The spreadsheet says Bonds had the best year in the history of the MMP ahead of Wagner 1908 and Mantle 1957.

This will be the last year for me contributing in the style I’ve been using for the last few years, because my 2001 post-season all-star memo (to a few friends) is the last one of the series. Or at least it’s the last one I can find - I can’t find a 2002 anywhere in my files. It may have been sometime in 2002 that I discovered this site, and it wasn’t that long after that the energies I had shown writing those memos got diverted by me being sucked into the Hall of Merit project.

Anyway: NL all-star team, with batting order:

1. Jim Edmonds, CF
2. Chipper Jones, 1B (!)
3. Sammy Sosa, RF
4. Barry Bonds, LF
5. Luis Gonzalez, DH
6. Albert Pujols, 3B
7. Rich Aurilia, SS
8. Mike Piazza, C
9. Jeff Kent, 2B

Starter #1: Randy Johnson
Starter #2: Curt Schilling
Starter #3: Darryl Kile
Starter #4: Greg Maddux
Starter #5: John Burkett

Reserves:

Paul LoDuca, C
Phil Nevin, IF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Brian Giles, OF
Lance Berkman, OF
Todd Helton, 1B

Billy Wagner, Closer
Byung-Hyun Kim, RP
Matt Morris, P
Tom Glavine, P
Kerry Wood, P

One quote: “Third base and first base were quite complicated. … I get an offensive order of Jones, Pujols, Nevin, Helton, Klesko, Bagwell - all three third basemen ahead of all three first basemen. But are they really third basemen? Jones consistently posts some of the worst defensive statistics among third basemen. During the part of the year he played there, Pujols had fairly good statistics at third base, but in the last half of the season, the Cardinals played him only at LF and 1B. Helton is a good defensive first baseman, Klesko isn’t, and I don’t know about Bagwell. The decision I came up with - Pujols and Jones in the starting lineup, Helton and Nevin on the bench - was not inevitable.”

Another quote: “There were three great offensive outfielders in Bonds, Sosa, and Gonzalez. Unfortunately, none of them is a centerfielder. Edmonds was the by far the best hitter among those whose primary position was CF, but there’s also a reasonable argument for Brian Giles. Giles was a slightly better offensive player than Edmonds, but his playing time is listed as 124 games in LF, 61 games in CF (hence 26 games in which he played both positions). Gary Matthews, Jr. played most of the CF for the Pirates (and didn’t hit a lick).”

AL all-star team

1. Roberto Alomar, 2B
2. Manny Ramirez, LF
3. Alex Rodriguez, SS
4. Jason Giambi, 1B
5. Jim Thome, DH
6. Bret Boone, 3B (out of position)
7. Juan Gonzalez, RF
8. Ivan Rodriguez, C
9. Carlos Beltran, CF

Starter #1: Freddy Garcia
Starter #2: Joe Mays
Starter #3: Mike Mussina
Starter #4: Mark Mulder
Starter #5: Mark Buehrle

Reserves:

Jorge Posada, C
Miguel Tejada, SS
Troy Glaus, 3B
Ichiro Suzuki, OF
Edgar Martinez, DH
Magglio Ordonñez, OF

Mariano Rivera, Closer
Kazuhiro Sasaki, RP
Jamie Moyer, P
Tim Hudson, P
Roger Clemens, P

A few quotes about this:

“For the first time in 6 years, there is only one shortstop in the starting lineup. Garciaparra missed nearly the entire season due to injury, and Jeter’s defensive limitations helped push him out of the starting lineup. “ I also commented on a relative shortage of outfielders in the AL and mentioned that Manny was more often a DH than a LF.

