1991…Bottom to Top
The
most noteworthy thing about the 1991 baseball season will be the post season.
Or rather, who was still playing at the end.
In
1990, the Minnesota Twins finished last in the American League West, with a
74-88 record, fourteen games below .500, and twenty-nine games behind the
pennant winning Oakland A’s. The Atlanta Braves went 65-97, thirty-two games
below .500, and thirty games behind the pennant winning Cincinnati Reds.
Therefore,
if you were to suggest that before the 1991 season began, that these two teams
would meet in the World Series, you would have been laughed at.
But that
is what happened.
Let’s
look at team performances before we delve into the season particulars. The league
pitching performances were:
National League |
American League |
Dodgers |
Blue Jays |
Pirates |
Twins |
Braves |
White Sox |
And the
hitting performances:
Pirates |
Brewers |
Braves |
Rangers |
Cubs |
Tigers |
So
overall ‘power rankings' were:
Pirates |
1st in NL East |
Twins |
World Champions |
Braves |
National League Champions |
Dodgers |
2nd in NL West |
Brewers |
2nd in AL East (tied) |
The
Braves, buoyed by three strong young starting pitchers, with an offense led by
NL Most Valuable Player Terry Pendleton, outlasted the Dodgers, claiming the
pennant on the nest to last day of the season. And the Twins, led by rookie
Chuck Knoblauch and the addition of pitcher Jack Morris sailed to an easy seven
game cushion over the Chicago White Sox.
The
Twins split the first two playoff games at home against the Toronto Blue Jays,
a team that had begun amassing talent from the previous off-season. They
brought in Devon White, Joe Carter, and Roberto Alomar in the winter, and added
knuckleballer Tom Candiotti during the season.
Minnesota
relied on their home-grown talented lineup, featuring Kent Hrbek, Kirby Puckett,
and the aforementioned Knoblauch to lead their offense. The Twins lead the
majors in batting average (.280) and On Base Percentage (.344) and was second
lowest in the AL in ERA. Only Toronto had a lower team ERA, and while the Blue
Jays won their division easily, scoring runs was a challenge for them. They
finished tenth in the AL with an average of 4.23 runs scored per game.
In the
Twins most recent post-season appearance, they relied on their home field
advantage at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome to win each of their games. They
won each of their home games in the 1987 playoffs and World Series. This year,
they did win their first game at the “Homerdome” 5-4, but the Blue Jays did
respond with a 5-2 victory the next night.
The
next three games were in Toronto, at the magnificent Skydome. The Twins made
quick work of their trip to Toronto, sweeping the Jays in their ballpark. It
would not be the last visit to the post season for the Blue Jays, as they would
win the World Series in the next two seasons.
Kirby Puckett would be named the Series MVP.
The
Braves, playing in their first National League Championship Series since 1982,
faced the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were playing in their second of three consecutive
NLCS. The Pirates had amassed the best batting average, on base percentage.
They had the second-best team ERA in the National League, while also leading
the league in runs scored. The Braves held their ground on the offensive side,
and the third best ERA behind the Dodgers and the Pirates.
The
Pirates won the first game in Pittsburgh, beating Tom Glavine 5-1, then were
shutout the next game 1-0 by Steve Avery. Returning to Atlanta, the Braves
romped 10-3, then lost the next night in extra-innings 3-2. Game Five had Zane
Smith and Roger Mason shutout the Braves 1-0.
Game
Six, in Pittsburgh had Steve Avery and Alejandro Pena combine for a four-hit
shutout, 1-0, to force a Game Seven. In that game, the Braves put up three runs
in the top of the first, knocking John Smiley out of the game before he could
finish the inning. The Braves, behind John Smoltz’s six-hitter, claimed the
National League Championship.
Steve Avery would win the Series MVP award.
The 1991
Series was probably the best that I have seen. It was very pitching dominant,
with the exception of Game Five. And five of the seven games were decided by
one run, four of those in extra innings, including the memorable Game Seven.
