The BSB Decade Awards: Baseball

Well, the decade of the aughts or 00’s or whatever you want to call it has come to an end.  (Yes, I know there are sticklers for this stuff saying that, technically, 2000 is the last year of the 90’s, but as sports fans, our decades are different.)  We, at BSB, have put a lot of hours (WAY too many, as a matter of fact) into trying to come up with our various “Decade Awards.”  In this, the first installment, we are going to focus on baseball.  Both Doogan and I have submitted our ballots, answering many questions about the best/worst and most memorable players, teams, and moments of the past decade.  Below are the questions asked and then the answers given by Doogan and myself, followed by some justification, comments, or just random facts to go along with the picks.  And, for the record, Doogan and I did not confer, at all, on our picks, so there are some big differences in some of the categories.

[NOTE:  As this is a pretty big project, we will be updating this periodically.  If you are still reading this note, then you know that we have not completely finished our comments, so check back for more.  But, we wanted to get this up on the site for perusal of the choices.  Thank you, Management]

Best Franchise:

DOOGAN:

1. Boston Red Sox
2. New York Yankees
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. Los Angeles/Anaheim Angels
5. St. Louis Cardinals

Bry makes a logical argument for the Yankees below, but for me this comes down to what the fans of these teams will think about when they look back on this decade.  For Yankee fans, it was really a decade of frustration, bookended by titles.  For Sox fans, this was the decade they broke the curse, became a powerhouse, and followed up the amazing ’04 run with another title in ’07.  I don’t put as much weight on division titles as Bry does, because I think getting in as a Wild Card is really just as good. 

BRY:

1. New York Yankees
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Los Angeles/Anaheim Angels
5. Philadelphia Phillies
6. Atlanta Braves

Doogan and I both had the exact same top 5, just in slightly different orders.  Most notably was our choice of #1.  For me, The Yankees were the easy choice.  They won more games (965), won more division titles (8), and made more playoff appearances (9) than any other team in baseball, all while playing in the game’s toughest division.  And, they bookended the decade with championships, so no one won more titles.  I struggled with #2, but went with the Cardinals because they won 6 times as many division titles as the Red Sox.  Granted, the Sox play in the same division as the Yanks, but I bet it would surprise even ardent Red Sox supporters to know that their team may have won 2 World Series in the decade, but they only won one division title.  The Cardinals had 913 wins, 6 division titles, and a championship.  The Sox won 920 games, 1 division title, and 2 championships.  It’s close, but I went with St. Louis.  The Angels came it at #4, winning 5 division titles (plus a wild card), and joined only the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cardinals in averaging at least 90 wins per season for the entire decade.  They also took a title.  The Phightins were #5 on my list, with 850 wins, three division titles, and a championship.  And, only the Yankees won more pennants than the Phillies during this decade.  I wanted to include Atlanta and their 6 division titles and 892 wins, but they never even made the World Series this decade, so it was hard.  The White Sox were right on the brink, with 881 wins and a World Series, but they only made the playoffs three times.

Best Individual Team:

DOOGAN:

1. 2009 Yankees
2. 2004 Red Sox
3. 2008 Phillies
4. 2007 Red Sox
5. 2000 Yankees

BRY:

1. 2004 Red Sox
2. 2008 Phillies
3. 2009 Yankees
4. 2001 Mariners
5. 2005 White Sox

86 years and about 86,000 media stories about a “curse” were erased with one crazy 3-0 comeback.  I hate the Red Sox and their ridiculously hypocritical fan base, but the 2004 team was fun, talented, and incredibly historic.  The 2008 Phils broke a streak of 100 professional sports seasons without a title for my town, so they’re a close second.  The 2009 Yankees were just really, really good.  The 2001 Mariners had the best regular season of all-time, so they’re #4.  And, as everyone talks about the “drought” and the “curse” that was erased in 2004, no one talks about a longer drought and a more probable “curse” (the Black Sox) that was ended the very next year.  If it hadn’t been such a forgettable season and postseason, the 2005 White Sox would have been higher on this list.  I do not think that the 2007 Red Sox and 2000 Yankees were nearly as good as most people will remember them to be, which is why I left them off my list.

Worst Franchise:

DOOGAN:

1. Pittsburgh Pirates
2. Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos
3. Kansas City Royals
4. New York Mets
5. Baltimore Orioles

I put the Mets on here for two reasons.  One, I just like seeing them there.  The other reason goes back to why I put the Red Sox over the Yankees as best franchise.  When Mets fans look back on this decade, it will almost all bad memories.