NL Cy Young:
1. Johsnon
2. Schilling
3. Kile
4. Maddux
5. Burkett (close call over Morris)

AL Cy Young:

1. Garcia
2. Mays
3. Mussina
4. Mulder
5. Buehrle

I commented on the fact that quite a few of these pitchers (in the AL) were pretty young, but they also had rather low strikeout rates - in particular, I noted that Mays had a strikeout rate quite a bit below league average. I assume that those of you who use defense-independent stats won’t have Mays anywhere near the top, and possibly not Buehrle or Garcia, either. I also decried the fact that Clemens would probably get the CYA.

NL MVP:

1. Barry Bonds
2. Sammy Sosa
3. Luis Gonzalez
4. Randy Johnson
5. Albert Pujols
6. Chipper Jones
7. Rich Aurilia

“I have often said that I have a very simple search technique for MVP candidates: check the leader lists for On Base Percentage and Slugging Average. Anyone who is on both lists is automatically a candidate. If anyone leads the league in both categories, that is a prima facie case for being the MVP - you’re going to have to prove why not, and you need some big weapons to make that argument. So, if that’s the criterion, what can you possibly say about someone who set the single-season record for slugging percentage, breaking a record that until very recently seemed unbreakable? When that was accompanied by the highest On Base Percentage since 1957, one of the top 10 OBP seasons of all time?”

AL MVP

1. Alex Rodriguez
2. Jason Giambi
3. Roberto Alomar
4. Jim Thome
5. Bret Boone
6. Manny Ramirez
7. Edgar Martinez

I had a long discussion about Ichiro, with an extensive comparison of Ichiro 2001 to Willie McGee 1985. It’s really quite a good match. Of course, I don’t think McGee deserved the 1985 NL MVP, either.

A longer comment after a rundown on many, many records and other statistical accomplishments for Bonds:

“And yet, there’s an edge of dissatisfaction. The Giants didn’t win the division. The Giants, despite the presence of this monster and the all-star shortstop and second baseman, merely placed 5th in the league in runs scored. Arizona had the same number of hits as the Giants (that is, essentially the same batting average), 25 fewer doubles and triples, 27 fewer home runs, 38 fewer walks - and yet, the Diamondbacks scored 19 more runs than the Giants. I thank [my son] for pointing this out: Bonds was the only player in history on anything like a full season to have fewer than 2.0 RBI per home run. There it is in Bond’s case: 73 HR, 137 RBI. I checked this against some other odd cases. My two favorite examples from 1987 of the damage done by bad lineup placement: Leon Durham, 27 HR, 63 RBI; Brook Jacoby 32 HR, 69 RBI. In 1996, Brady Anderson did manage to get 110 RBI with his 50 HR, and he was batting leadoff. The Giants had the most horribly dysfunctional offense you’ve ever seen, and I’m not sure I can completely explain why. Sure, they had awful leadoff hitters (mostly Calvin Murray and Marvin Benard). Sure, Bonds would probably have been better off batting 4th instead of 3rd. Rich Aurilia is a wonderful hitter (for a shortstop) but his strength is in hitting home runs, not in leaving runners on base for Bonds coming up behind him. Sure, Jeff Kent had an “anti-clutch” season in which he didn’t match his good average and plentiful extra-base hits with the opportunities that Bonds’s 177 walks left him. (Kent had only 106 RBI, which is pathetically low, given his circumstances.) You can’t pin this dysfunction on Bonds himself - his situational statistics show that he did rise to the occasion when he had runners on base or runners in scoring position. I still can’t adequately explain what happened to the Giants.”

And a couple of final quotes:

(After a table of runs scored per game for each league): "That’s news: run scoring dipped, by quite a bit. In the AL, scoring was the lowest in 6 years. In that context, by having the same year he had last year, Jason Giambi actually had a better year."

