The birth of my daughter has changed the daily routine around my house to say the least.
One way that I pass the time while watching the little one during the brief time my wife has the chance to get some sleep is checking out Baseball-Reference.com. Yes, that does sound rather boring but I am a 30-year-old who maintains a blog. I am a boring guy.
This new found hobby (which is really just an old hobby that I have started again thanks to the time I have with my 3-week-old daughter) has given me the motive to introduce a new topic at TheBostonInsider Daily Blog - a look back at a specific season for whatever reason. The first "Looking Back" will be for the 2000 National League MVP race that was won by Jeff Kent.
The Players
Jeff Kent, Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza, Jim Edmonds, Todd Helton, Vladimir Guerrero, Jeff Bagwell, Andruw Jones, Gery Sheffield, and Sammy Sosa made up the Top 10
Circumstances
The Steroid Era was alive and well ... Kent and Bonds were teammates who absolutely hated each other ... No pitchers made the Top 10 ... Brian Giles of the Pirates finished 19th after posting a .315 BA, 35 HR, 123 RBI, and an OPS of 1.026 (seriously, the Steroid Era was thriving) ... The Mets defeated the Cardinals in the NLCS before losing to the Yankees in the World Series
The Stats
Here is how the Top 5 did statistically in 2000 (bold indcates league leader):
1. Jeff Kent - .334 BA, 33 HR, 125 RBI, .424 OBP, 1.021 OPS
2. Barry Bonds - .306 BA, 49 HR, 106 RBI, 117 BB, .440 OBP, 1.127 OPS
3. Mike Piazza - .324 BA, 38 HR, 113 RBI, .398 OBP, 1.012 OPS
4. Jim Edmonds - .295 BA, 42 HR, 108 RBI, .411 OBP, .994 OPS, Gold Glove
5. Todd Helton - .372 BA, 42 HR, 147 RBI, .463 OBP, 1.162 OPS, 216 Hits, 59 2B
The Verdict
Helton should have won the MVP despite the Rockies 82-80 finish. It was an amazing season by one of the most underrated stars in recent baseball history.
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