Entering this season, the mighty New York Yankees were in a prolonged slump. They had not won the World Series since 1978, and their last pennant had been in 1981. The Yanks had made the playoffs in 1995, but were eliminated by the Mariners; after the season, popular manager Buck Showalter resigned to take over the expansion Diamondbacks. New manager Joe Torre was hired; Torre had already managed the Mets, Braves and Cardinals, and had lost more games than he had won. But magic struck, as it often does with the Yankees; the Bombers won the World Series, and would end the decade with two more.

        The league MVP was Rangers' slugger Juan Gonzalez. He had some awesome power numbers, and helped Texas reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. But lots of guys had big power numbers this year. Home runs were being hit at record paces; the Baltimore Orioles, for example, set a new record by mashing 257 homers as a club. Compared to some of the other players, I'm not sure that Gonzalez measures up very well.
        The good news is that Gonzalez had a better slugging percentage than anybody except Mark McGwire, and was second in RBI to Albert Belle. Those were his strong points; his weak points were a mediocre on-base percentage, a low run scored total, mediocre defense and baserunning, and three weeks on the disabled list. It seems to me that those weaknesses far outweigh the slim advantages Gonzalez had in power over some of the other players.
        Both Ken Griffey Jr and Brady Anderson matched Gonzalez in home run power; they also got on base more, played vastly better defense, and also led their own teams to fine seasons. I would also rank Gonzalez behind Albert Belle, Frank Thomas, and Mo Vaughn, three more sluggers who clearly had better numbers. Griffey was probably the best of the outfielders, and rates a slight edge over Anderson.
        Brady Anderson had an amazing year. He was the Orioles' leadoff hitter, and ended up hitting half of his home runs with no one on base. Though Anderson had many other fine seasons, this one will most likely be remembered as one of the great fluke seasons in baseball history, like Norm Cash in 1961 and Davey Johnson in 1973. Anderson did not reach the 30-homer mark in any other season. He had a very good career, though; his talents included hitting for good power, stealing bases, drawing walks and getting hit by pitches. In 1992, Anderson stole 54 bases; he was the first player in baseball history to have both a 50-homer season and a 50-stolen base season in his career.
        Also of interest was the season Mark McGwire had. McGwire lost almost two full seasons (1993 and 1994) to a heel injury; in 1995 he came back, and hit a bunch of homers in a limited number of at bats. This year, he was a little healthier, and hit even more home runs. It was around this time that fans and media began to speculate about the possibility of McGwire setting a new home run mark, if he could stay healthy for a whole season; those questions were answered in 1998.
         Alex Rodriguez was only 21 years old; he led the American League in batting average, doubles, runs scored and runs produced, whereas Gonzalez didn't lead the league in anything. Rodriguez produced far more runs than Gonzalex (228-186), and was a much better defensive player. It's a mismatch; I think Alex Rodriguez was the AL's MVP this year, and I don't think Gonzalez measures even close. The writers at the time felt differently... but you can make your own decision. Who would you rather have on your team?
        This was the beginning of a new era of great shortstops in the American League. Rodriguez was technically not a rookie, but this was his first full year, and he was only 21 years old. Derek Jeter of the Yankees was a rookie; at the beginning of the season, there were doubts about whether Jeter was ready to play. Rumour has it that owner George Steinbrenner wanted Jeter to spend more time in the minors, but Joe Torre insisted on playing the kid. Jeter was Rookie Of The Year, the Yankees won the World Series... and the rest is history.
        The following year, Nomar Garciaparra burst onto the scene, followed by Miguel Tejada, giving the American League two more great young shortstops. The last great wave of young shortstops was just before the Second World War, when Lou Boudreau, Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto, Cecil Travis, Marty Marion, Vern Stephens, Johnny Pesky and others came into the league. As good as those guys were, I doubt that they were better than the ones playing today. The only question is whether Jeter, Rodriguez and Garciaparra will last long enough to threaten Honus Wagner's position as the Greatest Shortstop Ever.
        After Rodriguez, I'm not sure who the best of the glovemen was. Jim Thome was the best hitter, but probably the weakest defensively. Roberto Alomar and Chuck Knoblauch both had great years at second, and Ivan Rodriguez was the top catcher in the league. I'll give the edge to Knoblauch, who had his best season to date.