"Much of the sentiment around Bonds' 73 HR took the form that while McGwire’s 70 was special this, coming just 3 years later, wasn’t, and that of course someone’s going to hit 75 in another couple of years, and 80 after that, and so on. This might be right - as long as HR per game are at 1.1 or 1.15, that record will be vulnerable. The 2000-to-2001 offense drop might a blip that will reverse in another year. But don’t rule out that it might be a trend, an institutions-of-baseball reaction against the excesses of the 1994-2000 period. When Babe Ruth hit 60 HR in 1927, it was an event of little significance - stretching by 1 a 6-year-old record. Surely that one would also soon fall, wouldn’t it? In the next decade, Hack Wilson, Hank Greenberg, and Jimmy Foxx all came within 4 of breaking it - but the record stood for 34 years. I could easily be wrong, but I think that 73 is going to stand as the HR record for 20 years or more."

2001 Prelim

1) Barry Bonds - best season we have seen in the MMP voting
2) Sammy Sosa - 3 full batting wins behind Bonds
3) Alex Rodriguez - now a Ranger
4) Jason Giambi
5) Bret Boone - good glove
6) Randy Johnson - best pitcher
7) Rich Aurilia - good glove
8) Luis Gonzalez
9) Larry Walker - great fielding season
10) Shawn Green
11) Curt Schilling - lousy hitting from Johnson and Schilling
12) Scott Rolen - great fielding season (Chavez was better though)
13) Roberto Alomar
14) Albert Pujols
15) Chipper Jones

16-20) Eric Chavez, Todd Helton, Mike Mussina, Cliff Floyd, Javier Vazquez
21-26) Phil Nevin, Paul Lo Duca, Lance Berkman, Jim Edmonds, Greg Maddux, Joe Mays

@DL That's pretty much exactly my Top 15, give or take a few differences in position.

1. Barry Bonds

2. Randy Johnson - 372 K's in 249.2 IP, plus post-season puts him slightly ahead of all-time great (roid-fueled?) offense by Sammy and Giambi
3. Sammy Sosa
4. Jason Giambi

5. Curt Schilling - with a big post-season bonus
6. Luis Gonzalez
7. Alex Rodriguez
8. Bret Boone
9. Todd Helton
10. Larry Walker
11. Rich Aurilia
12. Mike Mussina
13. Lance Berkman
14. Roberto Alomar
15. Chipper Jones

#1 through 4 are done.

Still sorting the rest of this out. #'5-15 are not in rock solid order yet. Pujols, Floyd, Chavez, Nevin and Maddux are in the running to bump off #'s 12 thru 15, possibly.

For a real-time SABR perspective check out the Internet Baseball Awards

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1278

Most Valuable Player, AL: Jason Giambi, Athletics
Most Valuable Player, NL: Barry Bonds, Giants
Cy Young, AL: Freddy García, Mariners
Cy Young, NL: Randy Johnson, Diamondbacks

I will be out of town 3/1-3/10 on vacation. Does someone else want to end the voting or do I wait to post results when I return?

I've tabulated for you before but I can't do it in early March. Unless someone else steps up, I vote to wait.

2001 Preliminary Ballot

1. Barry Bonds, LF, San Francisco Giants: the year Barry broke baseball- 259 OPS+ and 230 runs created
2. Sammy Sosa, RF, Chicago Cubs: 203 OPS+ and he's not even close to first place
3. Jason Giambi, 1B, Oakland Athletics: a 199 OPS+ to lead the AL
4. Alex Rodriguez, SS, Texas Rangers: 160 OPS+ and 159 RC for his new team
5. Luis Gonzalez, LF, Arizona Diamondbacks: 174 OPS+ in the desert
6. Randy Johnson, P, Arizona Diamondbacks: best pitcher in baseball with a 188 ERA+ and 249 IP
7. Bret Boone, 2B, Seattle Mariners: 153 OPS+ to go with +12 fielding
8. Todd Helton, 1B, Colorado Rockies: a nice follow-up to his incredible 2000 season
9. Roberto Alomar, 2B, Cleveland Indians: a 150 OPS+ this year, but watch out for that cliff, Roberto!
10. Larry Walker, RF, Colorado Rockies: 160 OPS+ and +14 fielding
11. Curt Schilling, P, Arizona Diamondbacks: overshadowed by the Big Unit but 157 ERA+ in 256 IP isn't too shabby
12. Jim Thome, 1B, Cleveland Indians: 170 OPS+ though a dreadful -9 fielding
13. Rich Aurilia, SS, San Francisco Giants: a career year out by the bay
14. Lance Berkman, LF, Houston Astros: 5th in NL OPS+
15. Chipper Jones, 3B, Atlanta Braves: 160 OPS+ from the hot corner