BRY:

1. Kansas City Royals
2. Pittsburgh Pirates
3. Baltimore Orioles
4. Washington Nationals
5. Milwaukee Brewers
6. Cincinnati Reds

There were seven teams in the decade that never made the playoffs.  I left the Blue Jays off this list because they were only 10 games under .500 and play in the AL East.  I also left the Rangers off the list because the AL West was pretty good all decade also, and Texas won 776 games.  The Royals and Pirates were clearly 1-2 for me because both teams had just abysmal decades.  I went with KC as #1 because they had 9 fewer wins and play in, arguably, an easier division.  The Orioles joined the Pirates and Royals (and Devil Rays) as the only four teams to win fewer than 700 games this decade, which is pretty sad for such a hard-core baseball town, so they’re #3.  The Expos were pretty bad; the Nats are atrocious, so they’re #4.  People may think that the Brewers had a good decade…they’re wrong, they did not.  And, the Reds, despite always being the “trendy pick,” went the entire decade without one single playoff appearance.  Oh, and by the way, I love that Doogan put the Mets on the worst franchise list.  Like I said before, we didn’t confer, but if we had, I could have easily be convinced to add them to my list, as well.

Worst Individual Team:

DOOGAN:

1. 2003 Tigers
2. 2004 Diamondbacks
3. 2008 Nationals
4. 2009 Nationals

Pretty amazing that the Tigers went from the worst team of the decade in ’03 to AL champs in ’06.

BRY:

1. 2003 Tigers
2. 2002 Brewers
3. 2002 Devil Rays
4. 2005 Royals
5. 2001 Devil Rays

Most Underrated Franchise:

DOOGAN:

1. Minnesota Twins
2. Atlanta Braves
3. Houston Astros
4. Florida Marlins

The Twins only won one playoff series in the decade, but 5 division titles is really impressive.  You think of the Astros as mediocre at best for the decade, but they had 7 winning seasons, 3 playoff appearances, and won the ’05 NL pennant.

BRY:

1. Los Angeles/Anaheim Angels
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Minnesota Twins
4. St. Louis Cardinals
5. Atlanta Braves

Most Overrated Franchise:

DOOGAN:

1. Detroit Tigers
2. Chicago Cubs
3. New York Mets
4. Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays

Bry has the Marlins as overrated, I have them as underrated.  It’s often a fine line and all depends on the person deciding thinks that other people think about a team.  I would argue that your average baseball fan would be surprised to learn that the Marlins won more games than they lost in the decade, but I could be wrong.  Interesting that we both put Detroit #1 here.  They had some decent teams in the second-half of the decade, but ’06 was their lone playoff berth, and they had 7 losing seasons, including 106 losses in ’02 and an obscene 119 losses in ’03.

BRY:

1. Detroit Tigers
2. Florida Marlins
3. New York Mets
4. Chicago Cubs
5. Milwaukee Brewers
6. Boston Red Sox

Best Position Player:

DOOGAN:

1. Albert Pujols
2. Alex Rodriguez
3. Barry Bonds
4. Manny Ramirez
5. Ichiro Suzuki

I’m not in the camp that thinks anyone that used steroids should have their careers erased from the record books, but I also can’t completely separate Barry Bonds the player from Barry Bonds the steroid user.  I’ll take Pujols, and his 3 MVP awards and 3 second-place finishes.  Pujols wasn’t in the top-5 of the MVP voting just once.  He had a terrible year: .327, 32 homers.

BRY:

1. Barry Bonds
2. Alex Rodriguez
3. Albert Pujols
4. Derek Jeter
5. Vladimir Guerrero
6. Bobby Abreu

Best Pitcher:

DOOGAN:

1. Johan Santana
2. Roy Halladay
3. Mariano Rivera
4. Randy Johnson
5. Pedro Martinez

Hard to argue with Bry’s pick of Rivera, but this goes back to an old argument between us over the value of a closer.  I think it’s hugely important, but Bry puts a little more value on the back of his bullpen, in comparison to starting pitchers, than I do.  Santana vs. Halladay was a tough call for me, but injury-shortened seasons in ’04 and ’05 for Halladay were the difference.

