses to 79 is impressive

1979 National League

2009-12-24T11:09:00.002-05:00

It was a "back to the future" year, as the Pirates and Reds returned to the top of their respective divisions. Then, a reversal, as the Pirates won the NLCS and then the World Series. Both won in tight two-team races, as the Pirates outlasted the surprising Expos by 2 games, and the Reds beat out the Astros by 1.5. Pittsburgh won 98, Montreal 95, St. Louis 86, Philadelphia 84, and Chicago 80, while New York lost 99 games for last. In the West, the Reds won 90, Houston 89, and the Dodgers slipped below .500 to 79-83. San Francisco, San Diego, and Atlanta all trailed, losing at least 90.

Keith Hernandez led in batting average, doubles and runs, and won half the MVP. Hernandez had a .344 average to beat Pete Rose (now with Philadelphia) at .333. Ray Knight, Rose's replacement in Cincinnati, was third at .318. Hernandez had 48 doubles, followed by Warren Cromartie at 46, while at 116 runs Hernandez was followed by Omar Moreno at 110. Moreno led in steals with 77. Dave Kingman led in HR with 48,and also in slugging and OPS. Pete Rose led in on-base, edging Hernandez. Garry Templeton had 19 triples. Dave Winfield led in total bases, RBI and OPS+. Winfield's 118 RBI was followed by Kingman at 115 and Mike Schmidt at 114.

Brothers Phil and Joe Niekro tied for the lead in wins with 21. J.R. Richard led in ERA and strikeouts in his last full season. Richard had a 2.71 ERA, followed by Tom Hume at 2.76 and Dan Schatzeder at 2.83. Richard's 313 strikeouts outdistanced Steve Carlton's second-place 213. Bruce Sutter led in saves with 37, while Kent Tekulve kept busy pitching in 94 games. Phil Niekro had 44 starts and 23 complete games.

Win Shares leaders, players: Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) and Dave Winfield (San Diego) 33, Dave Parker (Pittsburgh) 31, Keith Hernandez (St. Louis) 29, Larry Parrish (Montreal) 28, Jose Cruz (Houston), Davey Lopes (Los Angeles), Gary Carter (Montreal) and Pete Rose (Philadelphia) 27 each, Gary Mathews (Atlanta), Ron Cey (Los Angeles), Lee Mazzilli (New York) and Garry Templeton (St. Louis) 25 each, Dave Kingman (Chicago), Dave Concepcion (Cincinnati), Andre Dawson (Montreal) and Gene Tenace (San Diego) 24, Terry Puhl (Houston), Phil Garner and Omar Moreno (Pittsburgh), Jack Clark and Darrell Evans (San Francisco) 23. co-MVP Willie Stargell had 18.

WS leaders, pitchers: Phil Niekro (Atlanta) 24, J.R. Richard (Houston) 23, Bruce Sutter (Chicago) 22, Kent Tekulve (Pittsburgh) 20, Joe Niekro (Houston) 19, Tom Hume (Cincinnati), Joe Sambito (Houston) and Steve Carlton (Philadelphia) 18, Rick Reuschel (Chicago) 17, Tom Seaver (Cincinnati), Rick Sutcliffe (Los Angeles), Bill Lee, Steve Rogers and Elias Sosa (Montreal) and Gaylord Perry (San Diego) 16.

WARP3: Winfield 9.3 (best year), Templeton 8.6 (best year), Schmidt 8.4, Concepcion 7.9, Hernandez 7.6, Cey 7.3, Tenace 6.6, Carter 6.5, Cruz and Bench (Cincinnati) 5.6, Lopes 5.3, Parrish 5.2 (career year), Parker 5.1, Kingman (best year) and Garner (best year) 4.8, George Foster (Cincinnati) 4.7, Rose, Ted Simmons (St. Louis), and Craig Reynolds (Houston) 4.7, Steve Garvey (Los Angeles) 4.4.

Pitchers, P. Niekro 7.7, Reuschel 6.2, Sutter 5.9, Sambito 5.7, Richard 4.7, Sosa 4.5 (career year), Hume and Gary Lavelle (St. Louis) 4.4, Tekulve 4.3, Craig Swan (New York) and Dick Tidrow (Chicago) 4.2.

Actual award voting:
MVP
Code:

Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Keith Hernandez STL 10 216
1 Willie Stargell PIT 4 216
3 Dave Winfield SDP 4 155
4 Larry Parrish MON 0 128
5 Ray Knight CIN 2 82
6 Joe Niekro HOU 1 75
7 Bruce Sutter CHC 0 69
8 Kent Tekulve PIT 1 64
9 Dave Concepcion CIN 0 63
10 Dave Parker PIT 0 56
11 Dave Kingman CHC 0 53
12 George Foster CIN 0 34
13 Mike Schmidt PHI 0 32
14 Steve Garvey LAD 0 30
15 Omar Moreno PIT 0 23
15 Pete Rose PHI 0 23
17 Gary Carter MON 1 15
18 Bill Madlock TOT 1 14
19 J.R. Richard HOU 0 12
20 Phil Niekro ATL 0 11
21 Joe Sambito HOU 0 9
21 Tom Seaver CIN 0 9
23 Johnny Bench CIN 0 7
24 Andre Dawson MON 0 6
25 Garry Templeton STL 0 5
26 Gary Matthews ATL 0 4
27 Dave Collins CIN 0 3
28 Bob Horner ATL 0 1

A very interesting year for MVP voting, as 8 different players received 1st place votes, including Bill Madlock whose only vote was a 1st place vote. Gary Carter got two votes: a first and a tenth. Wllie Stargell got named as a nice gesture on a lot of ballots, and snuck up to the top spot. Balloting was all over the place with no clear favorite. Hernandez had far more first-place votes, but Stargell more overall support.

Cy Young
Code:

Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Bruce Sutter CHC 10 72
2 Joe Niekro HOU 9 66
3 J.R. Richard HOU 4 41
4 Tom Seaver CIN 0 20
5 Kent Tekulve PIT 1 14
6 Phil Niekro ATL 0 3

More of the same in the Cy Young, as four pitchers got 1st place votes. Phil Niekro should have sued.

Rookie
Code:

Place Name Team Points
1 Rick Sutcliffe LAD 20
2 Jeffrey Leonard HOU 3
3 Scot Thompson CHC 1

Best player: Dave Winfield. His best year, and he led in OPS+ by 10 points over George Foster. The Padres still lost 93 games, which is probably why he didn't win.
#1 Dave Winfield, #2 Mike Schmidt, #3 Keith Hernandez, #4 Gary Carter, #5 Dave Parker, #6 Dave Concepcion.

Best Pitcher; Phil Niekro. The knuckleballer both won and lost 20, but he was the most dependable pitcher in the league, and when you look at 2nd place J. R. Richard in the context of the Astrodome, while Niekro toiled in the Launching Pad, the ERA gap decreases substantially. Sutter and Tekulve both had great years in relief, but Niekro did more. Knucksie was robbed for the second year in a row.
#1 Phil Niekro, #2 Bruce Sutter, #3 J.R. Richard, #4 Kent Tekulve, #5 Rick Reuschel.

Best rookie: Rick Sutcliffe. Wasn't really close, he was by far the best.

Best manager: Chuck Tanner on the best team in the league.

1979 American League

2009-12-24T10:27:00.002-05:00

A change in the power structure, as the Yankees slipped to 4th in the East (but still won 89 games) and Baltimore took the division and the pennant. Kansas City finished 2nd to California in the West, even though the Angel's 88 wins were fewer than the 4th-place Yankees. Following the Angels were KC with 85 wins, Texas with 83, and Minnesota with 82, with Chicago 5th, Seattle 6th, and Oakland hitting bottom with 108 losses. The Orioles beat out Milwaukee by 8 games and Boston by 11.5. Detroit was 5th with 85 wins. Cleveland was 6th, one game over .500 at 81-80, while everyone beat up on Toronto as the Jays lost 109 times.

Fred Lynn won the batting title at .333, followed by George Brett at .329. The race had a lot of contenders, like Brian Downing third at .326 and Jim Rice fourth at .325. Brett led with 212 hits followed by Rice at 201. Buddy Bell had 200 exactly. Cecil Cooper and Chet Lemon tied with 44 doubles. Brett had 20 triples. Gorman Thomas led with 45 homers, followed by Rice and Lynn with 39. Willie Wilson led in steals with 83 followed by Ron LeFlore with 78. Jim Rice led in total bases, but Don Baylor won the MVP leading in runs with 120 and RBI with 139. I think the shiny RBI total distracted the voters. Brett scored 119 runs, Rice 117, Lynn 116. Rice had 130 RBI, Thomas 123 and Lynn 122. Lynn led in on-base, slugging, OPS, and runs created.

Ron Guidry led in ERA with a 2.78 mark, followed by Tommy John at 2.96 and Dennis Eckersley at 2.99. Nolan Ryan paced in strikeouts with 223 followed by Guidry at 201. Mike Marshall led in saves with 32 followed by Jim Kern at 29. Dennis Martinez led with 39 starts, 292 innings, and 18 complete games. Mike Flanagan took the Cy Young as the wins leader with 23. John won 21 and Jerry Koosman 20.

Win Shares leaders, players; Fred Lynn (Boston) 34, George Brett (Kansas City) 33, Ken Singleton (Baltimore) 32, Darrell Porter (Kansas City) 31, Don Baylor (California) 29, Jim Rice (Boston) and Bobby Grich (California) 28, Sixto Lezcano (Milwaukee) 27, Chet Lemon (Detroit), Paul Molitor and Gorman Thomas (Milwaukee) 26, Eddie Murray (Baltimore), Brian Downing (California) and Steve Kemp (Detroit) 25, Toby Harrah (Cleveland), Willie Wilson (Kansas City), Cecil Cooper (Milwaukee) and Roy Smalley (Minnesota) 24, Amos Otis (Kansas City), Reggie Jackson and Willie Randolph (New York) 23.

WS leaders, pitchers; Jim Kern (Texas) 25, Dennis Eckersley (Boston) 24, Mike Flanagan (Baltimore), Jerry Koosman and Mike Marshall (Minnesota), and Tommy John (New York) 23 each, Ron Guidry (New York) 22, Sid Monge (Cleveland) 21, Mike Caldwell (Milwaukee) 20, Aurelio Lopez (Detroit) 19, Dennis Martinez (Baltimore) 18, Rick Wise (Cleveland), Jack Morris (Detroit) and Mike Parrott (Seattle) 17.