16. Albert Pujols, 3B/LF, St. Louis Cardinals: just missed this year but I'll think we'll hear from him again
17. Mike Mussina, P, New York Yankees: a nice debut for his new team while leading the AL in FIP
18. Shawn Green, RF, Los Angeles Dodgers
19. Greg Maddux, P, Atlanta Braves
20. Joe Mays, P, Minnesota Twins: has an argument for the top AL pitcher
21. Manny Ramirez, LF, Boston Red Sox
22. Phil Nevin, 3B, San Diego Padres
23. Ichiro Suzuki, RF, Seattle Mariners
24. John Burkett, P, Atlanta Braves
25. Freddy Garcia, P, Seattle Mariners

2001 ALDS Mariners 3 Cleveland 2

Player Name  G  AB  R  H  2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  BA  OBP  SLG  OPS  SB  CS  E
Bret Boone 5 21 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 11 .095 .136 .095 .232 1 0 1 
Mike Cameron 5 18 2 4 3 0 1 3 2 7 .222 .333 .556 .889 0 1 0 
Edgar Martinez 5 16 3 5 1 0 2 5 5 2 .313 .476 .750 1.226 1 0 
Mark McLemore 5 18 0 3 0 0 0 3 1 8 .167 .211 .167 .377 0 0 1
John Olerud 5 17 1 3 0 0 0 1 3 5 .176 .300 .176 .476 0 0 0
Ichiro Suzuki 5 20 4 12 1 0 0 2 1 0 .600 .619 .650 1.269 1 2 1

Roberto Alomar 5 21 3 4 3 0 0 3 2 5 .190 .261 .333 .594 0 0 0
Juan Gonzalez 5 23 4 8 3 0 2 5 0 7 .348 .348 .739 1.087 0 0 0

Pitcher Name  G  GS  ERA  W  L  SV  CG  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO  WHIP  
Bartolo Colon 2 2 1.84 1 1 0 0 14.2 12 3 3 6 13 1.227 

2001 ALDS Yankees 3 Athletics 2

Player Name  G  AB  R  H  2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  BA  OBP  SLG  OPS  SB  CS  E
Derek Jeter 5 18 2 8 1 0 0 1 1 0 .444 .476 .500 .976 0 1 0 
Bernie Williams 5 18 4 4 3 0 0 5 3 3 .222 .333 .389 .722 0 1 0

Eric Chavez 5 21 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 5 .143 .143 .190 .333 0 0 1
Jason Giambi 5 17 2 6 0 0 1 4 4 2 .353 .455 .529 .984 0 0 1
Miguel Tejada 5 21 1 6 3 0 0 1 0 3 .286 .304 .429 .733 0 0 1

Pitcher Name  G  GS  ERA  W  L  SV  CG  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO  WHIP  
Roger Clemens 2 2 5.40 0 1 0 0 8.1 9 5 5 4 6 1.560
Mike Mussina 1 1 0.00 1 0 0 0 7.0 4 0 0 1 4 0.714 
Mariano Rivera 3 0 0.00 0 0 2 0 5.0 4 1 0 0 4 0.800

Tim Hudson 2 1 0.93 1 0 0 0 9.2 8 1 1 1 5 0.931 
Mark Mulder 2 2 2.45 1 1 0 0 11.0 14 5 3 2 7 1.455
Barry Zito 1 1 1.13 0 1 0 0 8.0 2 1 1 1 6 0.375

I thank [my son] for pointing this out: Bonds was the only player in history on anything like a full season to have fewer than 2.0 RBI per home run.