BRY:

1. Mariano Rivera
2. Randy Johnson
3. Roy Halladay
4. Pedro Martinez
5. Johan Santana
6. Roy Oswalt

Most Underrated Player:

DOOGAN:

1. Mike Sweeney
2. Michael Young
3. Placido Polanco
4. Paul Konerko
5. Bobby Abreu
6. Vladimir Guerrero

I swear, I picked Sweeney here months ago, long before he was a Phillie.  Did you know: in the first 6 seasons of the decade, Sweeney’s average year saw him hit .312 with 27 homers.  If someone hits .312 with 27 homers for the Royals, does it make a sound?  Konerko averaged 30 homers a year for the decade.

BRY:

1. Bobby Abreu
2. Michael Young
3. Carlos Lee
4. Jose Vidro
5. Todd Helton
6. Garrett Anderson

Most Underrated Pitcher:

DOOGAN:

1. Joe Nathan
2. Roy Oswalt
3. Tim Hudson
4. Randy Wolf
5. Ben Sheets

In Nathan’s six seasons as a closer, from ’04 to ’09, he had an ERA of 1.87 and had over 40 saves a year.  Again, I picked Oswalt here long before he was a Phillie.  Five top-5 finishes in the Cy Young voting, and he did it in a tough place to pitch in Houston.

BRY:

1. Roy Oswalt
2. Roy Halladay
3. Tim Hudson
4. Jamie Moyer
5. Mike Mussina
6. Livan Hernandez

Most Overrated Player:

DOOGAN:

1. Adam Dunn
2. Jose Reyes
3. Derek Jeter

BRY:

1. David Eckstein 
2. J.D. Drew
3. Andruw Jones
4. Jose Reyes
5. Jeff Kent
6. David Ortiz

Most Overrated Pitcher:

DOOGAN:

1. Andy Pettitte
2. Kevin Millwood
3. Francisco Rodriguez

We both went with Pettitte.  He won a lot of games, but for a guy that gets some Hall of Fame buzz, it’s worth noting that he posted an ERA below 3.90 only twice in the decade.  Millwood has a habit of posting a good season once every few years and making teams and fans think he’s good.  But his ERA was over 4.00 in 7 of 10 seasons, and over 5 in two of those seasons.  K-Rod’s 62 save season was a fluke and he hasn’t pitched very well in the postseason since his dominant performance in ’02.

BRY:

1. Andy Pettitte
2. Roger Clemens
3. Erik Bedard
4. Orlando Hernandez
5. Joba Chamberlain
6. Jamie Moyer

Player You’d Most Likely Pay to See Play:

DOOGAN:

1. Ichiro Suzuki
2. Barry Bonds
3. Vladimir Guerrero
4. Chase Utley
5. Jimmy Rollins
6. Johan Santana

Utley for his unmatched combination of natural ability and all-out effort.  Guerrero because he’s the most rawly talented player I’ve ever seen.  Bonds for the spectacle.  Ichiro for pretty much everything he does on a baseball field.

BRY:

1. Ichiro Suzuki
2. Omar Vizquel
3. Barry Bonds
4. Ken Griffey, Jr.
5. Pedro Martinez
6. Ryan Howard

Best Manager:

DOOGAN:

1. Bobby Cox
2. Tony LaRussa
3. Joe Torre
4. Ron Gardenhire
5. Charlie Manuel
6. Terry Francona

BRY:

1. Joe Torre
2. Mike Scioscia
3. Terry Francona
4. Bobby Cox
5. Tony LaRussa
6. Ron Gardenhire

Best Catcher:

DOOGAN:

1. Joe Mauer
2. Ivan Rodriguez
3. Jorge Posada
4. Brian McCann
5. Yadier Molina

Mauer over Pudge was a tough call.  In his prime, Pudge was the best catcher I’ve ever seen, but most of that prime was in the 90’s.  He also loses a few points because his big seasons at the start of the decade were almost certainly steroid-aided.  Mauer won 3 batting titles and an MVP.  Pudge’s MVP season was in ’99.  McCann might not belong, with only 4 full seasons.  As clearly the best defensive catcher of the decade, Molina belongs on the list.  And he hit near .300 over the last two seasons.

BRY:

1. Ivan Rodriguez
2. Jorge Posada
3. Mike Piazza
4. Joe Mauer
5. Jason Kendall
6. Victor Martinez

Best Firstbaseman:

DOOGAN:

1. Albert Pujols
2. Todd Helton
3. Ryan Howard
4. Mark Teixeira
5. Carlos Delgado

Interesting how different these lists are after Pujols.  Bry has three guys that aren’t on my list.  Berkman fell through the cracks on my lists because he spent the first half of the decade as an outfielder and the second half at first.  Giambi wasn’t too tough to exclude, partly due to the roids.  Teixeira got extra points for his defense.

