The 1998 You-Can’t-Please-Everyone Awards

The envelope, please . . .

MVP

National League--1. Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs; 2. Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals; 3. Greg Vaughn, San Diego Padres.

Comment: Yes, Sosa probably has had the better overall year and his Cubs are vying for the playoffs on the final weekend, but this isn’t any slam dunk, isn’t automatic.

Despite Sosa’s wonderful ebullience and performance, no matter who wins the home run title, the 1998 season will largely carry McGwire’s stamp.

It was McGwire who hit 58 homers last year, who carried the pressure and expectations of 61 this year, who rose to the occasion from the start, homering in each of the first four games of the season to tie a record set by Willie Mays. It wasn’t until June that Sosa joined the home run party with his record 20 that month.

One category doesn’t make an MVP, but McGwire leads the majors in slugging and on-base percentages, has been battling Sosa for the lead in extra bases and runs, is in the same neighborhood average-wise, trails by 14 in runs batted in and has a whopping lead in a category that shouldn’t be overlooked--walks. McGwire has 161--only nine shy of Babe Ruth’s major league record--compared to 73 for Sosa.

In the Cardinals’ clubhouse the other day, Manager Tony La Russa bristled when asked about the theory that it has been easier for McGwire-- an exhibition season, of sorts-- because his team isn’t in contention. If anything, La Russa said, it has been easier for Sosa to feed off the adrenaline of the race. It is harder, he said, to play on a semi-selfish basis, harder to carry the expectations McGwire has.

“You bite your tongue as much as you can, but there’s an inference that Mark’s team is out of contention, which means it’s easier for him to hit home runs,” La Russa said. “In other words, let’s take something away from what Mark has done. Well, that’s criminal. I don’t know if anybody in our clubhouse has made a big deal out of [McGwire’s] having almost 160 walks and the other guy having 70, but give Mark 80 more at-bats and how many home runs would he have, how much more damage would he have done? We don’t make an issue of it because we don’t want to take anything away from anybody else, but don’t be saying it has been easier for Mark. That’s ridiculous.”

It’s a valid and overlooked point. As La Russa went on to say, McGwire will be the home run king no matter what. He just won’t be MVP, which even La Russa understands: “Sammy hasn’t done any more for his team than Mark has done for ours, but his team has done more and that tips it in his favor.”

American--1. Juan Gonzalez, Texas Rangers; 2. Nomar Garciaparra, Boston Red Sox; 3. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees.

Comment: Gonzalez won’t break Hack Wilson’s RBI record of 190, but he has produced one of the best RBI seasons since that era of the ‘30s and he has delivered down the stretch (see Angels).

CY YOUNG

National--1. Kevin Brown, San Diego Padres; 2. Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves; 3. Trevor Hoffman, San Diego.

Comment: Contention goes four or five deep, but Brown leads or is near the top in every vital category while absolutely vital--indispensable--to the Padres.

American--1. Roger Clemens, Toronto Blue Jays; 2. Pedro Martinez, Boston; 3. David Cone, New York.

Comment: Maybe the best season yet for the four-time Cy Young winner. A Sosa/McGwire season on the mound.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

National--1. Kerry Wood, Chicago; 2. Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies; 3. Travis Lee, Arizona Diamondbacks.

Comment: That impact performance on May 6--a 20-strikeout, one-hitter against the Houston Astros--sticks in the mind. Wood was critical to the Cubs’ success, although his unavailability down the stretch makes it tempting to tab Helton.

American--1. Ben Grieve, Oakland A’s; 2. Rolando Arrojo, Tampa Bay Devil Rays; 3. Magglio Ordonez, Chicago White Sox.

Comment: This omits Orlando Hernandez and others. Baseball’s talent pool now overflows with young talent.

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR

National--Gregg Olson, Arizona.

Comment: The former Baltimore relief ace had filtered through the Atlanta, Cleveland, Kansas City, Detroit, Houston and Minnesota organizations trying to rehabilitate his arm. He did it with the Diamondbacks. His 30 saves are 17 more than he recorded in that four-year odyssey since leaving Baltimore.

American--Bret Saberhagen, Boston.

Comment: He has 15 wins for the playoff-bound Red Sox after shoulder problems sidelined him for all of 1996 and most of ’97.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR

National--1. Bruce Bochy, San Diego; 2. Larry Dierker, Houston; 3. Bobby Cox, Atlanta.

Comment: Bochy routed the division while seldom having his regular lineup, but there should be a manager-of-the-decade award for Cox.

American--1. Terry Collins, Angels; 2. Joe Torre, New York; 3. Jimy Williams, Boston.

Comment: Collins clearly operated with mirrors, keeping that injury-riddled team in contention while getting no deadline help from upstairs.

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

National--Tie, Gerry Hunsicker, Houston, and Kevin Towers, San Diego.

Comment: Too tough to call. Both made obvious and pivotal additions (Moises Alou and Randy Johnson in Houston and Kevin Brown in San Diego), but it was less glamorous patchwork that proved equally important.

American--George Steinbrenner/Brian Cashman, New York.

Comment: And now accepting for the Yankees . . .