BOSTON RED SOX - MIKE GREENWELL
Greenwell broke through in 1988 and made his first All Star team while finishing second in the A.L. MVP vote. He also won a Silver Slugger Award. Greenwell hit .325/.416/.531 with 22 home runs and 119 RBIs, while also stealing 16 bases. He led the league in intentional walks (18) and tallied 86 runs, 192 hits, 39 doubles and eight triples. Greenwell led the team in home runs, RBIs and triples.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Not quite. By WAR and OPS, Greenwell finished a little bit behind Wade Boggs, but I will give a bit of extra credit for finishing second in the MVP vote. Boggs won the batting title by hitting .366/.476/.490 with five home runs, 214 hits, 45 doubles, 128 runs and 58 RBIs. He led the league in runs and doubles. Roger Clemens also had a dominant season, going 18-12 with a 2.93 ERA and led the league in complete games (14), shutouts (eight) and strikeouts (291).
GRADE: B+. I do understand this selection. Greenwell was a breakout star and looked like a superstar on the rise in 1988. Boggs was still a little better, but there is nothing wrong with the Greenwell pick.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES - BOBBY BONILLA
Bonilla was named to his first All Star team in 1988 and also received some down-ballot MVP consideration. The Pirates third-baseman hit .274/.366/.476 with 24 home runs and 100 RBIs. Bonilla led Pirates hitters in RBIs (tied with Andy Van Slyke) and notched 87 runs and 160 hits.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Andy Van Slyke, the 1988 Diamond King, still led the team in WAR when he hit .288/.345/.506 with a team-leading 25 home runs, 100 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. The only thing Bonilla had over Van Slyke was on-base percentage. Barry Bonds also had a big season, hitting .283/.368/.491 with 24 home runs and 58 RBIs, also stealing 17 bases. Due to defense, Bonds also had a higher WAR than Bonilla.
GRADE: B+. Again, this pick is fine. Van Slyke was a clearly better choice, but Bonilla was a breakout star. There is something to be said for that.
TEXAS RANGERS - PETE INCAVIGLIA
Incaviglia was in his third Major League season in 1988 and led the league in strikeouts with 153. The slugger hit .249/.321/.467 with 22 home runs and 54 RBIs. Incaviglia played in just 116 games, but he still ranked second on the team in home runs. He also notched 104 hits, 19 doubles and 59 runs. Incaviglia led the team in OPS (.788).
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Probably not. The top two players by WAR were Steve Buechele and Scott Fletcher, both of whom derived most of their value from their defense. Buechele hit .250/.342/.404 with 16 home runs and 58 RBIs, numbers that do not really jump off the page. Fletcher hit .276/.364/.328. Charlie Hough also had a higher WAR as he was 15-16 with a 3.32 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 252 innings. Again, not obviously better. I would argue the best pick would have been Ruben Sierra, who hit .254/.301/.424 with a team-leading 23 home runs and 91 RBIs and was second in stolen bases with 18. Sierra had an identical WAR score to Incaviglia.
GRADE: B. Incaviglia was okay, but he missed a lot of games. Who knows how many times he might have struck out otherwise. Sierra was probably the best choice. This is not terrible, it is just kind of unexciting.
CINCINNATI REDS - CHRIS SABO
Third-baseman Sabo was the N.L. Rookie of the Year and an All Star in 1988. Sabo hit .271/.314/.414 with eleven home runs, 74 runs, 146 hits, 40 doubles, 44 RBIs and 46 stolen bases. Sabo led the team in doubles and stolen bases.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Sabo was third on the team in WAR behind Barry Larkin and Kal Daniels. Larkin would have been the best choice as the shortstop took home the Silver Slugger Award after hitting .296/.347/.429 with 12 home runs, 56 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. Daniels, the 1988 Diamond King, hit .291/.397/.463 with 18 home runs and 64 RBIs.
GRADE: B+. Once again, we have a breakout player selected, and Sabo was the Rookie of the Year. Larkin was better though and had not been a Diamond King before. He would have been the best choice.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS - ROBIN YOUNT
Yount played every game in 1988 and led the league in triples with eleven. The Brewers center-fielder hit .306/.369/.465 with 92 runs, 190 hits, 38 doubles, 13 home runs, 91 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. He led the team in hits (tied with Paul Molitor), doubles, RBIs and slugging percentage. He received some minor MVP consideration.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Teddy Higuera was the team's WAR leader by about two wins over Yount. Higuera went 16-9 with a 2.45 ERA and 192 strikeouts in 227.1 innings pitched. He led the league in WHIP (0.999). Yount was the best hitter on the team. Molitor came close though as he hit .312/.384/.452 with 13 home runs and 60 RBIs while stealing 41 bases and scoring 115 runs.
