Halfway Home!

Jason Michael Barker

Anybody ever notice that the All-Star break really isn't the half-way point in the baseball season? Heading into play Thursday, most teams had already played a series (or two) more than 81 games. But I digress.

Instead, here's my take on who would win baseball's awards if the season consisted only of the first half...

AL MVP
Unlike last year, when there was only one real candidate for the award -- and no, that's not Ivan Rodriguez -- this season there are a number of deserving candidates in the American League. Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Frank Thomas, Carl Everett... the list goes on. My choice, however, is one Carlos Delgado of the Toronto Blue Jays. Delgado has always been a great power hitter, but this season he's added a high average and a ton of walks to his game. All that math adds up to a .363/.479/.717 season to date, and the biggest reason the Blue Jays were tied with the Yankees atop the AL East heading into the break.

NL MVP
Another tough call, as worthy candidates abound: Bonds, Guerrero, McGwire, Helton, Edmonds... Despite all those big names and those big seasons, I'm going with Mike Piazza. I don't think you can understate the positional advantage Piazza has -- for a quick comparison, Piazza boasts a 1.107 OPS (on-base plus slugging) this year, while no other NL catcher is over .900 (though Mike Lieberthal comes close). The other players I mentioned each have very good competition at their position.

AL Cy Young
David Wells is a very good pitcher. He has the second-best ERA in the league, has won 15 games and has only walked 18 batters in 128.1 innings this season. Still, his ERA is a full two runs higher than that of Pedro Martinez. Until another pitcher can clearly show himself to be better than Pedro (or Pedro gets hurt and misses half the year), Pedro Martinez is going to be winning Cy Young awards 'till the cows come home.

NL Cy Young
The same story can be told about Randy Johnson, though Kevin Brown is awfully close this season. The Big Unit is on pace for another 300-strikeout season, and he's only walked 36 batters in 144.2 innings. Throw in a sub-two ERA (1.80) and you're talking about the Cy Young winner.

AL Manager of the Year
Being in Seattle, I'd love to give this one to Lou Piniella, but that wouldn't be fair to Jerry Manuel, who has done a great job with the White Sox. A number of people thought the M's would be good this year (maybe not this good, but good), but I don't think anyone expected the White Sox to have a nine-game lead over the Tribe at the break.

NL Manager of the Year
I think you've got to go with Jack McKeon here... just look at how well the harmonious Reds are playing this season! Seriously, how about John Boles? I hear you asking "Who?" Boles is the second-year manager of the Florida Marlins, who as of this writing boast a 46-43 record -- not bad for the second-lowest payroll in baseball.

Most Improved Player
This is a blend between a "Most Improved" and a "Comeback" player award. In the AL, Darrin Erstad has bounced back from a horrible 1999 to lead the league in hits (144), and he's hitting .384/.441/.592 for the season. That's a pretty easy call.

It's an even easier call in the NL -- Andres Galarraga didn't play a single game last season after being diagnosed with lymphoma. This year he's back, and while his numbers don't quite compare to the likes of McGwire and Helton, hitting .294/.363/.547 at age 39 after missing an entire season is nothing to scoff at. Way to go, Big Cat.

Tune in next time, when I'll reveal my predictions for the second half of the season as well as take a look back at the biggest surprise and the biggest disappointment of the first half of the 2000 MLB season.

about the author

Here at Strikethree.com we voted Jason Michael Barker writer most likely to pick a Blue Jay to win the MVP award. Looks like we were right. Tell him you knew it too, at jmb@strikethree.com.

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