WARP3: Brett 7.9, Porter 7.8 (career year), Lynn 7.3 (best season), Molitor 6.3, Grich 6.2, Singleton 5.5, Wilson 5.2, Jackson and Buddy Bell (Texas) 5.0, Rick Burleson (Boston) 4.9, Lemon and Kemp 4.7, Lezcano and Smalley 4.4, Rice, Randolph and Gary Roenicke (Baltimore) 4.1, Murray 4.0, Baylor and Lance Parrish (Detroit) 3.8, Thomas and Ron LeFlore (Detroit) 3.7.

Pitchers, Marshall 7.4, Monge 7.3 (career year), Koosman 6.7, Eckersley 6.6, Kern 6.3 (career year), Guidry 5.8, John 5.6, Parrott (career year) and Lopez (also career year) 4.9, Wise 4.7 (last good year), Rick Langford (Oakland) 4.6, Caldwell 4.5, Morris 4.0, Dave Goltz and Geoff Zahn (Minnesota) 3.9. Still no Flanagan.

Actual award voting-
MVP (top 15):
Code:

Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Don Baylor CAL 20 347
2 Ken Singleton BAL 3 241
3 George Brett KCR 2 226
4 Fred Lynn BOS 0 160
5 Jim Rice BOS 0 124
6 Mike Flanagan BAL 3 100
7 Gorman Thomas MIL 0 87
8 Bobby Grich CAL 0 58
9 Darrell Porter KCR 0 52
10 Buddy Bell TEX 0 48
11 Jim Kern TEX 0 25
11 Mike Marshall MIN 0 25
11 Eddie Murray BAL 0 25
14 Brian Downing CAL 0 24
15 Sixto Lezcano MIL 0 18
Baylor was the clear winner, for no other reason than that he led the league in RBI for a division-winning team. He's not the worst award winner in history, but this is nowhere near a good selection. Baylor was probably not even the best player on his team.

Cy Young:
Code:

Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Mike Flanagan BAL 26 136
2 Tommy John NYY 1 51
3 Ron Guidry NYY 1 26
4 Jim Kern TEX 0 25
5 Mike Marshall MIN 0 7
6 Jerry Koosman MIN 0 5
7 Dennis Eckersley BOS 0 1
7 Aurelio Lopez DET 0 1
Flanagan was the clear winner, even though he got a lot of help from his team. This is a couple of very poor award selections, with voters distracted by RBI and by wins. Not very good ways to pick the best players.

Rookie:
Code:

Place Name Team Points
1 John Castino MIN 7
1 Alfredo Griffin TOR 7
3 Mark Clear CAL 5
4 Ross Baumgarten CHW 3
4 Ron Davis NYY 3
4 Pat Putnam TEX 3

Not much of a rookie field.

Best player: Fred Lynn. His team was 3rd, but won 91 games, 3 more than Baylor's Angels. As hitters, they were about even, but Lynn was much more valuable defensively. George Brett and even Darrell Porter has a case here, but the Royals missed the division after three years on top, so that's hard to award.
#1 Fred Lynn, #2 George Brett, #3 Darrell Porter, #4 Bobby Grich, #5 Ken Singleton, #6 Don Baylor.

Best pitcher: Jim Kern. He's a reliever, but pitched 143 innings with a 1.57 ERA, finishing second to Marshall with 29 saves and posting 13 wins. Marshall also had a good year, but his ERA was a run higher and he lost 15 games. Dennis Eckersley was the best overall starter.
#1 Jim Kern, #2 Dennis Eckersley, #3 Jerry Koosman, #4 Mike Marshall, #5 Mike Flanagan.

Best rookie: I'll take John Castino, but it's not much of a choice.

Best manager: Earl Weaver as the Orioles broke through the Yankee dynasty.

1978 National League

2009-12-20T18:33:00.002-05:00

Mostly a rerun of 1977, as the Dodgers beat the Phillies in the NLCS, then lost to the Yankees in the World Series. The division races were both close, with the Phillies edging the Pirates by 1.5 games, and the Dodgers besting the Reds by 2.5 games. The Dodgers and Reds both won more games than the Phils, as LA won 95 and Cincy 92, while Philly won 90. LA led in both runs scored and fewest runs allowed. San Francisco was third in the West with 89 wins, and San Diego fourth with 84. Houston was 5th and Atlanta 6th. The East Division also-rans were Chicago, Montreal, St. Louis, and New York, in that order.

Dave Parker won the batting title at .334, followed by Steve Garvey at .316 and Jose Cruz at .315. Parker also led in OPS and total bases and was the MVP, while George Foster again led in HR (40) and RBI (120). Greg Luzinski was second with 35 HR and Parker second with 117 RBI. Garvey had 202 hits, Pete Rose 51 doubles, and Garry Templeton 13 triples. Omar Moreno led in steals with 71. Ivan DeJesus had 104 runs, followed by Rose with 103 and Parker with 102.

Gaylord Perry led in wins with 21 and took the Cy Young. Ross Grimsley was the other 20-game winner with exactly that. Craig Swan led in ERA with a 2.43 mark, followed by Steve Rogers at 2.46 and Pete Vuckovich at 2.54. J.R. Richard led in strikeouts with 303, followed by Phil Niekro at 248. Rollie Fingers led in saves with 37 followed by Kent Tekulve at 31. Niekro had 22 complete games and Bob Knepper six shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Dave Parker (Pittsburgh) 37, George Foster (Cincinnati), Jack Clark (San Francisco) and Ted Simmons (St. Louis) 30, Dave Winfield (San Diego) 28, Jeff Burroughs (Atlanta), Pete Rose (Cincinnati) and Greg Luzinski (Philadelphia) 27, Jose Cruz (Houston), Dave Lopes (Los Angeles) and Darrell Evans (San Francisco) 26, Dave Concepcion (Cincinnati), Ron Cey and Steve Garvey (Los Angeles) and Bill Madlock (San Francisco) 25, Reggie Smith (Los Angeles) and Gene Richards (San Diego) 24, Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 23, Ken Griffey (Cincinnati), Gary Carter and Ellis Valentine (Montreal), John Stearns (New York), Larry Bowa (Philadelphia), Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh) and Gene Tenace (San Diego) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Phil Niekro (Atlanta) 30, Vida Blue and Bob Knepper (San Francisco) 22, Steve Carlton (Philadelphia) and Kent Tekulve (Pittsburgh) 20, Tom Seaver (Cincinnati), J.R. Richard (Houston) and Burt Hooton (Los Angeles) 19, Rick Reuschel (Chicago), Doug Bair (Cincinnati) and Gaylord Perry (San Diego) 18, Steve Rogers (Montreal), Craig Swan (New York) and Rollie Fingers (San Diego) 17.

WARP3 scores: Clark 6.9, Lopes and Madlock 6.4, Foster 6.3, Cey 6.2, Simmons and Smith (last regular year) 6.1, Carter 6.0, Parker 5.9, Winfield 5.4, Bowa (career year) and Garry Templeton (St. Louis) 5.2, Concepcion, Garvey, and Schmidt 5.1, Ozzie Smith (San Diego) 5.0 in his rookie year, Stearns (career year), Tenace, Garry Maddox (Philadelphia), and Warren Cromartie (Montreal) 4.9, Burroughs (last good year), and Chris Speier (Montreal) 4.7, Johnny Bench (Cincinnati) 4.6, Cruz, Evans, and Bill Russell (Los Angeles) 4.5, Luzinski 4.4.

Pitchers, Niekro 10.3, Blue and Knepper (career year) 7.3, Hooton 7.0 (best year), Seaver and Bair (career year) 6.6, John Denny (St. Louis) 6.5, Reuschel 5.8, Swan 5.7, Pete Vuckovich (St. Louis) 5.5, Carlton and Tekulve 5.4, Richard and Rogers 5.3, Fingers 5.1, Bert Blyleven (Pittsburgh) 5.0, John Candelaria (Pittsburgh) 4.9, Dennis Lamp (Chicago) 4.7, Perry 4.6.

Actual award winners:
MVP: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Dave Parker PIT 21 320 336 0.95 | 581 194 30 .334 .979 20|
2 Steve Garvey LAD 0 194 336 0.58 | 639 202 21 .316 .852 10|
3 Larry Bowa PHI 3 189 336 0.56 | 654 192 3 .294 .689 27|
4 Reggie Smith LAD 0 164 336 0.49 | 447 132 29 .295 .942 12|
5 Jack Clark SFG 0 107 336 0.32 | 592 181 25 .306 .895 15|
6 George Foster CIN 0 104 336 0.31 | 604 170 40 .281 .906 4|
7 Greg Luzinski PHI 0 48 336 0.14 | 540 143 35 .265 .914 8|
8 Gaylord Perry SDP 0 45 336 0.13 | 87 8 0 .092 .227 0| 21-6 261 2.73 1.178 154
9 Willie Stargell PIT 0 39 336 0.12 | 390 115 28 .295 .949 3|
10 Dave Winfield SDP 0 37 336 0.11 | 587 181 24 .308 .866 21|
11 Pete Rose CIN 0 35 336 0.10 | 655 198 7 .302 .783 13|
12 Vida Blue SFG 0 33 336 0.10 | 79 6 1 .076 .366 0| 18-10 258 2.79 1.174 171
13 Kent Tekulve PIT 0 23 336 0.07 | 21 2 0 .095 .232 0| 8-7 135 2.33 1.259 77 31
14 Rollie Fingers SDP 0 16 336 0.05 | 12 2 0 .167 .333 0| 6-13 107 2.52 1.053 72 37
15 Burt Hooton LAD 0 15 336 0.04 | 67 10 0 .149 .394 0| 19-10 236 2.71 1.089 104
16 Davey Lopes LAD 0 12 336 0.04 | 587 163 17 .278 .776 45|
17 Bill Buckner CHC 0 8 336 0.02 | 446 144 5 .323 .765 7|
17 Phil Niekro ATL 0 8 336 0.02 | 120 27 0 .225 .506 0| 19-18 334 2.88 1.188 248 1
19 Jeff Burroughs ATL 0 7 336 0.02 | 488 147 23 .301 .961 1|
20 Bruce Sutter CHC 0 5 336 0.01 | 13 1 0 .077 .277 0| 8-10 99 3.18 1.172 106 27
21 Garry Maddox PHI 0 4 336 0.01 | 598 172 11 .288 .741 33|
22 Enos Cabell HOU 0 2 336 0.01 | 660 195 7 .295 .720 33|
23 Bob Boone PHI 0 1 336 0.00 | 435 123 12 .283 .772 2|
Parker was a clear winner, although Bowa mustered surprising support.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Gaylord Perry SDP 22 116 120 0.97 | 21-6 261 2.73 1.178 154
2 Burt Hooton LAD 0 38 120 0.32 | 19-10 236 2.71 1.089 104
3 Vida Blue SFG 1 17 120 0.14 | 18-10 258 2.79 1.174 171
4 J.R. Richard HOU 1 13 120 0.11 | 18-11 275 3.11 1.210 303
5 Kent Tekulve PIT 0 12 120 0.10 | 8-7 135 2.33 1.259 77 31
6 Phil Niekro ATL 0 10 120 0.08 | 19-18 334 2.88 1.188 248 1
7 Ross Grimsley MON 0 7 120 0.06 | 20-11 263 3.05 1.156 84
8 Rollie Fingers SDP 0 1 120 0.01 | 6-13 107 2.52 1.053 72 37
8 Tommy John LAD 0 1 120 0.01 | 17-10 213 3.30 1.329 124 1
8 Don Robinson PIT 0 1 120 0.01 | 14-6 228 3.47 1.139 135 1
A true heist, as Perry was not nearly the best pitcher in the league, merely the biggest winner. One of the worst award selections ever.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Bob Horner ATL 12 12 24 0.50 | 323 86 23 .266 .852 0|
2 Ozzie Smith SDP 8 8 24 0.33 | 590 152 1 .258 .623 40|
3 Don Robinson PIT 3 3 24 0.12 | 85 20 0 .235 .494 0| 14-6 228 3.47 1.139 135 1
Power-hitter Horner edged glove man Ozzie.