Following
the teams, the Twins won the first two games at home, 5-2 and 3-2.
Then the
Series moved to Atlanta, which hosted its first ever World Series game. Former
President Jimmy Carter threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and the crowd
settled in for a gem. The Braves scratched out a run in the bottom of the
twelfth off of the Twins’ Rick Aguilera, who actually entered the game as a
pinch-hitter. The Braves won 5-4.
Game
Four was another one-run game, with the Braves scoring in the bottom of the
ninth for a 3-2 victory. It would be the second of four World Series games
ended in a team’s last at-bat.
Game Five
would be a ‘laugher,’ as the Braves got four runs off of starter Kevin Tapani,
and then exploded for ten more off of the Twins’ bullpen, winning 14-5. Then
they returned to Minnesota.
Game Six,
with the Twins’ back against the wall, saw Braves starter Steve Avery get
tagged for three runs in six innings, and the Twins starter Scott Erickson meet
the same fate. With the score tied at three going into the bottom of the twelfth,
Kirby Puckett hit a Charlie Leibrandt pitch over the wall in left field to
force Game Seven.
Game
Seven would be one for the ages. The Twins would be sending Jack Morris, a native
of St. Paul, and a graduate of Highland Park His. The Braves would be
countering with twenty-four-year-old John Smoltz, making his second start. Smoltz,
who grew up in Detroit, was a fan of Morris, who helped pitch the Tigers to
their last World Series win in 1984.
The two
would match zeroes through seven and a third, when Smoltz was lifted for Mike
Stanton, who finished the eighth. Alejandro Pena took over in the ninth and
held the Twins scoreless.
For the
top of the tenth, Jack Morris came out to pitch to a huge ovation from his
hometown crowd. He did not disappoint, retiring the side easily. The Twins, in
the bottom of the tenth. Dan Gladden doubled and moved to third on a sacrifice
by Chuck Knoblauch. The braves decided to walk Kirby Puckett and then Kent
Hrbek to load the bases for the five spot, which was Jarvis Brown, who had
replaced Chili Davis as a pinch-runner in the previous inning. The Twins pinch-hit
Gene Larkin a switch hitting first-baseman/outfielder.
Larkin, from New York, was drafted out of Columbia University, where he was the first Lion to make the major leagues since Lou Gehrig.
Larkin hit
a lazy fly ball that landed past the drawn in outfield of the Braves, scoring
Gladden with the winning run in the bottom of the tenth. The ’single’ by Larkin
did break a lot of hearts in Atlanta that night.
There were other items of note from the 1991 season.
The
National League voted to expand for the first time since the 1969 season,
adding new franchises in Denver and Miami, and bringing the number of teams in
each league to fourteen. (The American League expanded in 1977 with Seattle and
Toronto) Both teams would begin play in 1993.
Montreal Expos ace Dennis Martinez pitched a perfect game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 28th. It was the first perfect game in the majors since Len Barker’s in 1981. Ron Hassey was Martinez’ catcher, and Barker’s catcher, becoming the first catcher to call two perfect games.
Astro’s pitcher Darryl Kile went hitless for the season. He had thirty-eight official at-bats without a hit, the fourth longest in history.
Braves third baseman (and NL MVP winner) Terry Pendleton won the National League batting title batting .319. It was the second lowest average to win the title in NL history. Tony Gwynn batted .309 in 1988.
Braves teammate Ron Gant became the fourth player in major league history to gather 30 homers and 30 steals.
Brewers designated hitter Paul Molitor established DH records for runs scored (133) and triples (13).
The
ageless Nolan Ryan threw his record seventh no-hitter while pitching for the
Rangers on May 1st. It was his first no-hitter in Arlington, TX, and took place
on Arlington Appreciation Night.
On the year, Ryan struck out 203 batters, and allowed 193 baserunners at forty-four years of age.
