The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates were the best teams in the league. Both teams had recovered from disastrous seasons in 1989; the Reds, led by manager Lou Pinella, defeated the Pirates in a hard-fought playoff series, then swept the Athletics in the World Series. The league MVP was Barry Bonds, who had his first of many great seasons.

         Bonds was a tremendously talented player who, after 1988, appeared on the verge of becoming a superstar. 1989 was a disappointment for Bonds, however, and questions were raised about his future. Bonds answered those questions in 1990 with a monster season; he and Bobby Bonilla provided the muscle for a Pittsburgh team that won three straight division titles, but never made it into the World Series.
        Bonds was clearly the class of the above group. Lenny Dykstra also had an outstanding year, and I think he was the next best outfielder behind Bonds. He led the league in hits and on-base percentage, and his defense and baserunning outclassed the other outfielders as well. Bonilla was runner-up in the vote behind teammate Bonds, but his on-base percentage was low and he didn't win any games with his glove. Darryl Strawberry was also a formidable power hitter, but clearly was not as good as Bonds.
        Eddie Murray had the highest batting average in baseball, but didn't win a batting title. Willie McGee hit .335 for St. Louis, then was traded in late summer to Oakland. His overall mark fell to .324, but his National League average of .335 stood to beat out Murray. I think this is the only year that has happened. This season was Murray's best in the NL, and rejuvenated his career. He was 35 years old, but would play for several more years, and would reach some impressive career milestones, including 3000 hits and 500 home runs.
        Jack Clark had more walks than hits, the third time he had accomplished that feat. Clark was one of the best hitters of his generation, combining very good power with high on-base percentages. He was also hopelessly injury-prone for much of his career, only three times playing in over 150 games. He began his career with the Giants at age 19; in 1978, at age 22, he was one of the best players in the league. He spent eight more years in San Francisco, always putting runs on the board when he was in the lineup, but never playing as often as the Giants would have like.
        The Cardinals acquired Clark in a trade before the 1985 season, and he is best remembered for his three seasons with St. Louis. The Cardinals won two pennants with Clark as their first baseman; he had been a fine defensive right fielder with the Giants, but the Cardinals hoped they could keep him healthier by playing him at first. The highlight of his career was a dramatic game-winning home run off Tom Niedenfuer that ended the 1985 playoffs against Los Angeles.
        In 1987, the Cardinals again won the pennnant. Clark hit a career high 35 home runs, and his .459 on-base percentage was the highest by any NL player in the decade; he also set an NL record by drawing a walk in 16 straight games. But Clark suffered an ankle injury late in the year, and batted only once in the playoffs.
        Clark spent a tumultuous season with the Yankees, then two with the Padres. His career ended in 1992 with Boston; he made headlines for the wrong reasons when he filed for personal bankruptcy, his love for prestige cars putting him millions of dollars in debt. Clark played for 18 seasons, and retired with 340 home runs.
        Ryne Sandberg became only the third second baseman to lead his league in home runs (the others are Rogers Hornsby and Bobby Grich). Sandberg had been the game's premier second baseman since 1984, though his game had gradually changed, gaining power while losing speed. Sandberg is one of only three players to have stolen 50 bases in a season, and hit 40 homers in another (Barry Bonds and Brady Anderson are the others).
        Sandberg's power surge continued for two more seasons, including another 100-RBI season in 1991. In 1994, Sandberg suddenly retired in midseason; he had been struggling at the plate, and claimed to have lost his motivation to play (understandable, given the looming labour strife that season). He sat out the 1995 season, then came back for two more seasons before retiring for good in 1997. His premature retirement likely cost him 300 home runs and 2500 hits (not to mention millions of dollars in salary), but Sandberg still ranks among the best second basemen ever.
        Sandberg was very good this year, but I think that Bonds was a little bit better. The Cubs also had a disappointing season, but Sandberg still gets my vote behind Bonds.