Top player: Dave Parker. The clear winner in Win Shares, though WARP knocks him down on defense. At the time, he sure looked like the best player in the league.
#1 Dave Parker, #2 Jack Clark, #3 Ted Simmons, #4 George Foster, #5 Dave Winfield, #6 Davey Lopes.

Top pitcher: Phil Niekro, and not by a small margin. Pitching for the lowly Braves through his career cost Niekro some awards. His 19-18 record would have been much better with even a .500 team.
#1 Phil Niekro, #2 Vida Blue, #3 Bob Knepper, #4 Burt Hooton, #5 Tom Seaver, #6 Kent Tekulve.

Top rookie: Bob Horner, I'd have to say at the time. Ozzie Smith had the Hall of Fame career.

Top manager: Tommy LaSorda had the best team in the league. And he played a part in that.

1978 American League

2009-12-20T18:03:00.002-05:00

Yankees and Red Sox in a one-game playoff to determine the AL East winner---it was the climax of a great season. The Yankees won on Bucky Dent's homer, then took the ALCS in four games and the World Series in six. The Yankees won 100 games, the Bosox 99, Milwaukee 93, Baltimore 90, and Detroit 86, in a wild race. Cleveland was 6th, and second-year team Toronto lost 102 games for last. In the AL West, Kansas City won again with 92 victories, five games ahead of the Angels and Rangers. Minnsota, Chicago, and Oakland followed, with second-year Seattle last with 104 losses.

Jim Rice won the MVP with a terrific season, leading the league in hits (213), total bases (406), triples (15), homers (46), RBI (139), and OPS (970). Rod Carew won the batting title at .333, followed by Al Oliver at .324, and Ron LeFlore led in steals with 68 as well as runs with 126. George Brett led with 45 doubles.

Ron Guidry swept to the Cy Young leading in wins (25) and ERA (1.74) and finishing second in strikeouts (248). Nolan Ryan led in Ks with 260, as Goose Gossage did in saves with 27. Mike Caldwell had a fine year of his own with 22 wins (second place) and a 2.36 ERA (third) while leading the league with 23 complete games. Jon Matlack was second with a 2.27 ERA. Guidry tossed an amazing nine shutouts.

Win Shares leaders, players; Jim Rice (Boston) 36, Carlton Fisk (Boston) 31, Amos Otis (Kansas City) 29, Eddie Murray and Ken Singleton (Baltimore) 28, Doug DeCinces (Baltimore) and Fred Lynn (Boston) 27, Graig Nettles (New York) 26, Andre Thornton (Cleveland) 25, Ron LeFlore (Detroit) 24, Don Baylor (California), George Brett and Darrell Porter (Kansas City), Sal Bando and Larry Hisle (Milwaukee) and Reggie Jackson and Willie Randolph (New York) 23 each, Jason Thompson (Detroit), Rod Carew and Roy Smalley (Minnesota) and Al Oliver (Texas) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Ron Guidry (New York) 31, Mike Caldwell (Milwaukee) 28, Jim Palmer (Baltimore) 27, Jon Matlack (Texas) 25, Dennis Eckersley (Boston) 24, Fergie Jenkins (Texas) 21, Lary Sorensen (Milwaukee) and Goose Gossage (New York) 20, Larry Gura and Dennis Leonard (Kansas City), Dave Goltz (Minnesota) and Ed Figueroa (New York) 19.

WARP3 leaders: Rice and Otis 6.2, Smalley 6.1, Singleton 5.6, Nettles 5.5 (last big year), DeCinces and Brett 5.4, Randolph 5.3, LeFlore 5.2, Thornton 5.1 (best year), Fisk, Bando (last good year) and Chet Lemon (Chicago) 5.0, Hisle (last good year) and Carew 4.8, Murray and Robin Yount (Milwaukee) 4.7, Bobby Grich (California) 4.6, Jim Sundberg (Texas) 4.5.

Pitchers: Guidry 9.2, Caldwell 7.8, Matlack 7.2 (last big year), Palmer 6.9, Eckersley 6.8, Goltz 6.4, Jenkins 6.0, Mike Marshall (Minnesota) 5.6, Geoff Zahn (Minnesota) 5.3, Luis Tiant (Boston) and Goose Gossage (New York) 5.0, Bob Stanley (Boston) 4.9, Rick Waits (Cleveland) 4.8, Gura 4.6, Sorensen 4.5 (career year).

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 20): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----
1 Jim Rice BOS 20 352 392 0.90 | 677 213 46 .315 .970 7|
2 Ron Guidry NYY 8 291 392 0.74 | | 25-3 274 1.74 0.946 248
3 Larry Hisle MIL 0 201 392 0.51 | 520 151 34 .290 .906 10|
4 Amos Otis KCR 0 90 392 0.23 | 486 145 22 .298 .905 32|
5 Rusty Staub DET 0 88 392 0.22 | 642 175 24 .273 .782 3|
6 Graig Nettles NYY 0 86 392 0.22 | 587 162 27 .276 .803 1|
7 Don Baylor CAL 0 51 392 0.13 | 591 151 34 .255 .804 22|
8 Eddie Murray BAL 0 50 392 0.13 | 610 174 27 .285 .836 6|
9 Carlton Fisk BOS 0 49 392 0.12 | 571 162 20 .284 .841 7|
10 Darrell Porter KCR 0 48 392 0.12 | 520 138 18 .265 .802 0|
11 Rod Carew MIN 0 46 392 0.12 | 564 188 5 .333 .853 27|
12 Mike Caldwell MIL 0 41 392 0.10 | | 22-9 293 2.36 1.064 131 1
13 Rich Gossage NYY 0 39 392 0.10 | | 10-11 134 2.01 1.087 122 27
14 Al Oliver TEX 0 26 392 0.07 | 525 170 14 .324 .848 8|
15 Jim Sundberg TEX 0 24 392 0.06 | 518 144 6 .278 .739 2|
16 Ron LeFlore DET 0 21 392 0.05 | 666 198 12 .297 .766 68|
17 Reggie Jackson NYY 0 18 392 0.05 | 511 140 27 .274 .834 14|
18 Carl Yastrzemski BOS 0 17 392 0.04 | 523 145 17 .277 .790 4|
19 George Brett KCR 0 14 392 0.04 | 510 150 9 .294 .809 23|
20 Andre Thornton CLE 0 12 392 0.03 | 508 133 33 .262 .893 4|
There was some disagreement, but voters went for Rice over Guidry, with Hisle a strong third.

Cy Young (top five): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Ron Guidry NYY 28 140 140 1.00 | 25-3 274 1.74 0.946 248
2 Mike Caldwell MIL 0 76 140 0.54 | 22-9 293 2.36 1.064 131 1
3 Jim Palmer BAL 0 14 140 0.10 | 21-12 296 2.46 1.159 138
4 Dennis Eckersley BOS 0 10 140 0.07 | 20-8 268 2.99 1.226 162
5 Rich Gossage NYY 0 4 140 0.03 | 10-11 134 2.01 1.087 122 27
Guidry, then Caldwell, then a mash.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+--+-----+-----+-----+---
1 Lou Whitaker DET 21 21 28 0.75 | 484 138 3 .285 .718 7|
2 Paul Molitor MIL 3 3 28 0.11 | 521 142 6 .273 .673 30|
3 Carney Lansford CAL 2 2 28 0.07 | 453 133 8 .294 .746 20|
4 Rich Gale KCR 1 1 28 0.04 | | 14-8 192 3.09 1.409 88
4 Alan Trammell DET 1 1 28 0.04 | 448 120 2 .268 .675 3|
Whitaker was a clear winner.

Top player: Jim Rice. It wasn't a complete slam dunk, as Rice had little defensive value, but it was an excellent season. The 15 triples were pretty cool.
#1 Jim Rice, #2 Amos Otis, #3 Ken Singleton, #4 Carlton Fisk, #5 Graig Nettles, #6 Doug DeCinces.

Top pitcher: Ron Guidry was excellent, nearly every time on the mound.
#1 Ron Guidry, #2 Mike Caldwell, #3 Jim Palmer, #4 Jon Matlack, #5 Dennis Eckersley.

Top rookie: Lou Whitaker leads a strong field.

Top manager: George Bamberger breathed life into the Brewers franchise.

1977 National League

2009-10-24T10:16:00.002-05:00

The NL kept its lineup while the AL expanded. The Reds fell from the top spot, as the Dodgers returned to the top of the NL West with 98 victories. The Reds were second with 88. Houston went 81-81 to finish third, followed by San Francisco, San Diego, and finally Atlanta with 101 losses. Philadelphia won the East again with 101 wins, with Pittsburgh just behind at 96 victories. St. Louis was 3rd, Chicago 4th, Montreal 5th and the Mets last. The Dodgers then beat the Phillies in the NLCS.