May 1st also had Rickey Henderson of the Oakland A’s steal third base in a game against the Yankees, surpassing Lou Brock’s all-time stolen base record. Brock had 938 steals, and this was Rickey’s 939th, on Rickey’s way to stealing an almost insurmountable record of 1,406, or 49.9% higher than the previous record. In the history of baseball, only nine other players have stolen 700 or more bases.
Chicago White Sox pitcher Wilson Alvarez pitched a no-hitter, becoming the second youngest to do so. Only Vida Blue in 1970 was younger.
The St.
Louis Cardinals team hit 68 homers in 1991, Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire hit
70 himself in 1998.
Pittsburgh
Pirates established a record by allowing 5 runs to the Chicago Cubs in the top
of the 11th inning, only to score 6 runs in the bottom of the 11th
to win the game.
Former
San Diego Padre and Baltimore Oriole Alan Wiggins became the first acknowledged
major league player to die from AIDS.
Andre Dawson of the Cubs stole his 300th career base, becoming just the third player to the 300 homer/300 stolen base club. He joined Willie Mays and Bobby Bonds.
The major league draft for 1991 had some players of note…
The first
rounders of note include Manny Ramirez (Indians #13), Cliff Floyd (Expos #14),
Shawn Green (Blue Jays #16...compensation for Giants signing Bud Black), Aaron
Sele (Red Sox #23)
Scott
Hatteberg went to the Red Sox in the second round (#43), Nomar Garciaparra went
to the Brewers in the fifth round (#130, did not sign), Mike Cameron went to
the White Sox in the 18th round (#488), Aaron Boone to the Angels in
the 43rd round (#1127, did not sign)
Future
NFL Quarterbacks Steve McNair (Seattle 35thrd, #916) and Browning
Nagle (Angels 51st rd., #1514) Neither did sign.
With
the pick of Brien Taylor, the major-league draft entered new and uncomfortable ground.
High school players who were drafted held out the option of attending College
and passing on the draft. The draftees could conceivably leverage this threat
as a bargaining tool against the clubs.
The teams
had until the first day of college classes to sign their draftees, or risk
losing their claim to them. For collegiate players, the same rule applied. In
fact, there were two first round picks that passed on their contract offers to
return to school.
The
Brewers drafted pitcher Kenny Henderson from Ringgold HS in Ringgold, Georgia
in the fifth spot. He allegedly wanted a $1 million offer, but Milwaukee would
not budge beyond $500,000, so Henderson enrolled at the University of Miami. He
would later be drafted by the Expos in the second round in the 1994 draft, and
finally by the Padres in the fifth round of the 1995 draft. He pitched for
three seasons in the low minor leagues.
With
the sixth pick, the Astros drafted pitcher John Burke from the University of
Florida. Burke had been drafted by the Orioles in the thirty-fourth round of
the 1989 draft, out of Cherry Creek High School in Glenwood Village, Colorado.
Burke asked the Astros for the same $500,000 that the Brewers offered
Henderson, but the Astros declined, owing in part to the club being up for
sale. Burke returned to the Gators and was drafted the following year by the
Colorado Rockies with the twenty-seventh pick in the first round, where he
signed for a reported $336,000 bonus.
Taylor
and his family were adamant about the signing bonus. They wanted a package
similar to Todd Van Poppel’s deal the prior year with the A’s, where he
received a $500,000 bonus, along with a $1.2 million deal guaranteed over three
years. As a part of that deal, Van Poppel had to be placed on the A’s forty-man
roster.
With
Taylor, the issue was that major league contract. Had the Yankees offered him a
major-league contract, they would have had to ‘protect him’ in the upcoming expansion
draft, so any bonus would have been a straight, pure bonus.
The Yankees
and the Taylors negotiated on and off through the summer, with intense
arguments and accusations of racism and bullying being thrown about in the
press. Even Yankee’s owner George Steinbrenner, unsurprisingly, weighed in on
the situation, saying it would be an embarrassment if the Yankees lost out on
this budding star.
