Jose Canseco had a brilliant start to his career. Jose was Rookie Of
The Year in 1986, at age 22. Only two years later he was the MVP, and
at the end of this season had 111 career home runs. But his career after
this season was a checkered and controversial one. On the field
he suffered through a multitude of injuries, particularly a bad back.
But there was also an incident in 1993; Canseco had been practicing a
knuckleball, and wanted a chance to pitch in a game. He got that chance,
threw an inning, blew out his arm, and missed the rest of the season.
That story is part of
the clownish side of Canseco's career, the one that also includes the fly
ball that hit him on the head and bounced over the fence for a home run.
Then there is the stuff off the field, ranging from some silly gossip
about him and Madonna to some ugly domestic disputes. Despite the injuries
and the nonsense, Jose remained a fine athlete and a formidable player.
He finished his career with 462 lifetime homers, 200 stolen bases and over 1400 RBI.
Kirby Puckett had his best year,
leading the league in total bases and runs produced. Puckett played in
a park that helped his numbers quite a bit, while Canseco lost a few
home runs every year to his home park in Oakland. Kirby was a superior
defensive player, but also an impatient hitter. Canseco hit for average
and got on base and hit for tremendous power. He deserved the MVP.
Puckett was Canseco's exact
opposite. If you were asked to name someone who embodies everything good
about baseball, the first name that would come to a lot of people's
minds is Kirby Puckett. He was more than just a nice guy; the sport simply
has not seen a more enthusiastic individual, a player who was more fun to
watch or who was able to maximize his ability. Kirby was also a great team
leader who led two underwhelming Minnesota teams to the World Series. If a
movie were ever made about Kirby, it would be called
Nice Guys Finish First.
Even if he was never the best player in the league, he was always the game's
greatest ambassador, and deserved to go into the Hall Of Fame.
Mike Greenwell finished second in the MVP vote. He had a great
year, and the Red Sox won their division, but I think Puckett
should rank ahead of him. Puckett's team (the Twins) won more
games, and Puckett was a much better defensive player. Greenwell was
supposed to follow Williams, Yastrzemski and Rice as the next great
Boston left fielder. It didn't work out; after this season, Greenwell's
career was mostly a long decline. Injuries were partly responsible, but
he was also very inconsistent.
Wade Boggs had another great year, helping the Red Sox win
their division. His on-base percentage was the highest of his career, and ranks among the
highest ever. He didn't have a lot of power, but he managed to finish fifth
in the league in runs produced. I think he was clearly the best infielder
in the American League, though Paul Molitor was great as well.
Gary Gaetti also had one of his best years.
Gaetti was an exceptional defensive third baseman who could hit home runs,
but who was also a very undisciplined and inconsistent hitter. Gaetti
hit .301 this year, but was only a lifetime .225 hitter. Gaetti played for 20 seasons, and hit 360 lifetime home runs. He was also part of a major league first: in 1990, the Twins became the first team to turn two triple plays in a game, and Gaetti started both of them!
Though not a great player, Gaetti
was a solid performer who had a knack for recovering from career disasters. At age 25, Gaetti's power stroke mysteriously disappeared; after a pair of 20-homer seasons, he hit just five the whole year. He came back and led the Twins to the World Series in 1987, but is career declined in the early 1990's and bottomed out in 1992 when he hit just .226 (curiously, much was made of the fact that Gaetti's decline began when he became a born-again Christian). But Gaetti came back again, hitting 35 home runs in 1995 when he was 36 years old. He continued to play well for the rest of the decade until retiring at age 41.