Dave Parker won the batting title with a .338 average, just ahead of teammate Rennie Stennett at .336. However, Stennett played just 114 games before going down with a leg injury (which helped cost Pittsburgh the division) and was never the same player again. George Foster had a monster year with 52 HR, 149 RBI,led in slugging and OPS, and won the MVP. Parker had 44 doubles, Garry Templeton 18 triples, Frank Taveras led in steals with 70. Jeff Burroughs was second in homers with 41, Greg Luzinski third with 39. Luzinski had 130 RBI. Reggie Smith, playing in the pitchers' park of Dodger Stadium, led in on-base, was second in OPS, and had a small lead on Foster for OPS+.

Steve Carlton led in wins with 23, followed by Tom Seaver with 21. Bob Forsch, John Candelaria, Tommy John, and Rick Reuschel each won 20. Candelaria led in ERA with a 2.34 mark, followed by Seaver at 2.58. Phil Niekro had 262 strikeouts, followed by J.R. Richard at 214. Niekro led in innings, starts, and complete games. Rollie Fingers led in saves with 35, followed by Bruce Sutter at 31. Carlton won the Cy Young.

Win Shares leaders, NL, 1977:

Players, Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) and Dave Parker (Pittsburgh) 33, George Foster (Cincinnati) 32, Greg Luzinski (Philadelphia) and Joe Morgan (Cincinnati) 30 (Bull's were all offensive, I bet), Reggie Smith (Los Angeles) 29, George Hendrick (San Diego) and Ted Simmons (St. Louis) 28, Gary Carter (Montreal) and Gene Tenace (San Diego) 25, Jose Cruz (Houston), Davey Lopes (Los Angeles), Dave Winfield (San Diego) and Keith Hernandez and Garry Templeton (St. Louis) 24, Ken Griffey and Pete Rose (Cincinnati) and Cesar Cedeno and Bob Watson (Houston) 23, Jeff Burroughs (Atlanta) and Johnny Bench (Cincinnati) 22.

For pitchers, it was Bruce Sutter (Chicago) 27, Rick Reuschel (Chicago), John Candelaria and Goose Gossage (Pitsburgh) and Steve Carlton (Philadelphia) 26, Tom Seaver (New York/Cincinnati) 25, J.R. Richard (Houston) and Steve Rogers (Montreal) 21, Phil Niekro (Atlanta) and Ed Halicki (San Francisco) 20, Burt Hooton and Tommy John (Los Angeles) 19, Gary Lavelle (San Francisco) 18.

WARP3, players: Foster 9.1, Schmidt 8.7, Smith 8.2, Parker 8.0, Morgan 7.5, Carter 6.7, Simmons 6.5, Bench 6.3, Dave Concepcion (Cincinnati), Lopes, and Tenace 5.9, Watson 5.2, Cedeno, Joe Ferguson (Los Angeles) and Lenny Randle (New York) 5.1, Hendrick and Rennie Stennett (Pittsburgh) 5.0, Phil Garner (Pittsburgh) 4.9, Winfield and Dusty Baker (Los Angeles) 4.8.

WARP3, pitchers: Reuschel 9.2, Niekro 8.5, Gossage 8.1, Carlton 8.0, Richard 7.1, Sutter 7.0, Halicki 6.9, Candelaria 6.8, Lavelle and Seaver 5.7, Hooton 5.2, Rogers and John 5.0, Rollie Fingers (San Diego) 4.7.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 15) :1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share|AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+--------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 George Foster CIN 15 291 336 0.87 | 615 197 52 .320 1.013 6|
2 Greg Luzinski PHI 9 255 336 0.76 | 554 171 39 .309 .988 3|
3 Dave Parker PIT 0 156 336 0.46 | 637 215 21 .338 .927 17|
4 Reggie Smith LAD 0 112 336 0.33 | 488 150 32 .307 1.003 7|
5 Steve Carlton PHI 0 100 336 0.30 | 97 26 3 .268 .684 0| 23-10 283 2.64 1.124 198
6 Steve Garvey LAD 0 98 336 0.29 | 646 192 33 .297 .834 9|
7 Bruce Sutter CHC 0 68 336 0.20 | 20 3 0 .150 .377 0| 7-3 107 1.34 0.857 129 31
8 Ron Cey LAD 0 60 336 0.18 | 564 136 30 .241 .797 3|
9 Ted Simmons STL 0 58 336 0.17 | 516 164 21 .318 .908 2|
10 Mike Schmidt PHI 0 48 336 0.14 | 544 149 38 .274 .967 15|
11 Bill Robinson PIT 0 34 336 0.10 | 507 154 26 .304 .862 12|
12 Tommy John LAD 0 33 336 0.10 | 79 14 1 .177 .433 0| 20-7 220 2.78 1.248 123
13 Garry Templeton STL 0 20 336 0.06 | 621 200 8 .322 .786 28|
14 Rollie Fingers SDP 0 17 336 0.05 | 20 1 0 .050 .100 0| 8-9 132 2.99 1.202 113 35
15 Pete Rose CIN 0 15 336 0.04 | 655 204 9 .311 .809 16|
Foster by a fairly small margin over Luzinski. Parker ran a strong third, and the rest were also-rans.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Steve Carlton PHI 17 104 120 0.87 | 23-10 283 2.64 1.124 198
2 Tommy John LAD 3 54 120 0.45 | 20-7 220 2.78 1.248 123
3 Rick Reuschel CHC 1 18 120 0.15 | 20-10 252 2.79 1.218 166 1
3 Tom Seaver TOT 2 18 120 0.15 |+21-6 261 2.58 1.014 196
5 John Candelaria PIT 1 17 120 0.14 | 20-5 231 2.34 1.071 133
6 Bruce Sutter CHC 0 5 120 0.04 | 7-3 107 1.34 0.857 129 31
Carlton followed by a full comeback season by Tommy John from the surgery that now bears his name. Sutter and Gossage got little attention from their terrific years in relief.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+---------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Andre Dawson MON 10 10 24 0.42 | 525 148 19 .282 .800 21|
2 Steve Henderson NYM 9 9 24 0.38 | 350 104 12 .297 .852 6|
3 Gene Richards SDP 4 4 24 0.17 | 525 152 5 .290 .754 56|
4 Floyd Bannister HOU 1 1 24 0.04 | 48 9 0 .188 .392 0| 8-9 143 4.04 1.444 112

Top player: George Foster. Foster had a year, with 52 HR and 149 RBI, that hadn't been seen in some years. He had by far the most impressive season.
#1 George Foster, #2 Mike Schmidt, #3 Dave Parker, #4 Reggie Smith, #5 Joe Morgan, #6 Ted Simmons.

Top pitcher: Rick Reuschel for a terrific year. He won 20, and was 2nd in ERA+ behind Candelaria, but Candy pitched for a much better team.
#1 Rick Reuschel, #2 Goose Gossage, #3 John Candelaria, #4 Steve Carlton, #5 Tom Seaver, #6 Bruce Sutter.

Top Rookie: with the benefit of hindsight, I'll choose Dawson.

Top manager: Tommy Lasorda was successful in his first year as skipper of the Dodgers.

1977 American League

2009-10-18T11:03:00.003-05:00

New York's Yankees won their first World Series since 1962, and started a modern version of their dynasty. The Yanks first had to survive a dogfight in the East Division, besting Boston and Baltimore each by a mere 2.5 games in a race to the end. The Yankees won 100 games, the Red Sox and Orioles 97 each. The rest of the division was under .500, even with the presence of two expansions teams, as Toronto and Seattle entered the league. Detroit, Cleveland and Milwaukee were the also-rans, and Toronto brought up the rear in the East with 107 losses.

The West was won by Kansas City for the second straight year, as the Royals won 102 games. Texas was 2nd, eight back, while Chicago surged to 3rd after a disastrous season in 1976. Bill Veeck tried shorts, giveaways, and big hitters in their walk years to boost his team. It worked. Minnesota was 4th, California 5th, and Seattle edged Oakland, which looked like an expansion team after being riddled by free agency. Charlie Finley's high-handed tactics came back to haunt him.

Rod Carew led in average, on-base, OPS, and won the MVP as he hit .388, the highest average Ted Williams hit the same in 1957. No one had been higher since Williams' .406 in 1941. Second to Carew in average was teammate Lyman Bostock, all the way back at .336. Carew also led with 239 hits and 128 runs. He was even a surprising second in slugging. Jim Rice led in slugging, and in homers with 39, followed by Bobby Bonds and Graig Nettles at 37. Larry Hisle led in RBI with 119, followed closely by Bonds at 115 and Rice at 114. Hal McRae had 54 doubles and Carew 16 triples. Freddy Patek led in steals with 53, followed by Mitchell Page at 42.

Reliever Sparky Lyle won the Cy Young, while Frank Tanana led in ERA with a 2.54 mark, followed by Bert Blyleven at 2.72. Nolan Ryan led in strikeouts with 341; second was Dennis Leonard with 244. Dave Campbell led in saves with 31, followed by Lyle at 26 and Larrin LaGrow at 25. Dave Goltz, Dennis Leonard and Jim Palmer tied with 20 wins. Tanana had seven shutouts while Palmer and Ryan each had 22 complete games.

The Win Shares leaderboard looks like this:

Players: Rod Carew (Minnesota) 37, Ken Singleton (Baltimore) 36, Carlton Fisk (Boston) and Mitchell Page (Oakland) 30, George Brett (Kansas City) 29, Al Cowens (Kansas City), Lyman Bostock (Minnesota) and Reggie Jackson (New York) 27, Jim Rice (Boston) and Hal McRae (Kansas City) 26, Graig Nettles (New York), Mike Hargrove and Toby Harrah (Texas) 25, Al Bumbry (Baltimore), Carl Yastrzemski (Boston), Bobby Bonds (California) and Larry Hisle (Minnesota) 24, Chet Lemon (Chicago) and Ron LeFlore (Detroit) 23.

Pitchers: Jim Palmer (Baltimore) 29, Dennis Leonard (Kansas City) 24, Bill Campbell (Boston) 23, Nolan Ryan (California) and Dave Goltz (Minnesota) 22, Bert Blyleven (Texas) 21, Frank Tanana (California) and Sparky Lyle (New York) 20, Dennis Eckersley (Cleveland), Dave Rozema (Detroit) and Ron Guidry (New York) 18.