Taylor’s
numbers in his senior year at East Carteret High School, in Beaufort, NC were
phenomenal. In 13 games, he finished with an ERA of 0.86. Somehow lost two
games while winning eight and struck out 203 batter in just 84 innings (an
average of 2.42/9 innings, or 21.7 per nine inning game), allowing just eighteen
hits over that timeframe.
Then
literally the day before Taylor was to enroll and begin taking classes at
Louisburg Junior College, he came to an agreement with the Yankees, which was a
standard minor league deal, and a record setting $1.55 million signing bonus.
As a
result of the delay, Taylor did not pitch in 1991. He began his professional
career in 1992 at Fort Lauderdale of the Florida State League. He struck out
187 in 161 innings. He was voted the number two prospect in the league, behind
Dunedin’s Carlos Delgado.
He was
promoted to the Albany-Colonie Yankees, the AA affiliate in the Eastern League,
and Taylor continued to flourish. The lefthander went 13-7 and was living up to
expectations. He was voted the number four prospect in the Eastern League,
behind Cliff Floyd, Manny Ramirez, and Rondell White.
Then he
had a fight.
By all
accounts, the fight was in a bar and involved Taylor, his brother and another friend.
During the scuffle, Brien damaged his left shoulder and needed surgery. That
incident cost him the 1994 season.
He returned
to the Yankees farm system in 1995, but never progressed beyond A ball. He went
a combined 3-15 over the next four seasons, with an ERA of 10.75. He was out of
baseball in 1999, but appeared for the Columbus Redstixx of the Sally League,
an Indians affiliate. In five games there, he had no record, and an ERA of
27.00.
The minor
leagues had plenty of action.
The
Louisville Cardinals, the St. Louis affiliate in the American Association lost ninety-two
games, as did the Oklahoma City 89er’s, the Texas affiliate., the most in that
league since the league re-formed in 1969.
In Williamsport, Jeromy Burnitz of
the Bills, the Mets Eastern League affiliate, became the first player in the
storied history of the Eastern League to reach thirty homes and 30 stolen bases.
It was the high point for a team that would be moving to Binghamton, NY for the
1992 season.
Pitcher Jeff Mutis of the
Canton-Akron Indians, Cleveland’s affiliate, led the Eastern League with an ERA
of 1.80.
Pitcher Pat Mahomes, of the Orlando
Sun Rays, the Twins’ Southern League affiliate led that league with a 1.78 ERA.
In the
Texas League, the Cardinal’s affiliate Arkansas Travelers scored twelve runs in
the first inning of their season opener against the Jackson Generals, tying an eighty-four-year-old
Texas League record.
In the
California League, pitcher Rich Huisman of the Giants affiliate San Jose Giants
led all minor leaguers in strikeouts, with 216 in 182 innings. He also finished
with a league leading 1.83 ERA to win that league’s pitching triple crown.
San
Jose teammate Gary Sharko set a league record with thirty-one saves.
And speedster
J.D. Noland of the High Desert Mavericks, the Padres affiliate, stole eighty-one
bases, with 23 caught stealing.
Youngster
Paul Byrd, making his professional debut for the Kinston Indians, Cleveland’s
Carolina League club, gave up a hit in his first inning of work, then committed
three balks to allow that runner to score.
Ryan
Hawblitzel of the Winston-Salem Spirits, the Cubs affiliate in that same
league, finished the year at 15-2. He earned a promotion to the Charlotte
Knight of the Southern League, where he went 1-2.
Salomon
Torres, if the Clinton Giants in the Midwest League, finished with a 16-5
record and a miniscule 1.41 ERA, while Mateo Ozuna of the Springfield Cardinals
swiped seventy-eight bases and was caught 24 times.
In the
South Atlantic League, the Gastonia Rangers were owned by George Shinn, who
owned the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets about the lack of interest in the Class A
team. Shinn approached two of his popular Hornets players, to ask if they would
like to suit up and play in a minor league game. They both said yes.
