1996 NL Stargell Award

National League 1995

			AVG	OBA	SLU	AB	HIT	DB	TP	HR	RUN	RBI	BB	SB	OPS
3B	K CAMINITI	SD	326	408	621	546	178	37	2	40	109	130	78	11	1028
SS	B LARKIN	CIN	298	410	567	517	154	32	4	33	117	89	96	36	977
CA	M PIAZZA	LA	336	422	563	547	184	16	0	36	87	105	81	0	985
CA	T HUNDLEY	NY	259	356	550	540	140	32	1	41	85	112	79	1	906
2B	C BIGGIO	HOU	288	386	415	605	174	24	4	15	113	75	75	25	801
CF	L JOHNSON	NY	333	362	479	682	227	31	21	9	117	69	33	50	841

3B	C JONES	ATL	309	393	530	598	185	32	5	30	114	110	87	14	923
LF	B BONDS	SF	308	461	615	517	159	27	3	42	122	129	151	40	1076

RF	G SHEFFIELD	FLO	314	465	624	519	163	33	1	42	118	120	142	16	1090
LF	E BURKS	COL	344	408	639	613	211	45	8	40	142	128	61	32	1047
1B	J BAGWELL	HOU	315	451	570	568	179	48	2	31	111	120	135	21	1021
1B	A GALARRAGA	COL	304	357	601	626	190	39	3	47	119	150	40	18	958

        I think Caminiti was the top offensive infielder in the league, just ahead of Barry Larkin and Mike Piazza. He had no weaknesses; he hit for average, had tremendous power, and got on base. Also, figure in that:

         1) Caminiti was an outstanding defensive third baseman
         2) San Diego won their division
         3) Caminiti heroically played through injuries near the end of the season, delivering game-winning home runs with intraveneous tubes still dangling from his body (or something to that effect)

         He also did some other neat things, like homering from both sides of the plate in the same game- not once, but a bunch of times. But before we hand Caminiti the award, let's give some other players a chance.
        There were some outstanding swtich hitters in the league this season. Chipper Jones was only a sophomore, and had a great year. Todd Hundley was the son of former catcher Randy Hundley; Todd was a also a fine defensive catcher, and this year exploded with some big power numbers. He had another great season in 1997, but his career has since been curtailed by injuries.
         If you look closely, you might notice that Barry Bonds and Gary Sheffield had almost the exact same season. Bonds also set an NL record for walks (which has since been broken by Mark McGwire), and became the second player in history to record 40 homers and stolen bases in the same season. Sheffield is a very talented but inconsistent player who had his best season (so far).
        As usual, a bunch of Colorado Rockie players put up some big numbers in the thin air of the Rocky Mountains. The best was probably Ellis Burks; Ellis was a legitimately fine player who had been a great young player earlier in the decade for the Red Sox. His career had been derailed by injuries, however; even after joining Colorado he continued to get hurt, but this year finally put together a healthy season. Though it was a career year, Burks has since played well for San Francisco, proving that he is a good player in any park.
        Burks' teammate, Andres Galarraga, led the league with 47 homers and 150 RBI. Galarraga's career has had many ups and downs, and has left fans scratching their heads wondering just how good he is. The Big Cat began his career with Montreal, and led the league in total bases in 1988. His bat went to sleep after that season, and his career bottomed out with a .219 batting average in 1991. Galarraga continued to struggle after a trade to St. Louis, and his career was in danger.
        In 1993, Galarraga joined the expansion Rockies, and won the batting title with a .370 average. He played in Colorado for five years; strong as an ox and possessing incredibly strong forearms, the Cat was tailor-made for Coors Field, and became famous for his monstrous home runs. When Galarraga left the Rockies in 1998, it was assumed by many that his numbers would sharply decline. Not so; Galarraga had an astonishing season with the Braves that year, hitting .305 with 44 home runs.
        He missed all of the 1999 season while receiving treatments for cancer in his back, then returned at age 39 and drove in 100 runs. At this writing, Galarraga has over 2200 career hits, and close to 400 home runs. There can be no doubt that he was an outstanding hitter, but there can also be no doubt that the thin air of Colorado saved his career when it appeared to be over. How great a player he was is open for debate; one thing for sure is that this Cat indeed had nine lives.
        I'm not really sure who the best player in the league was. It was probably Bonds, but Sheffield and Caminiti were close, and Barry Larkin also had a great follow-up year to his 1995 MVP season. But I agree with the Caminiti MVP selection; he had a great year, and when you throw in his heroic leadership (and remarkable feats on the field), the total package makes him an excellent MVP selection.