GRADE: B+. Higuera would have been the better pick, but Yount was damn good once again.
SAN DIEGO PADRES - TONY GWYNN
Gwynn played in just 133 games in 1988, but it was enough to qualify for the batting title, which he won while hitting .313/.373/.415. He led the team in hits (163) and stolen bases (26) while also accumulating 64 runs scored, seven home runs and 70 RBIs.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Somewhat surprisingly, Gwynn did not lead the Padres in WAR. Presumably this is due to missing 30 games and the defensive prowess of the number one player at a more premium position. That player was Roberto Alomar. Alomar hit .266/.328/.382 with nine home runs, 41 RBIs and 24 stolen bases and scored 84 runs. Not numbers that jump off the page. Gwynn was second in WAR. Third was closer Mark Davis, who had a 2.01 ERA, 28 saves and 102 strikeouts in 98.1 innings pitched.
GRADE: A. I know Alomar led in WAR, but Gwynn's offensive numbers were significantly better and he won the batting title, his third.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX - CARLTON FISK
Fisk was still going strong in 1988, though he played less than half of the season due to injuries. Fisk played in just 76 games, but still hit 19 home runs and drove in 50 runs. Fisk hit .277/.377/.542 and would have led the team in OPS and OPS+ had he played more often.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? I am really torn here. It bothers me that Fisk played less than half the season, but he was clearly the best hitter the team had. He was not the team's WAR leader, that went to shortstop Ozzie Guillen, though not for his hitting. Guillen hit .261/.294/.314 with zero homers, 39 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. This might have been a good time for a career achievement Diamond King for Jerry Reuss, who was 39 years old and went 13-9 with a 3.44 ERA in 183 innings pitched. He led the staff in victories.
GRADE: B. This one is really hard. Like I said, I hate the fact that the team's Diamond King played less than half the season, but there really was no standout choice here. Most of the other players were kind of rough.
CLEVELAND INDIANS - CORY SNYDER
Snyder led qualifying Indians hitters in slugging percentage and OPS. The right-fielder hit .272/.326/.483 and was second on the team in home runs (27) and RBIs (75). He also had 71 runs, 139 hits and 24 doubles.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. It is sort of hard to argue against Snyder being the best of the hitters, but the WAR leader was Greg Swindell, who had a legitimately good year. Swindell had an 18-14 record for a mediocre team and had a 3.20 ERA and 180 strikeouts in 242 innings pitched. Tom Candiotti was second in WAR as he went 14-8 with a 3.28 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 216.2 innings pitched. Another player with a good year was closer Doug Jones, who saved 37 games and had a 2.27 ERA. It is kind of surprising the Indians were not better than they were with these pitchers.
GRADE: B. Snyder was decent and was still a popular player due to his home run output. Still, Swindell would have been the best pick, with Candiotti and Jones being other legitimate picks.
NEW YORK METS - DAVID CONE
In Cone's first full season in the Majors, he made a big impact by leading the league in won-loss percentage (.870) and being named to the All Star team. He had a 20-3 record with a 2.22 ERA and struck out 213 batters while walking 80 in 231.1 innings pitched. Cone led Mets pitchers in wins, strikeouts and ERA.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Yes. Cone finished third in the Cy Young vote and tenth in the MVP vote and was the WAR leader. The runner-up would have been Darryl Strawberry, who finished second in the MVP race after he led the league in home runs (39), slugging percentage and OPS. Strawberry hit .269/.366/.545 and drove in 101 runs while also stealing 29 bases. Kevin McReynolds also had a big season as he hit .288/.336/.496 with 27 home runs and 99 RBIs.
GRADE: A. Strawberry was the big name, but Cone had a better season, slightly. Donruss made the right choice here.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS - KEVIN SEITZER
In Seitzer's second full season in the Majors, he hit .304/.388/.406 with five home runs and 60 RBIs with ten stolen bases. He tied George Brett for the team lead in runs (90) and second in hits (170) and third in doubles (32).