Muggsy
Bogues played second base in the game, going hitless in two at bats, Dell
Curry, who pitched at Virginia Tech, started the game, throwing three scoreless
innings, striking out four batters. The game, against the Spartanburg Phillies,
was finally called due to rain…but there are minor league baseball cards out
there for both Bogues and Curry.
Also in that league, pitcher Jose Martinez of the Columbia Mets became just the second twenty-game winner in South Atlantic League history. He finished 20-4 with a 1.49 ERA.
Pitcher
Brian Looney of the Jamestown Expos in the New York-Penn League finished the
short-season league with a 7-1 record and a 1.16 ERA. In fact, there were our
other pitcher with an ERA below 2. They were Mike Call (6-1 1.26) and Larry
Thomas (1-3 1.47) both from the Utica Blue Sox, the White Sox affiliate; Giovanni
Carrara (5-2 1.61) of the St. Catherine’s Blue Jays, and Craig Holman of the
Batavia Clippers, the Phillies affiliate.
Also,
in the NY-Penn, outfielder James Mouton of the Auburn Astros set the pace with sixty
steals in a 70-game season.
In the
Northwest League, Mike Neill of the Southern Oregon A’s batted .350 to lead the
league. Julian Herdia of the Boise Hawks, an Angels affiliate, pitched in
twenty-five games, all in relief, but pitched enough innings to qualify for the
ERA title. He was 8-1 with five saves, and an ERA of 1.05. Doug Vanderweele of
the Everett Giants went 6-4 with a 1.97 ERA.
The
Burlington Indians of the Appalachian League were led by league MVP Manny
Ramirez, who clubbed nineteen homers in fifty-nine games. On the pitching side,
Steve Jones of the Johnson City Cardinals finished at 3-4 1.47, Joel Gilmore of
the Martinsville Phillies went 4-3 1.53, Jason Jacome of the Kingsport Mets
went 5-4 1.63, Eddie Guardado of the Elizabethton Twins went 8-4 1.86 and Rick Krivda
of the Bluefield Orioles went 7-1 1.88.
In the
Pioneer League, Andy Fairman of the Helena Brewers led the league in hitting
with a .373, edging out Dario Paulino of the Idaho Falls Braves, who finished
at .371. John Gilligan of the independent Salt Lake Trappers finished 6-1 and
1.71.
Now we
will examine the leading performances, beginning with the National League
batters, the initial top ten performances were:
Player |
Team |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
SB |
R/G |
Barry Bonds |
Pirates |
25 |
116 |
.276 |
43 |
1.22 |
David Justice |
Braves |
21 |
87 |
.275 |
8 |
1.22 |
Howard Johnson |
Mets |
38 |
117 |
.259 |
30 |
1.20 |
Bobby Bonilla |
Pirates |
18 |
100 |
.316 |
6 |
1.17 |
Will Clark |
Giants |
29 |
116 |
.301 |
4 |
1.16 |
Ryne Sandberg |
Cubs |
26 |
100 |
.291 |
22 |
1.13 |
Barry Larkin |
Reds |
20 |
69 |
.302 |
24 |
1.11 |
Daryl Strawberry |
Dodgers |
28 |
99 |
.265 |
10 |
1.13 |
Ron Gant |
Braves |
32 |
105 |
.251 |
34 |
1.13 |
Fred McGriff |
Padres |
31 |
106 |
.278 |
4 |
1.04 |
Against
their own team’s performances, we get this top list:
Howard Johnson |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Will Clark |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Fred McGriff |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Ivan Calderon |
Expos |
19 |
75 |
.300 |
31 |
0.93 |
Daryl Strawberry |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
John Kruk |
Phillies |
21 |
92 |
.294 |
7 |
1.02 |
Barry Larkin |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Ryne Sandberg |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
David Justice |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Jeff Bagwell |
Astros |
15 |
82 |
.294 |
7 |
0.94 |
Note
that the National League Most Valuable Player Award was given to Terry
Pendleton of the Braves.
