MVP Giambi Remembered September

By ROSS NEWHAN

Nov. 16, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

A spectacular September in which he led the Oakland Athletics to the American League West title also served to propel first baseman Jason Giambi to the league’s most-valuable-player award in voting announced Wednesday.

“I think my September was a definite factor,” Giambi said of a month in which he hit .396 with 13 homers and 32 runs batted in. “To have a month like that and lead your team to the playoffs is the dream of every kid when he’s playing Wiffle ball in the backyard.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more focused, in a better zone. The ball was absolutely huge. I mean, going to the park every day it wasn’t a question of whether I would get a hit, but how many and would one of them be a home run.”

In a season of dynamite performances by a dozen or more AL players, the sizzling finish by the long-haired, tattooed, swaggering leader of the Animal House A’s obviously was still vivid for a 28-member committee of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America when votes were submitted in the brief window between the end of the regular season and start of the playoffs.

Giambi received 14 first-place votes, 11 seconds, two thirds and one fifth for 317 points based on 14 points for a first-place vote, nine for a second, eight for a third and on down to one for a 10th-place vote.

Frank Thomas, who led the Chicago White Sox to the best record in the AL but had his best months earlier in the season and may have paid a price with some voters by serving only as the designated hitter (“I think that was probably a factor as well because our statistics were similar,” Giambi said), finished second with 10 first-place votes and 285 points.

Seattle Mariner shortstop Alex Rodriguez received the other four first-place votes and 218 points in finishing third. Inexplicably, Rodriguez, who batted .316 with 41 homers and 132 RBIs, was placed ninth on one ballot and not even included among the 10 on another.

Carlos Delgado, the Toronto Blue Jays’ first baseman, was fourth, while Angel left fielder Darin Erstad, who led the majors with 240 hits and finished second in the AL with a .355 average, was eighth. Angel third baseman Troy Glaus, who led the AL with 47 homers, was not among the top 10 on any ballot.

It was difficult to separate Giambi and Thomas statistically. Giambi batted .333 with 43 homers and 137 RBIs. He also had 137 walks and led the league in on-base percentage at .476. Thomas batted .328 with 43 homers and 143 RBIs and had his best month in June, slugging 12 homers and driving in 28 runs. A White Sox official said Thomas chose not to comment on the voting.

Giambi said he was “truly honored” by the award and considered it an “unbelievable” conclusion to a “fairy tale season” in which he was joined on the A’s by his brother, Jeremy, his young team won the West in a tight race with Seattle before taking the New York Yankees to a climactic fifth game in the division series and “now this, a dream come true.”

More than that, it was a boost for his bank account, because his $3-million contract called for a $100,000 bonus if he won the award. It also provides agent Arn Tellem with another negotiating weapon as he tries to reach an agreement with the A’s on a multiyear contract that will keep Giambi in Oakland beyond 2001, when he is eligible for free agency.

The current negotiations are the biggest test yet for General Manager Billy Beane and his small-market revenue, but Giambi said that “everything is going great” in the talks and “I hope to play my entire career with the A’s.” He said he also hopes that the A’s retain their hunger in 2001 because they now have the experience to advance to the next level and “I would be very disappointed if anyone comes to spring training thinking that we didn’t have the ability to reach the World Series.”

For Giambi, of course, the award was another illustration of how far he has traveled from being the scrawny third baseman who went to Long Beach State on a partial scholarship after attending South Hills High in West Covina. In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, he credited 49er Coach Dave Snow for providing the polish and skills that allowed him to advance and added that the first person he called after learning of the award Tuesday night was former teammate Mark McGwire.

“Mark has been everything to me from mentor to big brother to everything else,” Giambi said. “I wanted to let him know what he has meant to my career. I wanted him to be the first person I thanked.”

In his expanding renown, Giambi is featured in a recently released video game in which he is pitted against Mike Tyson among others. However, he said he is not going into boxing as a second career.

“I have too pretty a face,” he said.

Now that’s a vote he might not win.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

AL MVP

Voting totals for the top five in the 2000 American League most-

valuable-player award. Votes are awarded on a 14-9-8-7-6- 5-4-3-2-1 basis:

Player: Total

Giambi: 317

Thomas: 285

A. Rodriguez: 218

Delgado: 206

P. Martinez: 103

Complete

Voting, D11

The NL’s Best

The top candidates for the National League most-valuable-player award, to be announced today:

*--*

Player Team BA HR RBI Barry Bonds San Francisco .306 49 106 Jim Edmonds St. Louis .295 42 108 Todd Helton Colorado .372 42 147 Jeff Kent San Francisco .334 33 125 Mike Piazza New York .324 38 113

*--*

American League Most Valuable Player

Past Winners

The Last 25:

1975--Fred Lynn, Boston

1976--Thurman Munson, New York

1977--Rod Carew, Minnesota

1978--Jim Rice, Boston

1979--Don Baylor, Anaheim

1980--George Brett, Kansas City

1981--Rollie Fingers, Milwaukee

1982--Robin Yount, Milwaukee