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. The Royals' best player in 1988 was starter Mark Gubicza who finished third in the Cy Young vote. Gubicza had a 20-8 record and had a 2.70 ERA while striking out 183 and walking 83 in 269.2 innings pitched. George Brett had a big season as he hit .306/.389/.509 with 24 home runs and 103 RBIs and led the Royals in hits (190). Charlie Liebrandt also had a higher WAR as he went 13-12 with a 3.19 ERA with 125 strikeouts in 243 innings.
GRADE: C+. Seitzer was a decent hitter, but sort of a poor man's Brett. He had kind of an empty batting average, which was still not as high as Brett. But as good as Brett was, the pick should have gone to Gubicza who had a huge season.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS - RICK REUSCHEL
At 39 years of age, Reuschel had one of his best seasons as he had a record of 19-11 with a 3.12 ERA. He led the league in games started with 36. Reuschel struck out 92 batters, while walking 42 in 245 innings pitched. He led Giants pitchers in innings, wins, ERA and complete games (seven).
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Reuschel was fourth in WAR on the Giants. Brett Butler was first as he hit .287/.393/.398 with 109 runs scored and 43 stolen bases. Second was Will Clark, who probably had the most eye-popping numbers as he hit .282/.386/.508 with 29 home runs and 109 RBIs. Third was Robby Thompson, whose numbers were accentuated by his defense as he hit .264/.323/.384 with seven home runs and 48 RBIs.
GRADE: B. I would argue Clark was the best pick with Butler second and Reuschel third. Butler and Clark definitely had big seasons. Reuschel had a good record and a decent ERA, but he did not strike out many batters, so his WAR did not quite match up to his traditional numbers. He was certainly crafty though.
CALIFORNIA ANGELS - JOHNNY RAY
Second-baseman Ray hit .306/.345/.429 while accumulating 75 runs scored, 184 hits, 42 doubles, seven triples, six home runs and 83 RBIs. Ray led the Angels in hits, doubles, triples and average. He was third in RBIs and fourth in runs scored. Ray was an All Star for the only time in his career.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Ray had a nice season and traditional stats would certainly seem to support his choice, but he was actually sixth on the team in WAR. Dick Schofield (.239/.303/.429, six home runs, 34 RBIs, 20 stolen bases) and Devon White (.259/.297/.389, 11 home runs, 51 RBIs, 17 stolen bases) were the first two, with their scores being improved significantly based on their impressive defense. Wally Joyner was next as he hit .295/.356/.419 with 13 home runs and 85 RBIs. Next was Bob Boone, who hit .295/.352/.386 with five home runs and 39 RBIs. And then came Brian Downing, who hit .242/.362/.442 with 25 home runs and 64 RBIs.
GRADE: B. Ray is certainly the most random player to be a Diamond King twice. He was the Pirates' Diamond King in 1986. He had a good year, but I think Boone or Downing would have been the better picks. Boone would have been a decent career achievement pick as he had an impressive season at the plate, which was rare, and won another Gold Glove.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES - DAVE SCHMIDT
Despite only starting nine games, Schmidt pitched enough innings (129.2) to qualify as the team's ERA leader (3.40). Schmidt had a record of 8-5 and pitched in 41 games, finishing eleven of them and notching two saves. He struck out 67 batters and walked 38.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Good lord, no. Schmidt was seventh on the team in WAR and was more of a long man/spot starter than anything. The team's best player was Cal Ripken Jr., who had been a Diamond King twice before and hit .264/.372/.431 with 23 home runs, 81 RBIs and walked 102 times. Eddie Murray also had a big season as he hit .284/.361/.474 with 28 home runs and 84 RBIs. Several other players also had higher WAR scores.
GRADE: F. This one is just bizarre. Schmidt was not a particularly impressive pitcher at any time in his career and the entire reason he was named the Diamond King is the fact that he led the team in ERA, which was not even that impressive a number. Murray or Ripken would have been the best picks, and were clearly better than Schmidt.
MONTREAL EXPOS - ANDRES GALARRAGA
First-baseman Galarraga made his first All Star team, finished seventh in the MVP race and won the Silver Slugger in 1988. Galarraga hit .302/.352/.540 and led the league in hits (184), doubles (42) and total bases (329). He also hit 29 home runs, drove in 92 runs, scored 99 and stole 13 bases.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Yes. Galarraga probably should have finished higher in the MVP race and he was the WAR leader on the Expos. Second place belonged to Pascual Perez, who had a 12-8 record, a 2.44 ERA and struck out 131 while walking 44 in 188 innings pitched. Hubie Brooks also had a good year, hitting .279/.318/.447 with 20 home runs and 90 RBIs.