The Play Index says Bonds '01 and Granderson last year are the only 2 ever to qualify for the batting title and have <= 2 rbi/hr.

2001 NLDS Braves 3 Astros 0

Player Name  G  AB  R  H  2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  BA  OBP  SLG  OPS  SB  CS  E
Chipper Jones 3 9 2 4 0 0 2 5 3 1 .444 .583 1.111 1.694 0 1 0 

Jeff Bagwell 3 7 0 3 0 0 0 0 5 1 .429 .667 .429 1.095 0 1 0
Lance Berkman 3 12 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 .167 .167 .167 .333 0 0 0

Pitcher Name  G  GS  ERA  W  L  SV  CG  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO  WHIP  
John Burkett 1 1 2.84 1 0 0 0 6.1 6 2 2 2 4 1.263
Tom Glavine 1 1 0.00 1 0 0 0 8.0 6 0 0 2 3 1.000
Greg Maddux 1 1 3.00 0 0 0 0 6.0 4 3 2 3 5 1.167

Wade Miller 1 1 2.57 0 0 0 0 7.0 7 2 2 0 6 1.000 

2001 NLDS Diamondbacks 3 Cardinals 2

Player Name  G  AB  R  H  2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  BA  OBP  SLG  OPS  SB  CS  E
Luis Gonzalez 5 19 1 5 0 0 1 1 2 4 .263 .333 .421 .754 0 0 0

J.D. Drew 5 13 1 2 0 0 1 2 3 1 .154 .313 .385 .697 0 0 0
Jim Edmonds 5 17 3 4 1 0 2 3 3 6 .235 .350 .647 .997 0 0 0
Albert Pujols 5 18 1 2 0 0 1 2 2 2 .111 .200 .278 .478 0 0 1

Pitcher Name  G  GS  ERA  W  L  SV  CG  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO  WHIP  
Randy Johnson 1 1 3.38 0 1 0 0 8.0 6 3 3 2 9 1.000
Byung-Hyun Kim 1 0 0.00 0 0 1 0 1.1 1 0 0 2 1 2.250 
Curt Schilling 2 2 0.50 2 0 0 2 18.0 9 1 1 2 18 0.611 

Darryl Kile 1 1 3.00 0 0 0 0 6.0 3 2 2 5 5 1.333
Matt Morris 2 2 1.20 0 1 0 0 15.0 13 2 2 5 12 1.200

2001 ALCS Yankees 4 Mariners 1

Player Name  G  AB  R  H  2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  BA  OBP  SLG  OPS  SB  CS  E
Derek Jeter 5 17 0 2 0 0 0 2 2 2 .118 .200 .118 .318 0 0 0
Bernie Williams 5 17 4 4 0 0 3 5 5 4 .235 .409 .765 1.174 0 1 1

Bret Boone 5 19 2 6 0 0 2 6 2 2 .316 .381 .632 1.013 0 0 0 
Mike Cameron 5 17 3 3 2 0 0 0 4 4 .176 .364 .294 .658 0 0 0 
Edgar Martinez 5 20 1 3 1 0 0 0 1 6 .150 .190 .200 .390 0 0 
Mark McLemore 5 14 1 2 0 1 0 3 2 2 .143 .250 .286 .536 0 0 0
John Olerud 5 19 2 4 0 0 1 3 2 4 .211 .286 .368 .654 0 0 0
Ichiro Suzuki 5 18 3 4 1 0 0 1 4 4 .222 .364 .278 .641 2 0 0

Pitcher Name  G  GS  ERA  W  L  SV  CG  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO  WHIP  
Roger Clemens 1 1 0.00 0 0 0 0 5.0 1 0 0 4 7 1.000 
Mike Mussina 1 1 3.00 1 0 0 0 6.0 4 2 2 1 3 0.833
Mariano Rivera 4 0 1.93 1 0 2 0 4.2 2 1 1 1 3 0.643

