Following the postseason, Cardinals' outfielder Larry Walker announced his retirement, ending the career of Canada's greatest position player. While Walker departed, another Canadian took a big step forward; 2004 Rookie of the Year Jason Bay shook off the sophomore slump and had a monster season for the woeful Pirates. Bay did everything - hitting for average and power and getting on base; he even stole 21 straight bases before he was thrown out for the first and only time on the last day of the season.
The Pirates had acquired Bay two seasons earlier from San Diego, in exchange for veteran Brian Giles. The Padres obviously mortgaged a big part of their future when they made the deal, but Giles did his best to soften the blow. The Padres won the West Division with an 82-80 record, the worst ever for a playoff team; Giles was their best player and one of the best in the league. His raw numbers were afflicted by his home field, the cavernous Petco Park in San Diego - on the road, he batted .333 with a .545 slugging percentage, a performance reminiscent of his great years in Pittsburgh.
When the 2005 season ended, I expected that Derrek Lee would be my choice for the Stargell Award - the actual MVP debate focussed on Pujols and Andruw Jones, but whatever. On the surface, Lee and Pujols had very similar numbers; Lee had tremendous power, but Pujols had a higher OBA. Looking further, the case is better for Lee, thanks to his remarkable performance in clutch situations.
Lee
AB HT DB TP HR RN RB AVG OBA SLG OPS
Leading off an Inning 117 46 13 2 14 14 8 .393 .445 .897 1.342
Runners in Scoring Position 124 41 7 0 11 64 42 .331 .480 .653 1.133
Close and Late Games 87 36 7 1 8 21 18 .414 .519 .793 1.312
Pujols
AB HT DB TP HR RN RB AVG OBA SLG OPS
Leading off an Inning 108 35 6 0 7 7 12 .324 .397 .574 .971
Runners in Scoring Position 140 46 10 0 9 70 48 .329 .500 .593 1.093
Close and Late Games 80 20 1 0 6 18 13 .250 .365 .488 .853
Lee was a monster when batting leadoff, getting on base almost 45% of the time while generating 14 runs by himself. They were both outstanding with runners in scoring position; but in close and late games, Lee was King Kong. In the American League, David Ortiz put astonishing numbers in clutch situations that almost won him the MVP - but even he was eclipsed by Big Derrek.
(For his part, Pujols had lackluster numbers in close and late games - but made up for it in Game Five of the NLCS, when he hit a jaw-dropping, earth-shaking home run, the kind that, if you're a baseball fan, makes you want to jump up and down on the sofa and run around the room in circles, just to work off the nervous energy. Not that I actually did that...)
I am left with a conundrum. In the past, my policy has always been to use team performance as a tie-breaker - if I can't choose between two players, I'll pick the one who played for the better team. Whether or not it is a good policy... it probably isn't, but I have yet to come up with a better one to supplant it. In this case, Pujols played on the best team in the league, while Lee's Cubs had a losing record. And they're really close; only Lee's clutch performance and defence at first gives him a slight edge.
So Pujols gets the nod - but I admit to being uncomfortable. It's because of the same reasoning that I didn't give Stan Musial more awards in the 1950's - and I LOVE Stan Musial. Derrek Lee, if nothing else, is in good company.
Lee did win an award after the season - the Gold Glove at first, which generated zero controversy but was fascinating if you like that kind of thing. I should say that Derrek Lee is the most amazing defensive first baseman I have ever seen. He has won two Gold Gloves, so obviously someone feels the same way. He is a giant, 6'5", with enormous reach. Unlike other tall first basemen, Lee also had tremendous flexibility - he is the only 6'5" player I have ever seen do the scissor-splits. He probably has greater reach than any other first baseman in baseball history. He is also quick and athletic around the bag, a real marvel to watch.
That said... I doubt that I would have given him the Gold Glove. Maybe that's wrong, but I probably would have given it to Todd Helton of the Rockies. As amazing as he is, Lee is still right-handed. And there are some plays that a right-handed first baseman just can't make, or can't make right. We all know that it's almost impossible for a left-handed thrower to play another infield position - the opposite effect is in play at first base, though it's much less of a problem. Still, anytime you have two great defensive first basemen - and Helton and Lee both qualify, I think - you have to give the edge to the lefty.
The Braves won another division title; centre fielder Andruw Jones smacked 51 home runs, and finished a close second in MVP voting. Jones has developed into one of the most unique players of his generation, combining the offensive skills of Lee May with Gold Glove defence in centre field. Does that combination make a strong MVP candidate? I would say no, not with Pujols in the league. Jones did little else at the plate except hit home runs; and though he may have peerless instincts in the outfield, at age 28 he has clearly lost a great deal of speed, so much so that I doubt that his defence was great enough to push to the top.