GRADE: A. Galarraga had a great season and deserved this Diamond King selection. It certainly helps that there were really no other clearly great candidates. Kind of hard to mess this one up.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS - KIRK GIBSON
In his first year in L.A., Gibson won the N.L. MVP award and the Silver Slugger. Gibson hit .290/.377/.483 with 25 home runs, 106 runs scored, 157 hits, 25 home runs, 76 RBIs and 31 stolen bases for the World Champions, as well as an epic pinch-hit home run in the Series. Gibson led the Dodgers in doubles, home runs and the slash categories.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Not really. Gibson won the MVP, but the Dodgers also had the Cy Young Award winner in Orel Hershiser, and Hershiser's year was even better. Hershiser had a record of 23-8, a 2.26 ERA and 178 strikeouts versus 73 walks in 267 innings pitched. He set a record by pitching 59 consecutive scoreless innings. Hershiser led the league in wins, innings pitched, complete games (15) and shutouts (eight). Tim Leary also had a good year, going 17-11 with a 2.91 ERA and 180 strikeouts in 228.2 innings pitched.
GRADE: B+. Hershiser would have been the better choice, but Gibson was the MVP so it is hard to argue too much.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS - FRED MCGRIFF
McGriff received some down-ballot MVP consideration in 1988, but probably deserved more. The first-baseman hit .282/.376/.552 with 100 runs scored, 151 hits, 35 doubles, 34 home runs and 82 RBIs. McGriff led the Blue Jays in runs, home runs and slugging percentage.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Yes. McGriff was the team's WAR by one win over the next-best choice. Kelly Gruber, the third-baseman, was second. Gruber hit .278/.328/.438 with 16 home runs and 81 RBIs while stealing 23 bases. George Bell had a big year, hitting .269/.304/.446 with 24 home runs and 97 RBIs following up on his MVP season.
GRADE: A. McGriff was just 24 years old and already looked like a superstar. He was clearly the best choice.
CHICAGO CUBS - MARK GRACE
Grace finished second in the N.L. MVP race. The Cubs first-baseman hit .296/.371/.403 with seven home runs and 57 RBIs. He scored 65 runs and gathered 144 hits with 23 doubles and four triples. He walked more than he struck out with 60 walks and 43 strikeouts. Grace was third on the team in batting average and led the team in on-base percentage.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Grace was actually 11th on the team in WAR. Sure, it was his rookie season and it was an impressive one, but there were several better choices. Greg Maddux was the team's WAR leader as he went 18-8 with a 3.18 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 249 innings pitched. Andre Dawson hit .303/.344/.504 with 24 home runs and 79 RBIs. Ryne Sandberg hit .264/.322/.419 with 19 home runs, 69 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Rafael Palmeiro hit .307/.349/.436 with eight home runs, 53 RBIs and 12 stolen bases and made the All Star team for the first time.
GRADE: D. Grace was ultimately fairly one-dimensional in 1988. He could get on base, but that was pretty much it. He had very little power. The Cubs had a lot of better selections. I could have failed this selection, but decided against it because Grace was a rookie who finished second in the ROY vote.
DETROIT TIGERS - JEFF ROBINSON
In Robinson's second Major League season, he emerged as a very good starting pitcher. He missed some time due to injury but had a record of 13-6 with a 2.98 ERA. He struck out 114 and walked 72 in 172 innings pitched. He led the league in hits per nine innings (6.3). He led the team in ERA.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Robinson was second on the team in WAR, somewhat surprisingly. Alan Trammell was the best choice as he hit .311/.373/.464 with 15 home runs and 69 RBIs. Lou Whitaker had another good season, hitting .275/.376/.419 with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs. Chet Lemon hit .264/.346/.436 with 17 home runs and 64 RBIs.