So,
combining, crunching, and deciphering brings us this final list of top National
League hitters:
Howard Johnson |
5th in MVP vote |
Will Clark |
4th in MVP vote |
David Justice |
12th in MVP vote (tied) |
Barry Bonds |
2nd in MVP vote |
Barry Larkin |
17th in MVP vote (tied) |
Daryl Strawberry |
9th in MVP vote |
Fred McGriff |
No votes |
Ryne Sandberg |
17th in MVP vote (tied) |
Bobby Bonilla |
3rd in MVP vote |
John Kruk |
17th in MVP vote (tied) |
Moving
to the American League, where the batters fared 8.9% better than the National
League, we get this preliminary top ten list:
Jose Canseco |
A’s |
44 |
122 |
.266 |
26 |
1.25 |
Frank Thomas |
White Sox |
32 |
109 |
.318 |
1 |
1.15 |
Ruben Sierra |
Rangers |
25 |
116 |
.307 |
16 |
1.25 |
Danny Tartabull |
Royals |
31 |
100 |
.316 |
6 |
1.11 |
Paul Molitor |
Brewers |
17 |
75 |
.325 |
19 |
1.21 |
Cal Ripken Jr. |
Orioles |
34 |
114 |
.323 |
6 |
1.10 |
Julio Franco |
Rangers |
15 |
78 |
.341 |
36 |
1.17 |
Cecil Fielder |
Tigers |
44 |
133 |
.261 |
0 |
1.18 |
Rafael Palmiero |
Rangers |
26 |
88 |
.322 |
4 |
1.11 |
Mickey Tettleton |
Tigers |
31 |
89 |
.263 |
3 |
0.93 |
Then,
against their team’s performances, our top ten looks like this:
Albert Belle |
Indians |
28 |
95 |
.282 |
3 |
1.03 |
Cal Ripken |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Wally Joyner |
Angels |
21 |
96 |
.301 |
2 |
1.08 |
Jose Canseco |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Danny Tartabull |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Frank Thomas |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
Ken Griffey Jr |
Mariners |
22 |
100 |
.327 |
18 |
1.00 |
Joe Carter |
Blue Jays |
33 |
108 |
.273 |
20 |
1.01 |
Carlos Baerga |
Indians |
11 |
69 |
.288 |
3 |
0.87 |
Ruben Sierra |
Above |
|
|
|
|
|
And
that brings our final AL hitters top ten list to this:
Jose Canseco |
4th in MVP vote |
Frank Thomas |
3rd in MVP vote |
Cal Ripken Jr |
American League MVP |
Danny Tartabull |
12th in MVP vote |
Ruben Sierra |
8th in MVP vote |
Paul Molitor |
11th in MVP vote |
Albert Belle |
No votes |
Cecil Fielder |
2nd in MVP votes |
Julio Franco |
15th in MVP votes |
Wally Joyner |
No votes |
Turning
over to the pitchers, where the National League hurlers fared 8.0% better,
numerically, than the American League pitchers, our initial top ten NL
performers are:
Pitcher |
Team |
W-L |
ERA |
Svs |
Tom Glavine |
Braves |
20-11 |
2.55 |
0 |
John Smiley |
Pirates |
20-8 |
3.08 |
0 |
Jose Rijo |
Reds |
15-6 |
2.51 |
0 |
Dennis Martinez |
Expos |
14-11 |
2.39 |
0 |
Lee Smith |
Cardinals |
6-3 |
2.34 |
47 |
Ramon Martinez |
Dodgers |
17-13 |
3.27 |
0 |
Mike Morgan |
Dodgers |
14-10 |
2.78 |
1 |
Andy Benes |
Padres |
15-11 |
