Monday, March 28, 2022

1991 Season in review

 

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.

                 With two wins in three sarts, and a 1.17 ERA,  including his ten-inning shoutout in the clincher, Jack Morris would be named World Series MVP.


                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

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