GRADE: B. If he had been healthy, Robinson might have had even better numbers. Trammell or Whitaker would have been better selections, but Robinson was next in line.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS - VINCE COLEMAN
In 1988, Coleman made his first All Star team. The speedster hit .260/.313/.339 with 77 runs scored, 160 hits, 20 doubles, ten triples, three home runs and 38 RBIs. He led the league in stolen bases (81) and times caught stealing (27). Coleman was second on the team in runs scored and led the team in triples.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Definitely not. For a player whose sole asset was his ability on the base paths, he certainly did not get on base nearly enough. Coleman did not even rank in the Top 10 on the team in WAR. Ozzie Smith was once again the team's WAR leader as he hit .270/.350/.336, stole 57 bases and played his usual outstanding defense. Jose DeLeon had a 13-10 record for a bad team and had an ERA of 3.67 while striking out 208 batters in 225.1 innings pitched. The best hitter was probably Tom Brunansky, who hit .245/.345/.429 with 22 home runs and 79 RBIs.
GRADE: D. This is another one I could have failed, but since Coleman led the league in stolen bases and was an All Star, I gave him a little extra credit. Coleman was definitely not a good player outside of his base stealing in 1988. Several other choices would have been better.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS - DAVE HENDERSON
Henderson, the A's center-fielder, received some minor MVP consideration in 1988. He hit .304/.363/.525 with 24 home runs and 94 RBIs. He had 154 hits, 100 runs scored and 38 doubles. Henderson led the team in doubles and was second in batting average and third in home runs and RBIs.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. By WAR, Henderson was the second-best player on the team. Jose Canseco was the A.L. MVP and hit .307/.391/.569 and became the first player to have a 40/40 season as he hit 42 home runs and stole 40 bases. Canseco had 124 RBIs. He led the league in home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage. Dave Stewart also had a big year for the A.L. Champs as he went 21-12 with a 3.23 ERA and 192 strikeouts in 275.2 innings pitched.
GRADE: B. Henderson really had a very good season, but Canseco's season was historic. Henderson was the second-best player on the team, but it was a pretty wide gulf between him and Canseco.
SEATTLE MARINERS - HAROLD REYNOLDS
In 1988, second-baseman Reynolds was an All Star and won a Gold Glove while leading the league in triples (11). He hit .283/.340/.383 with four home runs and 41 RBIs. He led the team in hits (169) and stolen bases (35) while also scoring 61 runs and walking 51 times versus 51 strikeouts.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Despite winning the Gold Glove, Reynolds was not really that good defensively (led the league in errors) and was a league-average hitter by OPS+. Also, he led the league in times caught stealing (27), which is a pretty bad ratio for someone running that much. Mark Langston, the 1988 Diamond King, was the team's best player as he went 15-11 with a 3.34 ERA and 235 strikeouts in 261.1 innings pitched. Alvin Davis was the team's best hitter as he hit .295/.412/.462 with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs.
GRADE: C+. Reynolds's traditional numbers were fine, if unimpressive. The Mariners did not a wealth of options though and Langston and Davis had been Diamond Kings before. Reynolds does represent new blood.
ATLANTA BRAVES - GERALD PERRY
The Braves' first-baseman was named to the All Star Game for the first time in 1988. Perry hit .300/.338/.400 with eight home runs and 74 RBIs. He led the team in hits (164) and stolen bases (29). He was second in doubles (28) and third in runs (61).
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? I am going with no. His WAR was 0.2, primarily because he was kind of awful defensively. His traditional offensive numbers were not bad, though he had very little power. The team's WAR leader was Pete Smith, who was 7-15 with a 3.69 ERA and 124 strikeouts versus 88 walks in 195.1 innings pitched. Rick Mahler was 9-16 with a 3.69 ERA and 131 strikeouts versus 42 walks in 249 innings. It is important to note the Braves were pretty much awful in 1988, explaining the bad records of Smith and Mahler. The best pick might have been Ron Gant, who hit .259/.317/.439 with 146 hits, 85 runs scored, 28 doubles, eight triples, 19 home runs, 19 stolen bases and 60 RBIs.
GRADE: C. I am not going to come down too hard on this, because the Braves did not have a lot of good options. Perry certainly had a decent batting average and stolen base total, but he was not really that good in reality, since he was below-average at getting on base, had very little power and was terrible defensively. Gant probably would have been the best choice.