WARP3 leaders, players: Carew 9.4, Singleton 9.0, Brett and Page 8.5, Fisk 8.2, Jim Sundberg (who was not much of a hitter, but a marvelous defensive catcher) 7.8, Nettles 7.0, Hargrove 6.7, Bump Wills (Texas) and Willie Randolph (New York) 6.5, Harrah, Bostock, and Bert Campaneris (Texas) 6.3, Don Money (Milwaukee) 5.9, Hisle 5.8, Andre Thornton (Cleveland) 5.7, Bonds and Jackson 5.6, Rice, Lemon, and Thurman Munson (New York) 5.5.

WARP 3 leaders, pitchers: Tanana 7.5, Ryan 6.9, Campbell and Palmer 6.5, Eckersley 6.0, Rozema 5.6, Wayne Garland (Cleveland) 5.0, Jerry Garvin (Toronto) 4.9, Blyleven and Larrin LaGrow (Chicago) 4.7.

The actual voting results:

MVP (at least 10 points only):
Code:
Finish Name Team First-place Votes Total points
1 Rod Carew MIN 12 273
2 Al Cowens KCR 4 217
3 Ken Singleton BAL 3 200
4 Jim Rice BOS 1 163
5 Graig Nettles NYY 2 112
6 Sparky Lyle NYY 1 79
7 Thurman Munson NYY 1 70
8 Carlton Fisk BOS 1 67
8 Reggie Jackson NYY 1 67
10 Bill Campbell BOS 0 65
11 Mickey Rivers NYY 0 59
12 Larry Hisle MIN 1 54
13 George Brett KCR 0 51
14 Richie Zisk CHW 0 34
15 Jim Sundberg TEX 0 30
16 Bobby Bonds CAL 0 28
17 Carl Yastrzemski BOS 1 25
18 Ron Guidry NYY 0 11

The voting was much like 2003, as a player from an also-ran team won a split decision when no one from the top team stood out. The Series champ Yankees had six players listed here, but none higher than 5th.

Cy Young:
Code:

Place Name Team First-place votes Points
1 Sparky Lyle NYY 9 56
2 Jim Palmer BAL 6 48
3 Nolan Ryan CAL 6 46
4 Dennis Leonard KCR 5 45
5 Bill Campbell BOS 1 25
6 Dave Goltz MIN 1 19
7 Ron Guidry NYY 0 5
8 Dave Rozema DET 0 4
9 Frank Tanana CAL 0 3

The voters assuaged their non-winner MVP guilt by going for Yankees reliever Lyle. Lyle wasn't even the best reliever in the league, although he had a good year.

Rookie:
Code:

Place Name Team First-place votes Points
1 Eddie Murray BAL 12 12
2 Mitchell Page OAK 9 9
3 Bump Wills TEX 4 4
4 Dave Rozema DET 2 2

Top player: Rod Carew, in his best year. Fisk and Singleton were also terrific, but Carew was the best. The .388 average lost its place in folklore when George Brett hit .390 three years later, but it was a terrific season for the Panamanian.
#1 Rod Carew, #2 Ken Singleton, #3 Carlton Fisk, #4 George Brett, #5 Mitchell Page, #6 Lyman Bostock.

Top pitcher: Jim Palmer, although he has competition. I've taken awards from Palmer, but I give him one here.
#1 Jim Palmer, #2 Nolan Ryan, #3 Frank Tanana, #4 Bill Campbell, #5 Dennis Leonard.

Top rookie: Mitchell Page had a great year, although Eddie Murray would have the Hall of Fame career.

Top manager: Credit Billy Martin here, managing a real team without a big star through a tough pennant race.

1976 National League

2009-10-13T17:55:00.002-05:00

Cincinnati repeated as World Series champs by going undefeated in the postseason, and Joe Morgan repeated as MVP. Philadelphia made the postseason for the first time since 1950, taking the East Division title. Neither division race was especially close. The Reds won 102 games and led the Dodgers by 10 at the end. The rest of the division was under .500, with Houston, San Francisco, San Diego, and Atlanta trailing behind. The Phillies beat out the Pirates by 9 games, 101 wins to 92, with New York 3rd at 86 wins. Chicago and St. Louis trailed, and Montreal lost 107 games.

Morgan led in OPS by a large margin, leading in both on-base and slugging. Bill Madlock won the batting title by three points over Ken Griffey (Senior) .339 to .336. Garry Maddox was third at .330. Mike Schmidt led in homers with 38 to Dave Kingman's 37, while George Foster led in RBI with 121 to Morgan's 111. Pete Rose scored 130 runs and had 215 hits and 42 doubles, and Davey Lopes led in steals with 63 to Morgan's 60.

Randy Jones led in wins with and took the Cy Young Award. Don Sutton and Jerry Koosman won 21, while J.R. Richard and Steve Carlton won 20 apiece. John Denny led in ERA at 2.52 to Doug Rau's 2.57, Tom Seaver in strikeouts with 235, and Rawly Eastwick in saves. Jones had 25 complete games.

Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; Joe Morgan (Cincinnati) 37, Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 35, Bob Watson (Houston) 31, Pete Rose (Cincinnati) and Cesar Cedeno (Houston) 30, Ron Cey (Los Angeles) 27, Garry Maddox (Philadelphia) and Steve Garvey (Los Angeles) 26, Bill Madlock (Chicago), George Foster and Ken Griffey (Cincinnati) and Dave Winfield (San Diego) 25, Richie Zisk (Pittsburgh) and Gary Mathews (San Francisco) 24, Rick Monday (Chicago), Dave Concepcion (Cincinnati), Greg Luzinski (Philadelphia), and Dave Parker (Pittsburgh) 23, Jose Cruz (Houston) and Al Oliver (Pittsburgh) 22.

Pitchers; Phil Niekro (Atlanta), Doug Rau (Los Angeles), Randy Jones (San Diego) and John Montefusco (San Francisco) 21 each, Charlie Hough and Don Sutton (Los Angeles), Jerry Koosman and Tom Seaver (New York) and Jim Barr (San Francisco) 20 each, Ray Burris and Rick Reuschel (Chicago) 19, Jon Matlack (New York), Steve Carlton (Philadelphia) and John Denny (St. Louis) 18.

WARP3 leaders, players: Morgan 11.3, Schmidt 11.2, Concepcion 9.4, Rose 8.8, Foster 8.5, Cedeno 7.1, Maddox 6.7, Bench and Griffey 6.6, Watson 6.3, Cesar Geronimo (Cincinnati) 6.2, Garvey 5.8, Zisk 5.7, Cey 5.6, Winfield 5.4, Oliver 5.3, Cruz 5.2.

WARP3 leaders, pitchers: Montefusco 8.3, Niekro 7.8, Barr, Burris, and Jones 7.1, Messersmith 6.9, Koosman and Reuschel 6.2, Seaver 6.1, Woodie Fryman (Montreal) 5.8, Dick Ruthven (Philadelphia) 5.6, Rau 5.4, Matlack 5.0, Hough 4.7.

Award voting:
MVP (top 15);

Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Joe Morgan CIN 19 311
2 George Foster CIN 5 221
3 Mike Schmidt PHI 0 179
4 Pete Rose CIN 0 131
5 Garry Maddox PHI 0 98
6 Steve Garvey LAD 0 51
6 Bill Madlock CHC 0 51
8 Ken Griffey Sr. CIN 0 49
8 Greg Luzinski PHI 0 49
10 Randy Jones SDP 0 48
11 Bob Watson HOU 0 38
12 Al Oliver PIT 0 30
13 Rawly Eastwick CIN 0 26
14 Jerry Koosman NYM 0 20
15 Steve Carlton PHI 0 16

Cy Young;

Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Randy Jones SDP 15 96
2 Jerry Koosman NYM 7 69
3 Don Sutton LAD 1 25
4 Steve Carlton PHI 0 11
5 Rawly Eastwick CIN 0 6
6 Jon Matlack NYM 1 5
7 J.R. Richard HOU 0 2
8 Tom Seaver NYM 0 1

Rookie;

Place Name Team Points
1 Butch Metzger SDP 11
1 Pat Zachry CIN 11
3 Hector Cruz STL 2

Top player: Joe Morgan. It's pretty clear that Morgan is again the best player in the league, and his team won 108 games besides. An easy pick. Schmidt is a clear 2nd.
#1 Joe Morgan, #2 Mike Schmidt, #3 Pete Rose, #4 Cesar Cedeno, #5 Garry Maddox, #6 George Foster.

Top pitcher: Randy Jones. In DIPS, Jones is lousy in Ks of course. But he does well in the other two categories as he walked very few and kept the ball in the park. He also was working with a lousy team behind him, save Winfield. Well, Johnny Grubb was OK.
#1 Randy Jones, #2 John Montefusco, #3 Phil Niekro, #4 Jim Barr, #5 Jerry Koosman.

Top rookie: Pat Zachry. Call me a homer, but I'll go for the Reds' guy. It was a thin group.

Top manager: Danny Ozark, for finally getting the Phillies to the endgame.

1976 American League

2009-10-03T08:12:00.002-05:00

The Yankees won the pennant for the first time in 12 years, their longest drought since the dynasty began in 1921. The free agent era dawned, after an arbitrator ruled in the offseason that clubs could renew contracts for one season only, not in perpetuity. This led the A's stars to play out their option years en masse, and set off the preseason trade of Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman to Baltimore for Don Baylor and Mike Torrez. The Yankees then picked Holtzman up at midseason in a huge 10-player trade.

New York won 97 and outdistanced Baltimore by 10.5 games in the East, with Boston 3rd, Cleveland 4th, then Detroit and Milwaukee. The Royals broke the A's stranglehold in the West by a 2.5 game margin. Minnesota was 3rd, California and Texas tied for 4th. Chicago lost 97 games and were sold to Bill Veeck, his last team ownership. Veeck still made for an interesting story, and zany promotions.

George Brett won the batting title in a tight three-way race with Hal McRae and Rod Carew that ended in some controversy tinged with charges or racism, that Caucasian Brett was favored over his teammate, African-American McRae. Brett batted .333, McRae .332, and Carew .331 is an insanely tight race. McRae led the league in on-base and OPS. Jackson led in slugging, with Graig Nettles leading in homers with 32, and Lee May in RBI with 109 just ahead of Thurman Munson at 105. Roy White scored 104 runs, Amos Otis had 40 doubles, and Brett 14 triples. Bill North led in steals with 75. Jackson edged McRae in OPS+.

