Commentary : Dennis Eckersley, Kevin Mitchell Get This Vote

Some opinions on the annual baseball awards:

American League MVP: Dennis Eckersley.

The preference here is to vote for a player on a contending, if not winning, team. Eckersley is clearly a compromise choice, but he’s the one player Oakland missed most during its rash of injuries earlier in the season. The A’s were 20-20 without him.

Eckersley’s best statistic is that he has nearly as many saves (32) as hits and walks combined (35), but his candidacy, too, is flawed. He blew four saves in eight tries this month, and he has pitched only 56 2-3 innings. But it can safely be argued he’s most valuable.

The same cannot be said for the other contenders. Baltimore’s Cal Ripken and Toronto’s Fred McGriff faltered in September. Texas’ Ruben Sierra and Milwaukee’s Robin Yount played for non-contenders. And George Bell is an issue unto himself.

First, Ripken. His play at shortstop and his leadership of the young Orioles make him a legitimate contender, but he has no homers and only three RBI since Sept. 11. His batting average for the month is .189, and his 1-for-14 mark with the bases loaded is the best evidence of his season-long struggle with runners in scoring position.

McGriff, meanwhile, leads the American League with 36 homers, but he has none in 21 games since Sept. 4. He’s currently in a 10-for-66 (.152) slump, and let’s not forget his 17 errors, most by an American League first baseman. Bell has half as many homers as McGriff and 13 more RBI (102 to 89). The award isn’t simply for most home runs.

Nor is it simply for best offensive player. Sierra and Yount likely would run 1-2 if that were the case, but they play for the Rangers and Brewers. Sierra, 23, has had a monster year -- .305, 29 homers, 118 RBI -- and Yount, 34, appears among the leaders in 11 of 16 offensive categories. Yet, it’s difficult to justify either as MVP.

Which brings us to Bell, the Toronto left fielder who was named the American League’s co-Player of the Month for igniting the Blue Jays’ 20-9 push in August. He has batted .302 in his last 22 games and struck out only six times in his last 32. However, he twice received two-game suspensions this season, and at one point told Toronto fans to “kiss my butt.” The character issue eludes him. So do fly balls.

Reluctantly, it’s Eckersley.

American League rookie: Gregg Olson.

The Orioles’ closer is now expected to be the runaway winner, which is as it should be. Olson excelled in a role normally reserved for veterans. He broke the American League record for saves by a rookie -- he’s 27 for 32 (84 percent) on the year -- and he hasn’t allowed a run in 24 innings since July 31.

The most interesting thing about this race will be who finishes second and third. Orioles third baseman Craig Worthington leads major-league rookies with 70 RBI, and at least two coaching staffs (Texas and Chicago) have awarded him Gold Glove votes. Orioles pitcher Bob Milacki is another legitimate candidate: His 238 innings equal the second most by an American League rookie this decade.

Will they finish 2-3? Probably not. Kansas City pitcher Tom Gordon is 17-9 with a 3.64 ERA, but five of his 10 relief wins followed blown saves. And until Wednesday he was 0-5 with an 8.13 ERA since the Royals switched to a four-man rotation Aug. 23.

American League Cy Young: Bret Saberhagen.

Poor Dave Stewart. He has won 20 games three straight seasons, but each year someone else has pitched better. Saberhagen follows in the noble tradition of Roger Clemens and Frank Viola. He leads the league in wins (22), earned run average (2.19) and complete games (12). Since May 4, he’s 20-3.

Stewart, no slouch himself, is 21-9 with a 3.32 ERA. He might not be among the league ERA leaders, but he gobbles innings (a league-high 257 2-3) when the A’s vaunted bullpen needs a rest. As before, the voting should not be interpreted as a slap at Stewart. It’s just that the Cy Young awards performance in one season, not consistency over three.

American League manager: Frank Robinson.

It’s becoming fashionable to denigrate the managers of remarkable turnarounds. Hogwash. In an ordinary year, Oakland’s Tony La Russa would be the obvious choice, considering the difficulty of repeating as division champions and all the A’s injuries. This isn’t an ordinary year. Robinson wins, and Toronto’s Cito Gaston might be second.

Robinson insisted on younger, more athletic players and then used them well, managing his offense aggressively from Opening Day. He squeezed the Orioles like a wet rag, juggling his lineup to obtain maximum production, reducing the size of his starting rotation from five to four to three. Most important, he stuck to his calm approach, serving as the best possible role model for his young team.

All that said, it still can be argued that La Russa is the best manager in the league, but he clearly has the best talent. Gaston inherited a gifted team of his own from Jimy Williams in Toronto. The Blue Jays were 12-24 when the change was made, but since then they’re 75-48. Some believe Gaston is merely this year’s Joe Morgan -- right man, right place, right time. But who’s arguing?

National League MVP: Kevin Mitchell will win -- 47 home runs and 125 RBI don’t lie -- but a strong case can be made for Will Clark, his San Francisco teammate. Clark, in fact, is the more valuable Giant in the opinion of many. He’s battling Tony Gwynn for the league batting title, and he’s third behind Mitchell with 110 RBI.

Mitchell is batting .293 with runners in scoring position; Clark is hitting an astounding .402. Both players’ statistics are even more impressive considering they play at Candlestick Park, a pitchers’ paradise. Clark is seeking to become the first San Francisco player ever to win a batting title. Willie McCovey hit a club-record .320 in 1969. Clark is batting .333.

National League rookie: Jerome Walton.

The Chicago center fielder is a fairly obvious choice, even though his stats (.297, five homers, 45 RBI) aren’t as impressive as teammate Dwight Smith’s (.324, nine, 52). The difference is Walton has been a regular since Opening Day. Smith didn’t join the club until May, and he platooned much of the time with Lloyd McClendon in left.

National League Cy Young: Mark Davis.

Mike Scuff -- er, Scott -- is the league’s only 20-game winner, but he should be under federal investigation. Few on the East Coast know much about San Diego’s Davis, but he has 43 saves in 47 tries (91 percent). He was nearly unhittable as the Padres made their belated run at the Giants.

Some numbers: Three of Davis’ four blown saves occurred in one week in June; he’s 12 for 12 since Aug. 28. He has struck out 90 and walked eight in 90 2-3 innings. His last 18 inherited runners have been stranded. His last 22 2-3 innings have been scoreless. And to the best of anyone’s knowledge, he doesn’t cheat.

National League manager: Don Zimmer.

Who else? Zimmer finally had a team that fit his aggressive approach, and the Cubs’ unlikely rise would be the story of the year if not for the Orioles. In many respects, Zimmer’s story mirrored Robinson’s: He kept his poise, played his hunches and made his team believe.

Everyone knows Zimmer manages to his own beat, whether it’s walking a batter intentionally with runners on first and second or ordering pitchers to swing in sacrifice situations. But,