MINNESOTA TWINS - FRANK VIOLA
Viola was the 1988 Cy Young winner in the American League, primarily based on leading the league in wins and winning percentage (.774). He was also an All Star and finished tenth in the MVP vote. Viola had a record of 24-7 with a 2.64 ERA and notched 193 strikeouts versus 54 walks in 255.1 innings pitched.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? It is so close between Viola and Puckett by WAR that I am inclined to say yes, with the Cy Young as the deciding factor. Puckett had a monstrous season though as he hit .356/.375/.545 with 24 home runs and 121 RBIs. He led the league in hits (234) and total bases (358) and finished third in the MVP vote. Allan Anderson also had a big season, going 16-9 with a 2.45 ERA in 202.1 innings pitched.
GRADE: A. Puckett was probably slightly better, but Viola did win the Cy Young Award so I am inclined to give this to Donruss.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES - STEVE BEDROSIAN
Coming off of his 1987 N.L. Cy Young Award, Bedrosian went 6-6 with a 3.75 ERA as the closer for the Phillies. He pitched in 57 games, throwing 74.1 innings and struck out 61 while walking 27 batters. Bedrosian saved 28 games.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Absolutely not. The Phillies were pretty bad in 1988, but they had a lot of players that had better seasons than Bedrosian. Kevin Gross led the team in WAR as he was 12-14 with a 3.69 ERA, striking out 162 and walking 89 in 231.2 innings pitched. Middle reliever Greg Harris also had a better season than Bedrosian, putting up a 2.36 ERA in 107 innings pitched over 66 games. Phil Bradley was the team's best hitter as he hit .264/.341/.392.
GRADE: F. This is one of those Diamond Kings that was a year late. Bedrosian was okay, but not really that great in 1988. He was not the most deserving of Cy Young winners anyway, but he was definitely better in 1987 than his very ordinary season in 1988.
HOUSTON ASTROS - GLENN DAVIS
Davis finished eighth in the N.L. MVP race in 1988. He hit .271/.341/.478 and led the team in home runs (30) and RBIs (99). He also accumulated 78 runs scored, 152 hits and 26 doubles. Davis was second on the team in hits and third in runs scored.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? Yes. Davis had big power and could have done even more had he played in a more hitter-friendly environment. Davis tied for the team lead in WAR with Mike Scott. Scott went 14-8 with a 2.92 ERA, striking out 190 and walking 53 in 218.2 innings pitched. Jim Deshaies also had a nice season as he went 11-14 with a 3.00 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 207 innings pitched.
GRADE: A. The Astrodome was a pretty terrible place to hit, so it is very impressive that a player managed to hit as many home runs as Davis did.
NEW YORK YANKEES - DON MATTINGLY
Mattingly was an All Star and won the Gold Glove in 1988, but his numbers had actually declined somewhat. He still hit .311/.353/.462 with 18 home runs and 88 RBIs. Mattingly scored 94 runs and had 186 hits and 37 doubles. He led Yankees hitters in runs and tied for the lead in doubles. He was third in home runs and RBIs.
WAS HE THE BEST CHOICE? No. Dave Winfield had a monster season for the Yankees, hitting .322/.398/.530 with 25 home runs and 107 RBIs. He finished fourth in the MVP race. Rickey Henderson also had a great year, hitting .305/.394/.399 and stole 93 bases.
GRADE: C+. Mattingly was decent, but this was not one of his better seasons. Winfield had a great year on the other hand, though he had been a Diamond King twice before already. Henderson also would have been an excellent choice. Mattingly was the third-best option on the team.
RECAP
BEST PICK: Frank Viola. Surprised? Viola had the highest WAR of any player selected and was a deserving Cy Young winner. Offensively, the best season probably belongs to Andres Galarraga.
WORST PICK: Dave Schmidt. I simply do not understand this choice. Schmidt was a long reliever/spot starter and had a decent ERA, but nothing else. By WAR, the worst choice was probably Gerald Perry, but his average at least looked decent.
BIGGEST SNUB: Jose Canseco. He had a historic season, becoming the first 40/40 man in history and easily winning the A.L. MVP. Orel Hershiser is also a pretty big snub, setting a record with 59 consecutive scoreless innings, but he lost out to the MVP winner, so it does not feel like as big of a snub.
WEIRDEST PICK HISTORICALLY: Gerald Perry. Perry had a 13-year career in the Majors, was an All Star once and had a career WAR of -0.2. Yes, a negative WAR. Runner-up goes to Jeff Robinson who spent six seasons in the Majors and had a career WAR of 1.4.
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