Most Valuable Player...
NL: Chipper 'Larry' Jones, Braves (.319/ 45 hrs/ 110 rbi/ 116 runs)
AL: Ivan 'Pudge' Rodriguez, Rangers (.332/ 35 hrs/ 113 rbi/ 116 runs)
(Boston, November 18, 1999) Perhaps the time has come for an official Player of the Year award, so the controversy over pitchers winning the MVP is settled. Or maybe not. Bullshitting about the idiosynchracies (had to look that one up) of the game is what the baseball fan likes to do. Except inept umpiring decisions... (as you can see, I've gotten over the Yankee-Sox Championship Series!) But where would the Sox have been without Pedro or the Yankees without Automatic Rivera (1.83, 45 saves)? The loss of either of these pitchers (perhaps more than any particular player) could have derailed either team's playoff hopes.
I generally line up with the everyday players as far as the MVP goes, but this year I really thought Pedro Martinez was the best player in baseball. Pudge, however, is 100% worthy. If you've seen him, you know. Catching is the most demanding position in the game, mentally and physically. Rodriguez is as much a presence behind the plate as Johnny Bench was years ago. No one today is close. There is no running game against this dude. And he put up Mike Piazza numbers with the stick... Good choice.
Jeff Bagwell (.304, 42, 126, 143 runs) was my NL pick, but Chipper sealed it with his performance against the Mets down the stretch. Larry Walker again put up Ruthian numbers (.379, 37, 115), but this time around they were definitely Coors Light enhanced. Several Mets got some consideration, and Arizona's great Matt Williams placed third. There were a coupla guys hit 60-something homers that drew little attention. Go figure...
Cy Young...
NL: Randy 'Big Unit' Johnson, D'Backs (17-9, 2.48 ERA, 364 k's, 70 bb)
AL: Pedro Martinez, Red Sox (23-4, 2.07 ERA, 313 k's, 37 bb)
(Boston, November 18, 1999) The sportswriters that vote the Cy Young Award are getting smarter. In the AL, Pedro, of course, was a no-brainer. The earned-run average for the league in 1999 was 4.87. The Big Unit should have been as well. And he was, as voters accustomed to looking at the 20-win plateau dug a bit deeper and realized what an incredible year he threw. He came within a coupla games of Koufax's record 382 k's in 1965. In another hitter's season, Martinez and Johnson both dominated.
The chart below illustrates some of the finest pitching in the last 40 years. LgERA is the ERA of the league in that particular season, and Ratio is the percentage of the league's ERA by said pitcher. This is a good indicator of pitching dominance.
| Great pitching seasons since 1961: | ||||
| Pitcher, year | W-L | ERA | LgERA | Ratio |
| Bob Gibson, 1968 | 22-9 | 1.12 | 2.99 | .375 |
| Pedro Martinez, 1999 | 23-4 | 2.07 | 4.87 | .425 |
| Dwight Gooden, 1985 | 24-4 | 1.53 | 3.59 | .426 |
| Roger Clemens, 1997 | 21-7 | 2.05 | 4.57 | .449 |
| Dean Chance, 1964 | 20-9 | 1.64 | 3.63 | .455 |
| Ron Guidry, 1978 | 25-3 | 1.74 | 3.76 | .463 |
| Sandy Koufax, 1966 | 27-9 | 1.73 | 3.61 | .479 |
| Roger Clemens, 1990 | 21-6 | 1.93 | 3.91 | .494 |
| Randy Johnson, 1997 | 20-4 | 2.28 | 4.57 | .499 |
| Tom Seaver, 1971 | 20-10 | 1.76 | 3.47 | .507 |
| Vida Blue, 1971 | 24-8 | 1.82 | 3.46 | .526 |
| Luis Tiant, 1968 | 21-9 | 1.60 | 2.98 | .537 |
| John Tudor, 1985 | 21-8 | 1.93 | 3.59 | .538 |
| Wilbur Wood, 1971 | 22-13 | 1.91 | 3.46 | .552 |
| Jim Palmer, 1975 | 23-11 | 2.09 | 3.78 | .553 |
| Bret Saberhagen, 1989 | 23-6 | 2.16 | 3.88 | .557 |
| Roger Clemens, 1998 | 20-6 | 2.65 | 4.65 | .570 |
| Steve Carlton, 1972 | 27-10 | 1.97 | 3.45 | .571 |
| Sandy Koufax, 1963 | 25-5 | 1.88 | 3.29 | .571 |
| Sandy Koufax, 1965 | 26-8 | 2.04 | 3.54 | .576 |
| Tom Glavine, 1998 | 20-6 | 2.47 | 4.23 | .584 |
| Greg Maddux, 1993 | 20-10 | 2.36 | 4.04 | .584 |
| Juan Marichal, 1969 | 21-11 | 2.10 | 3.59 | .585 |
| Roger Clemens, 1986 | 24-4 | 2.48 | 4.18 | .593 |
Rookie of the Year...
NL: Scott Williamson, Reds (12-7, 2.41 ERA and 19 saves)
AL: Carlos Beltran, Royals (.293/ 22 hrs/ 108 rbi/ 112 runs)
(Boston, November 18, 1999) Got to see Beltran play, and he looks like the real thing, a complete player. The Sox 1B Brian Daubauch (.294, 21, 73) made a good run, surprised us all, but faded a bit at the end. Texas' reliever Zimmerman (9-3, 2.36) was standout as well, unhittable in the first half.
Gold Gloves 1999...
NL AL
pitcher Greg Maddux Mike Mussina
catcher Mike Lieberthal Pudge Rodriguez
1st base JT Snow Rafael Palmeiro
2nd base Pokey Reese Roberto Alomar
shortstop Rey Ordonez Omar Vizquel
3rd base Robin Ventura Scott Brosius
outfield Larry Walker Ken Griffey, Jr.
Andruw Jones Bernie Williams
Steve Finley Shaun Green
(Boston, November 11, 1999) The biggest surprise was Palmeiro, who only played a handful of games at first this year. The Met's infield, with a record low 33 errors on the year, 12 less than the '64 Orioles' 45, scooped 2 gloves. Maddux aced the decade. Met shortstop Rey Ordonez had 4 errors for the year, and is in the process of setting a major-league standard for errorless games, now over 100 consecutive. I think Ripken held that record, and, with all due respect, he really can't touch this guy. Ordonez has reflexes the likes of which I've never seen. Wonder what Ozzie thinks of this guy?