2001 NLCS Diamondbacks 4 Braves 1

Player Name  G  AB  R  H  2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  BA  OBP  SLG  OPS  SB  CS  E
Luis Gonzalez 5 19 4 4 0 0 1 4 3 3 .211 .348 .368 .716 0 0 0

Chipper Jones 5 19 1 5 1 0 0 2 3 6 .263 .364 .316 .679 0 0 2

Pitcher Name  G  GS  ERA  W  L  SV  CG  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO  WHIP  
Randy Johnson 2 2 1.13 2 0 0 1 16.0 10 2 2 3 19 0.813 
Byung-Hyun Kim 3 0 0.00 0 0 2 0 5.0 0 0 0 1 3 0.200
Curt Schilling 1 1 1.00 1 0 0 1 9.0 4 1 1 2 12 0.667 

John Burkett 1 1 8.31 0 1 0 0 4.1 7 5 4 2 2 2.077
Tom Glavine 2 2 1.50 1 1 0 0 12.0 10 4 2 5 5 1.250 
Greg Maddux 2 2 5.40 0 2 0 0 10.0 14 8 6 2 7 1.600

2001 World Series Diamondbacks 4 Yankees 3

Player Name  G  AB  R  H  2B  3B  HR  RBI  BB  SO  BA  OBP  SLG  OPS  SB  CS  E
Luis Gonzalez 7 27 4 7 2 0 1 5 1 11 .259 .333 .444 .778 0 0 0 

Derek Jeter 7 27 3 4 0 0 1 1 0 6 .148 .179 .259 .438 0 0 0 
Bernie Williams 7 24 2 5 1 0 0 1 4 6 .208 .321 .250 .571 0 0 0

Pitcher Name  G  GS  ERA  W  L  SV  CG  IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO  WHIP  
Randy Johnson 3 2 1.04 3 0 0 1 17.1 9 2 2 3 19 0.692 
Byung-Hyun Kim 2 0 13.50 0 1 0 0 3.1 6 5 5 1 6 2.100
Curt Schilling 3 3 1.69 1 0 0 0 21.1 12 4 4 2 26 0.656

Roger Clemens 2 2 1.35 1 0 0 0 13.1 10 2 2 4 19 1.050
Mike Mussina 2 2 4.09 0 1 0 0 11.0 11 7 5 4 14 1.364
Mariano Rivera 4 0 1.42 1 1 1 0 6.1 6 2 1 1 7 1.105

Preliminary ballot-no postseason credit but some small credit for playing for a Division-contender
1. Bonds--easy & obvious #1, it's a shame that the player, the era, and the circumstances kept this season being celebrated
2. Sosa--his best overall season due to excellent BA & OBP
3. Giambi--Jason of course not Jeremy haha, excellent OBP & power > AL MVP Ichiro's high BA/Gold Glove/base running
4. Randy Johnson--underrated Koufaxian peak
5. A Rod
6. Bret Boone--edges out Suzuki
7. Ichiro Suzuki
8. Luis Gonzalez
9. Schilling--Drysdale to Big Unit's Koufax only Schilling was better than Drysdale.
10.Larry Walker--just ahead of his teammate
11.Helton
12.Roberto Alomar
13.Thome
14.Pujols--hey, I think this guy's gonna be good
15.Berkman


Best AL pitcher--Mussina I guess, not a great year for Junior circuit hurlers--edges out Clemens (who largely won CY for starting season w/a 20-1 record)& Tim Hudson

The usual blend of WAR systems. Some strange results in the initial run. No adjustments:

1-Bonds
2-Sosa
3-Johnson
4-Giambi
5-Schilling
6-Boone
7-Arod
8-Gonzales
9-Walker
10-Ralomar

The Best of the Rest, in order-Chavez, Green, Moose, Cameron, Pujols