The Mets were a team of destiny, winning 108 games during the season, then coming back from the brink of defeat against both the Astros and the Red Sox to win the World Series. One problem, though, was that they really didn't have a really good MVP candidate. Neither did the Astros, who had the best season in franchise history.
        So the MVP went to Mike Schmidt. He was moved back to third base by the Phillies, won a Gold Glove, was the league's best hitter, led his team to a good year... it was a good choice.

        Schmidt was 36 years old this season, and his numbers are solid across the board. This was the eighth and final time that he led the league in home runs. It was the fifth time he had led the league in OPS, also the fifth time he had led in slugging percentage. The Gold Glove was tenth of his career.
        Steve Sax had the best season of his career. Sax will always be remembered for his throwing troubles early in his career; he committed 30 errors in 1983, but this year cut that number to 16. Sax had a pair of 200-hit seasons, but stopped hitting at age 32; he retired after fourteen seasons, coming up just short of 2000 hits.
        Glenn Davis of the Astros was runner-up in the vote. For almost forty years, the Astrodome was the toughest home run park in the league. Davis was the first good power hitter the Astros had had since Jimmie Wynn, and this was his best season. At first glance, his numbers don't look MVP-calibre; but we must factor in the difficulty of being a home run hitter with the Astros. Davis continued to hit home runs for the Astros the next four years, before a pinched nerve in his neck prematurely ended his career.
        I'm willing to concede that Davis was one of the best hitters in the league, but I don't think that he was better than Tim Raines of the Expos, who performed an unlikely feat by stealing 70 bases in 79 attempts for the second straight year. This may have been Raines' best season; he had been a brilliant base stealer since his rookie year in 1981, but had now developed into a formidable hitter as well. Raines had another big season in 1987, and at that time was probably the best all-around player in the National League. But he began to struggle after that, with both injuries and performance. His base stealing declined, and by the end of the decade he was no longer the durable, exciting player he had been.
        In the 1990's "Rock" Raines discovered a new life in the American League. He had several good years with the White Sox, then became a valuable bench player for the Yankees on their championship teams. At age 39 his health began to rapidly deteriorate; he was diagnosed with lupus, and he missed the entire 2000 season. His career appeared to be over but he came back and played for two more seasons. When Raines finally retired, he had played 23 seasons and banged out 2605 hits; he stole 808 stolen bases (fifth-best total of all time) and was caught only 146 times. Raines also had a career .385 on-base percentage; his ability to get on base and run made him one of the most effective leadoff men in baseball history.
        His chances of making the Hall Of Fame are unclear. In my opinion, Raines is overqualified; in his prime, he was an MVP candidate in several seasons; he had a long career, was an outstanding hitter, and he was one of the greatest base stealers ever. Raines was also a deceptively effective defensive player; despite a weak arm, Raines gunned down over 100 baserunners in his career. He had a notorious cocaine habit when he was young (he famously slid head first to avoid breaking vials hidden in his pockets), but was clean for most of his career and was always a fan favourite.