Jim Palmer led in wins with 22, one more than Luis Tiant, as Wayne Garland also won 20 and a big free agent payday. Rookie Mark (The Bird) Fidrych led in ERA by 0.01 over Vida Blue, 2.33 to 2.34. Nolan Ryan led in strikeouts with 327 and Sparky Lyle in saves with 23 to Dave LaRoche's 21. Fidrych led with 24 complete games, Ryan with 7 shutouts.

Win Shares leaderboard:
Players; George Brett (Kansas City) 33, Bobby Grich (Baltimore) 31, Rod Carew (Minnesota) 30, Graig Nettles (New York) 28, Ron LeFlore and Rusty Staub (Detroit), Hal McRae (Kansas City) and Mickey Rivers and Roy White (New York) 26 each, Reggie Jackson (Baltimore) and Amos Otis (Kansas City) 25, Ken Singleton (Baltimore), Rico Carty (Cleveland), Thurman Munson (New York), Sal Bando (Oakland), Mike Hargrove and Toby Harrah (Texas) 24, Mark Belanger (Baltimore) 23, Fred Lynn (Boston) and Gene Tenace (Oakland) 22.

Pitchers; Jim Palmer (Baltimore), Frank Tanana (California) and Mark Fidrych (Detroit) 27 each, Vida Blue (Oakland) 25, Luis Tiant (Boston) 22, Wayne Garland (Baltimore), Bert Blyleven (Minnesota/Texas) and Mike Torrez (Oakland) 20, Nolan Ryan (California), John Hiller (Detroit), Bill Campbell (Minnesota), Rollie Fingers (Oakland) and Gaylord Perry (Texas) 17.

WARP3 leaders, players: Brett 10.8, Nettles 9.7, Grich 8.1, White 7.8, McRae 7.0, Carew and Jackson 6.8, Munson and Phil Garner (Oakland) 6.7, Rivers 6.6, Carlton Fisk (Boston) 6.4, LeFlore 6.0, Carty 5.7, Otis and Willie Randolph (New York) 5.4, Lynn 5.3, Bando and Harrah 5.2, Tenace, Freddie Patek (Kansas City) and Mark Belanger (Baltimore) 5.1.

WARP 3 leaders, pitchers: Tanana 9.7, Fidrych 9.0, Palmer 8.1, Blue 7.1, Bill Travers (Milwaukee) 5.4, Tiant 5.2, Torrez 5.1, Perry 5.0, Blyleven and Gary Ross (California) 4.8, Hiller 4.6, Ryan 4.5, Garland 4.2, Ken Brett (Chicago) 4.0, Fingers 3.9.

Award Voting:
MVP (top 20);
Code:

Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Thurman Munson NYY 18 304
2 George Brett KCR 2 217
3 Mickey Rivers NYY 1 179
4 Hal McRae KCR 0 99
5 Rod Carew MIN 1 71
5 Chris Chambliss NYY 0 71
7 Amos Otis KCR 1 58
8 Bill Campbell MIN 0 56
9 Lee May BAL 0 51
10 Jim Palmer BAL 0 47
11 Mark Fidrych DET 1 41
12 Joe Rudi OAK 0 35
13 Sal Bando OAK 0 31
14 Carl Yastrzemski BOS 0 26
15 Frank Tanana CAL 0 19
16 Reggie Jackson BAL 0 17
16 Graig Nettles NYY 0 17
18 Gene Tenace OAK 0 13
19 Rollie Fingers OAK 0 12
20 Vida Blue OAK 0 10

Cy Young (top 7);
Code:

Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Jim Palmer BAL 19 108
2 Mark Fidrych DET 5 51
3 Frank Tanana CAL 0 18
4 Ed Figueroa NYY 0 12
5 Luis Tiant BOS 0 10
6 Vida Blue OAK 0 8
7 Bill Campbell MIN 0 7

Rookie:
Code:

Place Name Team Points
1 Mark Fidrych DET 22 22
2 Butch Wynegar MIN 2 2

Top player; George Brett, now the best player in the league. McRae was a better hitter, but Brett added good defense. Nettles, not Munson, was the top force on the Yankees.
#1 George Brett, #2 Graig Nettles, #3 Bobby Grich, #4 Rod Carew, #5 Hal McRae, #6 Thurman Munson.

Top pitcher; Mark Fidrych. A rookie for a bad team, The Bird was the biggest thing to hit baseball in years. Fans flocked to see the kooky kid, he was on TV all the time, and this before ESPN, and he was great! He may never have been destined for a Hall of Fame career, with a low strikeout rate, but he was amazing.
#1 Mark Fidrych, #2 Frank Tanana, #3 Jim Palmer, #4 Vida Blue, #5 Luis Tiant.

Top rookie: Mark Fidrych. He was not a good bet to last long with that K rate, but he was something to watch. And he was very good in 1976.

Top manager: Billy Martin got the Yankees their first win since 1964.

1975 National League

2009-09-27T10:56:00.002-05:00

The Dodgers were hailed as the new dynasty over the winter and into May. Then the Reds moved Pete Rose to third base, installed George Foster in the lineup and kicked into high gear, not stopping until they won 108 games. They went on to win their first World Series since 1940. LA was left in the dust with 88 wins. San Francisco was 3rd, San Diego 4th, then Atlanta and Houston. Pittsburgh won the East, 6.5 games ahead of the renewed Phillies. The Mets and Cardinals tied for 3rd, with Chicago and Montreal tied for 5th.

Bill Madlock led the league in average, Mike Schmidt in home runs, Greg Luzinski in RBI, Dave Lopes in steals. Joe Morgan led in on-base and OPS and won the MVP. Tom Seaver led in wins and strikeouts and won the Cy Young. Randy Jones led in ERA while Rawly Eastwick and Al Hrabosky tied in saves.

Win Shares leaders, players; Joe Morgan (Cincinnati) 44, Pete Rose (Cincinnati) 31, Johnny Bench (Cincinnati) 30, Darrell Evans (Atlanta), Greg Luzinski and Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) and Ted Simmons (St. Louis) 28 each, Ron Cey (Los Angeles) 27, Jose Cardenal and Bill Madlock (Chicago) and Dave Parker (Pittsburgh) 26, Steve Garvey and Dave Lopes (Los Angeles) and Rusty Staub (New York) 25, Dave Cash (Philadelphia) 24, Andre Thornton (Chicago) and Manny Sanguillen (Pittsburgh) 23, Rick Monday (Chicago), Willie Stargell and Richie Zisk (Pittsburgh) 22.

Pitchers; Andy Messersmith (Los Angeles) and Randy Jones (San Diego) 28, Tom Seaver (New York) 26, Bob Forsch (St. Louis) 21, Jerry Reuss (Pittsburgh) and John Montefusco (San Francisco) 20, Phil Niekro (Atlanta), Steve Rogers (Montreal) and Al Hrabosky (St. Louis) 19, Carl Morton (Atlanta), Burt Hooton (Chicago/Los Angeles), Don Sutton (Los Angeles) and Jim Barr (San Francisco) 17.

WARP3, players: Morgan 13.0 in a season for the ages; Bench 9.8, Schmidt 8.8, Lopes 7.9, Dave Concepcion (Cincinnati) 7.6, Parker 7.4, Cey 7.1, Luzinski 7.0, Rose and George Foster (Cincinnati) 6.7, Cesar Cedeno (Houston) 6.2, Garvey 6.1, Cash 5.9, Jimmy Wynn (Los Angeles) 5.7, Simmons and Sanguillen 5.6, Staub 5.4, Bob Watson (Houston) 5.2, Rennie Stennett (Pittsburgh) 4.8, Chris Speier (San Francisco) 4.7.

WARP3, pitchers: Jones 10.7, Niekro and Morton 9.5, Seaver 8.4, Messersmith 6.8, Forsch 6.6, Montefusco 6.4, Barr 6.3, Reuss 5.4, Rick Reuschel (Chicago) 5.3, Hrabosky 5.2, Rogers 4.7, Steve Stone and Ray Burris (both Chicago) 4.6, Dan Warthen (Montreal) 4.4, Brent Strom (San Diego) 4.3, Bob Apodaca (New York) 4.1, Sutton, Hooton, and Woodie Fryman (Montreal) 3.7.

Actual award voting:
MVP (top 12)

Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Joe Morgan CIN 21 321
2 Greg Luzinski PHI 0 154
3 Dave Parker PIT 0 120
4 Johnny Bench CIN 0 117
5 Pete Rose CIN 2 114
6 Ted Simmons STL 0 103
7 Willie Stargell PIT 0 69
8 Al Hrabosky STL 0 66
9 Tom Seaver NYM 0 65
10 Randy Jones SDP 0 54
11 Steve Garvey LAD 0 50
12 Bill Madlock CHC 0 45

Cy Young

Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Tom Seaver NYM 15 98
2 Randy Jones SDP 7 80
3 Al Hrabosky STL 2 33
4 John Montefusco SFG 0 2
5 Don Gullett CIN 0 1
5 Andy Messersmith LAD 0 1
5 Don Sutton LAD 0 1

Rookie

Place Name Team Votes
1 John Montefusco SFG 12
2 Gary Carter MON 9
3 Rawly Eastwick CIN 1
3 Larry Parrish MON 1
3 Manny Trillo CHC 1

Best player: Joe Morgan is head and shoulders above the crowd. Rose got a couple of first-place votes based on his in-season move to 3B, but Morgan should have swept this award.
#1 Joe Morgan, #2 Johnny Bench, #3 Mike Schmidt, #4 Pete Rose, #5 Ron Cey, #6 Dave Parker.

Best Pitcher: Randy Jones. It's between Seaver, Messersmith and Jones. No one else is close. Jones was the best, though the margin is not large.
#1 Randy Jones, #2 Tom Seaver, #3 Andy Messersmith, #4 Jerry Reuss, #5 Phil Niekro, #6 Bob Forsch.

Best rookie: John Montefusco was the top rookie. He burned out, and Gary Carter would have the better career. But for one season, it was Montefusco.

Best manager: Sparky Anderson had the courage to move Rose to 3B, and it proved the catalyst for the team. He also nursemaided a mediocre pitching staff through the long season, and then the postseason.

1975 American League

2009-09-20T20:31:00.002-05:00

Oakland won its fifth straight division title, even without the first free agent (on a contract violation technicality by A's owner Charlie Finley) of the modern era, Catfish Hunter. Hunter signed a multi-year contract with the Yankees. But the story of the year was the Red Sox, who produced two slugging rookies and won the East, then swept the A's in the ALCS. The Orioles were 2nd, 4.5 games back. The Yankees slipped to third, 12 out, even though Hunter tied for the league lead in victories. Cleveland was 4th with Milwaukee 5th and Detroit last, with 102 losses. Oakland took the West by 7 games over Kansas City, with Texas, Minnesota, Chicago and California closely grouped as also-rans.

