’Pen Pal
THE World Series is under way, so it's time to pick some postseason awards. A few picks may be controversial, yet others are absolute locks. So Pal's Picks closes out the season with selections for Most Valuable Player, the Cy Young Award, and Rookie of the Year. Bonds and Clemens
are among locksFor MVP of the National League, Barry Bonds is the man. In fact, one could say that he is really the man after the season he put together. It was, with little or no doubt, the greatest offensive season in the history of baseball. The numbers don't lie: 73 home runs, 411 total bases, an on-base percentage of .515, a batting average of .328, 129 runs scored, 137 RBI, 177 walks (breaking Babe Ruth's record), and a whopping .863 slugging average.
Bonds may not be the role model for our nation's youth and he may not be someone adults particularly like. His teammates have also been rumored to dislike him, but as he said when he first joined the Giants, "Judge me by my numbers," so that's what I'm doing here. Bonds deserves credit for such an outstanding season. Runners-up: Sammy Sosa, Luis Gonzalez and Albert Pujols.
My American League pick is Ichiro Suzuki. He posted fine numbers as well: .350 batting average, 56 stolen bases, 127 runs, 241 hits, 69 RBI, and a phenomenal .450 average with runners in scoring position. He also played solid defense and could always be counted on in the clutch. Runner-up: Jason Giambi.
For the Cy Young Award, the American League is a fairly easy choice: Roger Clemens. Clemens posted a 20-3 record with an ERA of 3.51, with 213 strike outs. When he reached 20-1, it was the first time that happened in Major League history. In the ALDS and the ALCS, Clemens didn't fare too well, and his overall postseason record isn't sparkling, but the award is for the season's performance, and during the year, he was tough. Runner-up: Mark Mulder.
The National League Cy Young is a difficult one to pick because there are things left to debate. My pick is Randy Johnson, a close selection over teammate Curt Schilling. Johnson's stats for the year are similar to Schilling's: 21-6 (Schilling's 22-6), strikeouts 372 (Schilling's 293), ERA 2.49 (Schilling's 2.98). Johnson's numbers are just a little better than Schilling's so he gets the nod. At one time, Johnson lost seven postseason games in a row, but again, the postseason can't be considered.
The Rookies of the Year are easy, absolute locks! National League: Albert Pujols (.329 average, 130 runs, .610 slugging percentage., 37 home runs, and a .403 on base percentage). Pujols is the 2nd rookie to ever have a .300 average, .600 slugging percentage., and a .400 on-base percentage. The first rookie to do that? Some guy named Ted Williams. Runner-up: Jimmy Rollins.
Ichiro is my pick for the AL Rookie of the Year. There has been some grumbling about the fact that he's not really a rookie because of his years in Japan, but he is a first-year player in our country, so he's technically a rook. If he's actually selected, Ichiro will be the first player since Fred Lynn in 1975, to be chosen as Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Ichiro won the AL batting title, which means he's won eight batting titles in a row counting Japan. Runner-up: C.C. Sabathia.
Oh yeah, Yanks in 7.
Pal Eldredge is a baseball commentator for KFVE
and former varsity baseball coach at Punahou School.
His column runs Mondays during the Major League Baseball season.
Star-Bulletin sports can be reached at 529-4785 or: sports@starbulletin.com