[轉錄] Pujols, A-Rod contending for Player of Decade honor
From: http://myurl.com.tw/spog
Pujols, A-Rod contending for Player of Decade honor
By BOB MATHEWS
Rochester (N.Y.) Demoncrat and Chronicle
The race for baseball's Player of the Decade was so contentious in the
1990s that there were two winners - The Sporting News selected Barry
Bonds and the players honored Ken Griffey Jr. in the Players Choice
Awards.
This decade's race could be just as close. Bonds is the front-runner on
the strength of four National League MVP awards (2001 through 2004), but
he's fading and about to be passed by St. Louis Cardinals first baseman
Albert Pujols and New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
Others who have a shot to be this decade's top player include Vladimir
Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, Ichiro Suzuki, Miguel Tejada, Derek Jeter and
Todd Helton (inflated numbers at Coors Field and Colorado's consistently
poor record hurt his chances). But they'd have to pick up their pace to
catch Pujols and A-Rod.
History suggests pitchers can be discounted. The previous Players of the
Decade selected by The Sporting News were Stan Musial (1946 through
1955), Ted Williams (1950s), Willie Mays (1960s), Pete Rose (1960s), Mike
Schmidt (1980s) and Bonds.
Here's how Pujols and Rodriguez measure up (statistics include 2000
through Thursday night):
Pujols - He entered the majors in 2001. He has a .333 batting average;
1,007 hits; 213 HRs; 650 RBI; 33 stolen bases; 447 walks; 358 strikeouts.
He might never win a Gold Glove but he's a decent first baseman. In MVP
balloting, he has finished fourth, second, second, third and first
(2005). He was the 2003 NL batting champion (.359). In his first five
seasons, he ranked fifth, second, fourth, third and second in the NL in
RBI.
Rodriguez - .306 batting average; 1,132 hits; 286 HRs; 777 RBI; 111
stolen bases; 534 walks; 787 strikeouts. Entering this season, he led the
majors in the 2000s in runs (752), HRs (281) and RBI (763). He led the AL
in slugging percentage in 2003 and 2005 and in total bases in 2001 and
2002. He won two Gold Gloves at shortstop before unselfishly shifting to
third base for the Yankees. In MVP balloting in the 2000s, he finished
third, sixth, second, first (2003), 14th and first (2005). If he plays
out his career at third base, he could replace Mike Schmidt on mythical
all-time teams at the position.
Pujols is the best all-around hitter in the game today. A-Rod contributes
more on defense and on the bases and has a 2-1 edge on Pujols in MVP
awards.
Someone else might emerge to battle for Player of the Decade for the
2000s, but it currently appears to be a two-man race.
Two veteran infielders who've been underrated for a long time are adding
to their resumes for election to baseball's Hall of Fame with impressive
starts this season.
Houston's Craig Biggio, 40, entered the weekend 178 hits short of 3,000
for his career and will get extra credit for his blend of power and speed
in his prime, and for switching positions (catcher to second base to
center field and back to second base) to help the Astros.
San Francisco's Omar Vizquel, who turned 39 this week, is closing in on
2,400 hits and has 10 Gold Gloves. He's had a better career than some
shortstops already enshrined.
Las Vegas sports books should post odds on when brittle Los Angeles
Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra next goes on the disabled list
and which body part it will be for.
The Boston Red Sox are off to a nice start despite feeble power
production from their starting infield. Entering this weekend, Kevin
Youkilis, Mark Loretta, Alex Gonzalez and Mike Lowell had combined for 3
HRs and 37 RBI in 22 games.
It seemed like a great move at the time when Seattle signed free-agent
slugger Adrian Beltre after a monster 2004 season with the Los Angeles
Dodgers (.334, 48 HRs, 121 RBI), but he has been a huge disappointment so
far for the Mariners. He hit .255 with 19 HRs and 87 RBI in 2005 and
entered this weekend hitting .175 with 0 HRs and 5 RBI in 80 official
at-bats.
Who could have guessed when this season started that 15 men would receive
votes for NBA Coach of the Year and New York Knicks coach Larry Brown
wouldn't be among them?
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