Fred Lynn led in OPS and won the MVP and Rookie of the Year awards. Rod Carew led in batting average, Reggie Jackson and George Scott tied for the home run lead, Scott led in RBI, and Mickey Rivers led in steals. Jim Palmer tied Hunter for the wins lead and led in ERA, Frank Tanana led in strikeouts and Goose Gossage in saves. Palmer won the Cy Young.

And now, over to the Win Shares desk for this update:
Players; Ken Singleton (Baltimore), Fred Lynn (Boston) and John Mayberry (Kansas City) 33 each, Gene Tenace (Oakland) and Toby Harrah (Texas) 32, Rod Carew (Minnesota) 30, Bobby Grich (Baltimore) 29, Reggie Jackson (Oakland) 27, George Brett (Kansas City) 25, Don Baylor (Baltimore) and Bobby Bonds (New York) 24, Boog Powell (Cleveland), George Scott (Milwaukee) and Thurman Munson (New York) 23, Mickey Rivers (California), Billy North and Claudell Washington (Oakland) and Mike Hargrove (Texas) 22, Jorge Orta (Chicago), Graig Nettles and Roy White (New York) 21.

Pitchers; Jim Palmer (Baltimore) 31, Catfish Hunter (New York) 29, Goose Gossage (Chicago) 23, Frank Tanana (California), Jim Kaat (Chicago) and Steve Busby (Kansas City) 22 each, Bert Blyleven (Minnesota) 21, Mike Torrez (Baltimore) and Vida Blue (Oakland) 19, Bill Lee (Boston) and Ed Figueroa (California) 18, Luis Tiant and Rick Wise (Boston) and Dennis Eckersley (Cleveland) 17.

WARP3 position leaders: Grich 11.1, Harrah 9.9, Lynn 9.0, Tenace 8.8, Mayberry and Carew 8.7, Singleton 8.2, Munson 8.1, Jackson and Nettles 7.0, Bonds 6.8, North and White 6.2, Bucky Dent (Chicago) 6.0, Bert Campaneris (Oakland) 5.5, Brett 5.2, Scott 5.1, Rivers 4.9, Powell 4.8, Washington 4.7, Baylor and Darrell Porter (Kansas City) 4.6.

WARP3 pitching leaders: Hunter 7.8, Palmer 7.7, Gossage 7.6, Tanana 6.6, Busby 6.3, Kaat 6.2, Eckersley 5.7, Blyleven 5.4, Figueroa 5.0, Mickey Lolich (Detroit) 4.7, Gaylord Perry (Texas) and Al Fitzmorris (Kansas City) 4.3.

Actual Award voting, beginning with MVP (top 17):

Place Name Team 1st place Points
1 Fred Lynn BOS 22 326
2 John Mayberry KCR 0 157
3 Jim Rice BOS 0 154
4 Rollie Fingers OAK 2 129
5 Reggie Jackson OAK 0 118
6 Jim Palmer BAL 0 82
7 Thurman Munson NYY 0 69
8 George Scott MIL 0 64
9 Rod Carew MIN 0 54
10 Ken Singleton BAL 0 44
11 George Brett KCR 0 37
12 Catfish Hunter NYY 0 31
13 Rick Burleson BOS 0 28
14 Claudell Washingt OAK 0 22
15 Toby Harrah TEX 0 16
16 Mike Torrez BAL 0 12
17 Rich Gossage CHW 0 11

Cy Young:

Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Jim Palmer BAL 15 98
2 Catfish Hunter NYY 7 74
3 Rollie Fingers OAK 2 25
4 Jim Kaat CHW 0 7
4 Frank Tanana CAL 0 7
6 Vida Blue OAK 0 2
6 Rich Gossage CHW 0 2
8 Rick Wise BOS 0 1

Rookie:

Place Name Team 1st Place Points
1 Fred Lynn BOS 23 23
2 Jim Rice BOS 1 1

Addenda: Rollie Fingers (3rd in Cy voting) had 15 Win Shares and a WARP3 of 3.5.

Top player: Fred Lynn. You can make a case for Singleton, Mayberry, or Carew for MVP, even Munson or Tenace. Different metrics show them outperforming Lynn, depending on where you look. However, if you include the nebulous "impact," it's Fred Lynn for a landslide.
#1 Fred Lynn, #2 Ken Singleton, #3 Gene Tenace, #4 Rod Carew, #5 John Mayberry, #6 Toby Harrah.

Top pitcher: Jim Palmer was the best. Not really close there, although a number of hurlers had good years.
#1 Jim Palmer, #2 Catfish Hunter, #3 Goose Gossage, #4 Frank Tanana, #5 Jim Kaat, #6 Steve Busby.

Top rookie: Fred Lynn, of course. Eckersley had a good rookie year, and Rice played well.

Top manager: Darrell Johnson got the Red Sox into the World Series. He did a nice job.

1974 National League

2009-09-20T11:39:00.002-05:00

Lou Brock took aim at Ty Cobb's single-season steals record, and trashed it with 118 bags swiped. The Cards still finished 2nd to the Pirates in the East. The story of the year was the Dodgers, an emerging young team that won 102 games and the pennant with a 4-game NLCS triumph. The Reds were just 4 games behind the Dodgers. The Braves also had a solid year at 88 victories. Houston was 4th in the West at .500, while the Giants lost 90 and the Padres 102, again. The Pirates won 88 and the Cards were 1.5 back, and the Phillies were third and just under .500. Montreal was right behind them, while New York slipped back to 5th, and Chicago was last with 96 losses.

Ralph Garr led in batting average, Willie Stargell in OPS, Johnny Bench in RBI, Mike Schmidt in home runs. Steve Garvey won the MVP. Buzz Capra led the league in ERA, Andy Messersmith and Phil Niekro each won 20, Steve Carlton led in strikeouts, Mike Marshall led in saves.

Win Shares leaders, players; Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia) 39, Joe Morgan (Cincinnati) 37, Johnny Bench (Cincinnati) 34, Jimmy Wynn (Los Angeles) 32, Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh) 29, Darrell Evans (Atlanta) 28, Ralph Garr (Atlanta), Pete Rose (Cincinnati), Cesar Cedeno (Houston) and Steve Garvey (Los Angeles) 27, Dave Cash (Philadelphia) and Al Oliver (Pittsburgh) 26, Dave Concepcion (Cincinnati), Richie Zisk (Pittsburgh), Willie McCovey (San Diego) and Reggie Smith (St. Louis) 25, Ron Cey (Los Angeles) and Bobby Bonds (San Francisco) 23, Rick Monday (Chicago), Richie Hebner (Pittsburgh), Lou Brock and Bake McBride (St. Louis) 22.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Phil Niekro (Atlanta) 28, Andy Messersmith (Los Angeles) 25, Jon Matlack (New York) 24, Jim Barr (San Francisco) 23, Steve Carlton (Philadelphia) 22, Buzz Capra (Atlanta), Mike Marshall (Los Angeles), Jim Lonborg (Philadelphia), Jim Rooker (Pittsburgh) and Lynn McGlothen (St. Louis) 21, Don Gullett (Cincinnati) 18, Carl Morton (Atlanta), Larry Dierker (Houston) and Jerry Koosman (New York) 17.

WARP3 scores, players: Morgan 11.3, Bench 11.2, Schmidt 9.3, Wynn 9.1, Concepcion 8.9, Stargell 8.5, Davey Lopes (Los Angeles) 7.9, Cedeno and Smith 7.5, Oliver 7.2, Cey 7.1, Zisk 7.0, Hebner 6.7, Cash 6.2, Evans 6.1, Garvey 5.6, Rose and McBride 5.2, Greg Gross (Houston) 4.6.

WARP3 scores, pitchers: Matlack 11.1, Niekro 9.9, Barr, Capra, and Tom Seaver (New York) 7.1, Koosman 6.3, Carlton 5.9, Dave Freisleben (San Diego) 5.6, Messersmith, Lonborg, and McGlothen 5.5, Rooker 5.4, Dierker 5.0.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 20): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+---+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Steve Garvey LAD 13 270 336 0.80 | 642 200 21 .312 .811 5|
2 Lou Brock STL 8 233 336 0.69 | 635 194 3 .306 .749 118|
3 Mike Marshall LAD 1 146 336 0.43 | 34 8 0 .235 .471 0| 15-12 208 2.42 1.186 143 21
4 Johnny Bench CIN 0 141 336 0.42 | 621 174 33 .280 .870 5|
5 Jimmy Wynn LAD 0 137 336 0.41 | 535 145 32 .271 .884 18|
6 Mike Schmidt PHI 0 136 336 0.40 | 568 160 36 .282 .941 23|
7 Al Oliver PIT 0 87 336 0.26 | 617 198 11 .321 .832 10|
8 Joe Morgan CIN 0 72 336 0.21 | 512 150 22 .293 .921 58|
9 Richie Zisk PIT 0 54 336 0.16 | 536 168 17 .313 .862 1|
10 Willie Stargell PIT 0 43 336 0.13 | 508 153 25 .301 .944 0|
11 Reggie Smith STL 0 39 336 0.12 | 517 160 23 .309 .917 4|
12 Ralph Garr ATL 0 11 336 0.03 | 606 214 11 .353 .886 26|
13 Ted Simmons STL 0 7 336 0.02 | 599 163 20 .272 .774 0|
14 Dave Cash PHI 0 6 336 0.02 | 687 206 2 .300 .729 20|
15 Dave Concepcion CIN 0 5 336 0.01 | 594 167 14 .281 .732 41|
16 Jack Billingham CIN 0 4 336 0.01 | 67 5 0 .075 .163 0| 19-11 212 3.94 1.399 103
16 Cesar Cedeno HOU 0 4 336 0.01 | 610 164 26 .269 .799 57|
16 Al Hrabosky STL 0 4 336 0.01 | 13 4 0 .308 .769 0| 8-1 88 2.96 1.234 82 9
16 Andy Messersmith LAD 0 4 336 0.01 | 96 23 1 .240 .666 0| 20-6 292 2.59 1.098 221
20 Buzz Capra ATL 0 3 336 0.01 | 67 11 0 .164 .418 0| 16-8 217 2.28 1.138 137 1
Garvey vs. Brock, with Marshall, then the deserving players like Bench, Wynn and Schmidt. Garvey won with good triple crown stats, Brock impressed with the steals record, and Marshall with the 208 innings in relief. Others were better if less flashy.