BRY:

1. Albert Pujols
2. Lance Berkman
3. Todd Helton
4. Jason Giambi
5. Ryan Howard
6. Jim Thome

Best Secondbaseman:

DOOGAN:

1. Chase Utley
2. Jeff Kent
3. Placido Polanco
4. Robinson Cano
5. Dustin Pedroia

One of the trends of these lists is that Bry put more emphasis on longevity, while I put a bit more emphasis on who were really the best performers, even if they only played in the second half of the decade.  Hence, Cano and Pedroia make my list, while Roberts make his.  Bry makes a good call on Vidro.  I overlooked him and he probably belongs over Pedroia.

BRY:

1. Chase Utley
2. Placido Polanco
3. Jose Vidro
4. Jeff Kent
5. Brian Roberts

Best Thirdbaseman:

DOOGAN:

1. Alex Rodriguez
2. Chipper Jones
3. David Wright
4. Michael Young
5. Mike Lowell

Cabrera is another guy that fell through the cracks because he kept changing positions.  He spent 3 years as an outfielder, 2 as a thirdbaseman, and 2 as a firstbaseman.  The four seasons Wright put together from ’05-’08, combined with his defense, earn him the 3 spot over Young and Lowell.

BRY:

1. Alex Rodriguez
2. Chipper Jones
3. Miguel Cabrera
4. Mike Lowell
5. Michael Young

Best Shortstop:

DOOGAN:

1. Derek Jeter
2. Jimmy Rollins
3. Miguel Tejada
4. Jose Reyes
5. Rafael Furcal

A big drop-off after the Top 3 here.  Even though Tejada was probably on roids and was far inferior defensively, he probably belongs in the 2 spot ahead of Rollins.  It’s pretty much a crap shoot after them, so it’s not surprising that me and Bry had different guys.

BRY:

1. Derek Jeter
2. Miguel Tejada
3. Jimmy Rollins
4. Omar Vizquel
5. Nomar Garciaparra

Best Leftfielder:

DOOGAN:

1. Barry Bonds
2. Manny Ramirez
3. Jason Bay

OK, missing Carlos Lee was a big oversight by me.  Nice call, Bry.  Soriano and Damon are nice choices as well.  Again, I think I missed them because of their position uncertainty.  Damon spent most of the decade in center and Soriano spent most of it at secondbase, but they each played enough left field to qualify here.

BRY:

1. Barry Bonds
2. Manny Ramirez
3. Carlos Lee
4. Alfonso Soriano
5. Johnny Damon

Best Centerfielder:

DOOGAN:

1. Torii Hunter
2. Andruw Jones
3. Carlos Beltran
4. Jim Edmonds
5. Shane Victorino

The top 4 here were largely a toss-up to me, which explains how Bry’s #1 is at #4 for me.  Jones may be overrated, but I think puttin the likes of Griffey, Williams, and Wells ahead of him is a mistake.  Jones led all centerfielders with 308 homers and also won 8 Gold Gloves.  Griffey’s injury-plagued decade saw him with really just two “Griffey-like” seasons, ending up with 232 homers and zero Gold Gloves. 

BRY:

1. Jim Edmonds
2. Carlos Beltran
3. Torii Hunter
4. Ken Griffey, Jr.
5. Bernie Williams
6. Vernon Wells

Best Rightfielder:

DOOGAN:

1. Ichiro Suzuki
2. Vladimir Guerrero
3. Bobby Abreu
4. Jayson Werth

BRY:

1. Vladimir Guerrero
2. Bobby Abreu
3. Ichiro Suzuki
4. Magglio Ordonez
5. Gary Sheffield

Best Right-Handed Starter:

DOOGAN:

1. Roy Halladay
2. Pedro Martinez
3. Roger Clemens
4. Roy Oswalt
5. Tim Lincecum

BRY:

1. Roy Halladay
2. Pedro Martinez
3. Roy Oswalt
4. Tim Hudson
5. Roger Clemens

Best Left-Handed Starter:

DOOGAN:

1. Johan Santana
2. Randy Johnson
3. CC Sabathia
4. Cliff Lee
5. Cole Hamels

BRY:

1. Randy Johnson
2. Johan Santana
3. CC Sabathia
4. Andy Pettitte
5. Mark Buehrle

Best Closer:

DOOGAN:

1. Mariano Rivera
2. Joe Nathan
3. Trevor Hoffman
4. Billy Wagner
5. Francisco Rodriguez
6. Jonathan Papelbon

BRY:

1. Mariano Rivera
2. Trevor Hoffman
3. Billy Wagner
4. Jonathan Papelbon
5. Joe Nathan
6. John Smoltz

Player Most Devastated by Injury:DOOGAN:

1. Mark Prior
2. Chris Carpenter
3. Ken Griffey, Jr.
4. Kerry Wood
5. Rich Harden

BRY:

1. Ken Griffey, Jr.
2. Mark Prior
3. Kerry Wood
4. Jason Schmidt

Most Entertaining Personality:

DOOGAN:

1. Manny Ramirez
2. Ozzie Guillen
3. Jimmy Rollins
4. Pedro Martinez
5. David Ortiz

BRY:

1. Manny Ramirez
2. Pedro Martinez
3. Ozzie Guillen
4. Tomas Perez

Most Memorable Player:

DOOGAN:

1. Albert Pujols
2. Barry Bonds
3. Chase Utley
4. Alex Rodriguez
5. Ichiro Suzuki

BRY:

1. Vladimir Guerrero
2. Ichiro Suzuki
3. Ken Griffey, Jr.
4. Tim Lincecum
5. Pedro Martinez

Most Forgettable Player:

DOOGAN:

1. J.D. Drew

BRY:

1. J.D. Drew
2. Rafael Palmeiro
3. Scott Rolen
4. Matt Holliday
5. Matt Holliday

Most Memorable Team:

DOOGAN:

1. 2008 Phillies
2. 2004 Red Sox
3. 2000 Yankees
4. 2009 Phillies
5. 2009 Yankees 

BRY:

1. 2008 Phillies
2. 2004 Red Sox
3. 2001 Mariners  

Most Memorable Moment:

DOOGAN:

1. Phillies win it all!
2. Red Sox beat Yankees in 2004 ALCS
3. D-Backs win Game 7 in 2001
4. Matt Stairs home run in 2008 NLCS
5. Subway Series in 2000

BRY:

1. Brad Lidge striking out Eric Hinske to end the 2008 World Series!
2. Brett Myers’s save to clinch the 2007 NL East on the same day Tommy Glavine gave up a million runs in the first inning 
3. Jimmy Rollins’s hit to beat the Dodgers in 2009 NLCS
4. Jimmy Rollins’s diving play to start a game-ending double-play in Game 161 to clinch the 2008 NL East and keep Brad Lidge’s perfect season alive
5. Luis Gonzalez’s walk-off hit in Game 7 of 2001 World Series
6. Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record
7. 2004 Red Sox coming back from 3-0 down to beat the Yankees

Most Forgettable Moment:

DOOGAN:

1. 2007 Mets blow the division
2. 2008 Mets blow the division
3. Weak Cardinals team wins the World Series in 2006
4. Red Sox sweep the Rockies in 2007 World Series

BRY:

1. Cal Ripken’s “streak”
2. Chan-Ho Park serving up a stupid, Favre/Strahan-like gopher ball to Cal Ripken in the 2001 All-Star Game
3. Kaz Matsui’s grand slam in the 2007 NLDS
4. The entire 2007 NLCS between…well…does anyone remember?

Biggest Upset:

DOOGAN:

1. Marlins over Yankees in the 2003 World Series
2. Tigers over Yankees in the 2006 ALDS

BRY:

1. Diamondbacks over Yankees in 2001 World Series
2. Red Sox over Yankees in 2004 ALCS 
3. Marlins over Yankees in 2003 World Series
4. Yankees over Mariners in 2001 ALCS
5. Cardinals winning the whole thing in 2006
6. Dodgers over Cubs in 2008 NLDS

Most Shocking Off-the-Field Event/Issue/Etc.:

DOOGAN:

1. ‘ROIDS
2. Josh Hamilton’s comeback
3. Cory Lidle’s plane crash

BRY:

1. The Mitchell Report
2. The Game of Shadows
3. A-Rod’s confession
4. The Bartman Fallout
5. Ugueth Urbina setting his gardner on fire

Greatest Innovation:

DOOGAN:

1. Instant replay for home runs

BRY:

1. The Humidor in Colorado
2. New Seating (Monster seats at Fenway/Rooftop seats at Wrigley)
3. New BBQs (Bull’s in Philly/Boog’s in Baltimore)

Rule Most in Need of Change:

DOOGAN:

1. The designated hitter

BRY:

1. The designated hitter
2. 5-game playoff series
3. Number of postseason off days