3.03 |
0 |
Steve Avery |
Braves |
18-8 |
3.38 |
0 |
Bruce Hurst |
Padres |
15-8 |
3.29 |
0 |
Then,
as compared to their team’s performances, we get this top ten list:
Jose Rijo |
Above |
|
|
|
Dennis Martinez |
Above |
|
|
|
Pete Harnisch |
Astros |
12-9 |
2.70 |
0 |
Tom Glavine |
Above |
|
|
|
Mitch Williams |
Phillies |
12-5 |
2.34 |
30 |
Terry Mulholland |
Phillies |
16-13 |
3.61 |
0 |
Lee Smith |
Above |
|
|
|
Greg Maddux |
Cubs |
15-11 |
3.35 |
0 |
John Smiley |
Above |
|
|
|
Andy Benes |
Above |
|
|
|
Adjusting
and calculating, our top ten National league pitchers were:
Tom Glavine |
Cy Young Award, 11th in MVP vote |
Jose Rijo |
4th in Cy Young vote |
Dennis Martinez |
5th in Cy Young vote, 20th in MVP
vote (tie) |
John Smiley |
3rd in Cy Young vote, 14th in MVP
vote (tied) |
Lee Smith |
2nd in Cy Young vote, 8th in MVP
vote |
Pete Harnisch |
No votes |
Mitch Williams |
6th in Cy Young vote (tied) |
Andy Benes |
6th in Cy Young vote (tied) |
Ramon Martinez |
No votes |
Mike Morgan |
No votes |
And to
the American League, our initial top ten pitchers were:
Roger Clemens |
Red Sox |
18-10 |
2.62 |
0 |
Scott Erickson |
Twins |
20-8 |
3.18 |
0 |
Bryan Harvey |
Angels |
2-4 |
1.60 |
46 |
Bill Wegman |
Brewers |
15-7 |
2.84 |
0 |
Mark Langston |
Angels |
19-8 |
3.00 |
0 |
Jim Abbott |
Angels |
18-11 |
2.89 |
0 |
Mike Moore |
A’s |
17-8 |
2.96 |
0 |
Kevin Tapani |
Twins |
16-9 |
2.99 |
0 |
Nolan Ryan |
Rangers |
12-6 |
2.91 |
0 |
Jose Guzman |
Rangers |
13-7 |
3.08 |
0 |
Then
compared to their team’s statistics, we get this list:
Bill Wegman |
Above |
|
|
|
Mike Moore |
Above |
|
|
|
Nolan Ryan |
Above |
|
|
|
Jose Guzman |
Above |
|
|
|
Steve Farr |
Yankees |
5-5 |
2.19 |
23 |
Scott Sanderson |
Yankees |
16-10 |
3.81 |
0 |
Bill Gullickson |
Tigers |
20-8 |
3.90 |
0 |
Bryan Harvey |
Above |
|
|
|
Mark Langston |
Above |
|
|
|
Bret Saberhagen |
Royals |
13-8 |
3.07 |
0 |
These
numbers bring us to a final top ten list, with an outlier on top. The best
pitching performances in the AL were:
Bill Wegman |
No votes |
Bryan Harvey |
5th in Cy Young vote |
Mark Langston |
67h in Cy Young vote |
Scott Erickson |
2nd in Cy Young vote, 17th in MVP
vote |
Mike Moore |
No votes |
Nolan Ryan |
No votes |
Juan Guzman |
no votes |
Roger Clemens |
Cy Young Award, 10th in MVP vote |
Bret Saberhagen |
No votes |
Kevin Tapani |
7th in Cy Young vote |
So, to
finalize, my top five players overall in the National League were:
Howard Johnson
Player of the Year
Will Clark
David Justice
Tom Glavine
Pitcher of the
Year
Barry Bonds
And in
the American league, my top five are:
Jose Canseco
Player of the Year
Bill Wegman
Pitcher of the Year
Frank Thomas
Cal Ripken Jr.
Danny Tartabull