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Mike Marshall LAD 17 96 120 0.80 | 15-12 208 2.42 1.186 143 21
2 Andy Messersmith LAD 5 66 120 0.55 | 20-6 292 2.59 1.098 221
3 Phil Niekro ATL 1 15 120 0.12 | 20-13 302 2.38 1.115 195 1
4 Don Sutton LAD 1 12 120 0.10 | 19-9 276 3.23 1.163 179
5 Al Hrabosky STL 0 9 120 0.08 | 8-1 88 2.96 1.234 82 9
6 Jack Billingham CIN 0 8 120 0.07 | 19-11 212 3.94 1.399 103
7 Don Gullett CIN 0 5 120 0.04 | 17-11 243 3.04 1.189 183
8 Clay Carroll CIN 0 2 120 0.02 | 12-5 101 2.14 1.251 46 6
9 Buzz Capra ATL 0 1 120 0.01 | 16-8 217 2.28 1.138 137 1
9 Dave Giusti PIT 0 1 120 0.01 | 7-5 106 3.32 1.334 53 12
9 Lynn McGlothen STL 0 1 120 0.01 | 16-12 237 2.69 1.268 142
Marshall outpolled teammate Messersmith over the deserving Niekro.

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-+---+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Bake McBride STL 16 16 24 0.67 | 559 173 6 .309 .763 30|
2 Greg Gross HOU 7 7 24 0.29 | 589 185 0 .314 .770 12|
3 Bill Madlock CHC 1 1 24 0.04 | 453 142 9 .313 .815 11

Top Player: Johnny Bench. There are a number of good candidates, like Schmidt and Morgan, who would dominate the league over the next few years, and Wynn, the best player on the pennant winners. But none was any better than the greatest catcher ever.
#1 Johnny Bench, #2 Mike Schmidt, #3 Joe Morgan, #4 Jimmy Wynn, #5 Cesar Cedeno, #6 Willie Stargell.

Top pitcher: Phil Niekro, robbed in the award voting. Easily the best in the league, overshadowed by Mike Marshall's record (for the time) 106 games pitched.
#1 Phil Niekro, #2 Andy Messersmith, #3 Jon Matlack, #4 Jim Barr, #5 Mike Marshall, #6 Buzz Capra.

Top rookie: Bake McBride was a better all-around player than Greg Gross.

Top manager: Walter Alston returned to the top spot.

1974 American League

2009-09-19T21:46:00.002-05:00

Oakland made it three World Championships in a row, a feat not managed since the Yankees took five in a row 1949-53. The A's had an underwhelming 90 regular season wins, but featured a balanced team with excellent hitting, pitching and defense. The A's held off upstart Texas in the West by 5 games, with Minnesota 3rd, Chicago 4th, Kansas City 5th and California last. The A's beat the East Division champion Orioles in the ALCS, after Baltimore had captured 91 regular season wins. New York was second in a close race, 2 games back. Boston was 3rd, Cleveland 4th, Milwaukee 5th and Detroit last.

Oakland had switched managers after Dick Williams resigned, frustrated over owner Charlie Finley's meddling. Al Dark took over the A's helm, but Finley dictated most managerial moves through his young assistant, who would become the artist known as M.C. Hammer. Williams would resurface as the Angels manager around midseason. Jeff Burroughs won the RBI title and the MVP, while Dick Allen led the loop in homers and OPS despite missing the month of September. Rod Carew won the batting title and Bill North led in steals. Catfish Hunter led in ERA and tied for the lead in wins with Fergie Jenkins. Nolan Ryan led in strikeouts, Terry Forster in saves. Gaylord Perry was the leader in ERA+.

Win Shares leaders, players; Jeff Burroughs (Texas) 33, Bobby Grich (Baltimore) and Rod Carew (Minnesota) 32, Reggie Jackson (Oakland) 30, Ken Henderson (Chicago) and Don Money (Milwaukee) 26, Carl Yastrzemski (Boston), Dick Allen (Chicago) and Joe Rudi (Oakland) 24, Brooks Robinson (Baltimore), Bill Freehan (Detroit) and Elliot Maddox (New York) 23, Jorge Orta (Chicago), Amos Otis (Kansas City), Graig Nettles (New York), Bert Campaneris and Gene Tenace (Oakland) and Cesar Tovar (Texas) 22, Paul Blair (Baltimore) and Sal Bando (Oakland) 21.

Win Shares leaders, pitchers; Gaylord Perry (Cleveland) 30, Luis Tiant (Boston) 29, Catfish Hunter (Oakland) 27, Fergie Jenkins (Texas) 26, Bert Blyleven (Minnesota) 23, Steve Busby (Kansas City) 22, Ross Grimsley (Baltimore), Nolan Ryan (California) and Jim Kaat (Chicago) 21, Jim Perry (Cleveland) and John Hiller (Detroit) 20, Mike Cuellar (Baltimore), Bill Lee (Boston), Wilbur Wood (Chicago), Tom Murphy (Milwaukee) and Pat Dobson (New York) 19.

WARP3 scores, players: Grich 9.3, Jackson 8.1, Carew 7.4, Tenace 6.1, Burroughs 6.0, Henderson 5.9, Billy North (Oakland) 5.8, Nettles 5.7, Campaneris 5.4, Bando 5.3, George Scott (Milwaukee) 5.2, Ellie Rodriguez (Milwaukee) and Amos Otis (Kansas City) 5.0, Bucky Dent (Chicago) and Hal McRae (Kansas City) 4.9.

WARP3 scores, pitchers: G. Perry 9.3, Tiant 8.0, Jenkins 6.7, Hunter and Murphy 6.4, Blyleven and Hiller 6.0, Kaat 5.9, Ryan 5.0, J. Perry and Wood 4.5, Busby and Bill Campbell (Minnesota) 4.0, Joe Decker (Minnesota) 3.9.

Actual award winners:
MVP (top 20): 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+-----+---+---+-----+-----+
1 Jeff Burroughs TEX 10 248 336 0.74 | 554 167 25 .301 .901 2|
2 Joe Rudi OAK 5 161 336 0.48 | 593 174 22 .293 .818 2|
3 Sal Bando OAK 3 143 336 0.43 | 498 121 22 .243 .778 2|
4 Reggie Jackson OAK 1 119 336 0.35 | 506 146 29 .289 .905 25|
5 Fergie Jenkins TEX 3 118 336 0.35 | 2 1 0 .500 1.000 0| 25-12 328 2.82 1.008 225
6 Catfish Hunter OAK 1 107 336 0.32 | | 25-12 318 2.49 0.986 143
7 Rod Carew MIN 0 70 336 0.21 | 599 218 3 .364 .879 38|
8 Elliott Maddox NYY 0 59 336 0.18 | 466 141 3 .303 .781 6|
9 Bobby Grich BAL 0 49 336 0.15 | 582 153 19 .263 .807 17|
10 Mike Cuellar BAL 0 42 336 0.12 | | 22-10 269 3.11 1.259 106
11 Luis Tiant BOS 0 41 336 0.12 | | 22-13 311 2.92 1.166 176
12 Brooks Robinson BAL 0 30 336 0.09 | 553 159 7 .288 .728 2|
13 Paul Blair BAL 0 27 336 0.08 | 552 144 17 .261 .730 27|
14 Nolan Ryan CAL 0 24 336 0.07 | | 22-16 333 2.89 1.271 367
15 Bert Campaneris OAK 0 23 336 0.07 | 527 153 2 .290 .713 34|
16 Rollie Fingers OAK 0 21 336 0.06 | | 9-5 119 2.65 1.118 95 18
17 Gaylord Perry CLE 0 18 336 0.05 | | 21-13 322 2.51 1.021 216
18 Carl Yastrzemski BOS 0 14 336 0.04 | 515 155 15 .301 .859 12|
19 Ken Henderson CHW 0 12 336 0.04 | 602 176 20 .292 .827 12|
20 John Hiller DET 0 11 336 0.03 | | 17-14 150 2.64 1.260 134 13

Cy Young: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-----+------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Catfish Hunter OAK 12 90 120 0.75 | 25-12 318 2.49 0.986 143
2 Fergie Jenkins TEX 10 75 120 0.62 | 25-12 328 2.82 1.008 225
3 Nolan Ryan CAL 1 28 120 0.23 | 22-16 333 2.89 1.271 367
4 Gaylord Perry CLE 1 8 120 0.07 | 21-13 322 2.51 1.021 216
4 Luis Tiant BOS 0 8 120 0.07 | 22-13 311 2.92 1.166 176
6 Mike Cuellar BAL 0 6 120 0.05 | 22-10 269 3.11 1.259 106
7 John Hiller DET 0 1 120 0.01 | 17-14 150 2.64 1.260 134 13

Rookie: 1st Max | Season Results
Rk Name Team Place Points Points Share| AB H HR BA OPS SB| W-L IP ERA WHIP SO SV
+--+----------------+----+-----+------+------+-------+---+-----+-----+---+--+
1 Mike Hargrove TEX 16 16 24 0.67 | 415 134 4 .323 .819 0|
2 Bucky Dent CHW 3 3 24 0.12 | 496 136 5 .274 .662 3|
3 George Brett KCR 2 2 24 0.08 | 457 129 2 .282 .676 8|
4 Rick Burleson BOS 1 1 24 0.04 | 384 109 4 .284 .693 3|
4 Jim Sundberg TEX 1 1 24 0.04 | 368 91 3 .247 .678 2|

Top player: Reggie Jackson, for the second year in a row. The writers went for RBI man Burroughs on the surprising Rangers, but Jackson was the leader on the three-time champs. I'll take that.
#1 Reggie Jackson, #2 Rod Carew, #3 Bobby Grich, #4 Jeff Burroughs, #5 Don Money.

Top pitcher: Catfish Hunter. Gaylord, Luis, Catfish and Fergie were all pretty close to even, so I'll send another one the winners' way.
#1 Catfish Hunter, #2 Gaylord Perry, #3 Luis Tiant, #4 Ferguson Jenkins, #5 John Hiller.

Top rookie: Mike Hargrove had the best rookie season. George Brett would be the superstar. Five good players in the voting.

Top manager: Billy Martin revived the Rangers from the dead.