Thomas, Kent Shouldn’t Play Second Fiddle

The envelope please . . .

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

American League: 1. Frank Thomas, Chicago; 2. Jason Giambi, Oakland; 3. Tie among Carlos Delgado, Toronto; Alex Rodriguez, Seattle; and Darin Erstad, Angels.

National League: 1. Jeff Kent, San Francisco; 2. Mike Piazza, New York; 3. Barry Bonds, San Francisco.

Comment: A difficult decision in both leagues, with controversy certain. Purists will argue that a designated hitter such as Thomas shouldn’t be MVP. Many will say Piazza had a more singular impact on the Mets than Kent did on the Giants because Kent and Bonds were a team within a team.

Although it is definitely difficult to separate the two Giants, I echo Dusty Baker, who tabs Kent because of his run-producing consistency and Gold Glove-caliber improvement at second base. Piazza has also had another MVP-type season, but his September struggle at a time when the Mets had a chance to end Atlanta’s division reign and when Kent and Bonds were at their strongest is the difference.

The White Sox have been season’s biggest surprise, and the resurgence of Thomas is the main reason. There was considerable focus in 2000 on Delgado’s bid for a triple crown, but it is Thomas who will have more home runs and runs batted in while batting around .330. The designated hitter is a fact of life in the AL, and Don Baylor (1979) and Jim Rice (1978) won the award appearing in a considerable number of games at the position.

CY YOUNG

American: 1. Pedro Martinez, Boston; 2. Tim Hudson, Oakland; 3. David Wells, Toronto.

National: 1. Randy Johnson, Arizona; 2. Greg Maddux, Atlanta; 3. Robb Nen, San Francisco.

Comment: Martinez and Johnson again dominated virtually every pitching category except wins, and they have no control over their support.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

American: 1. Terrence Long, Oakland; 2. Bengie Molina, Angels; 3. Mark Quinn, Kansas City.

National: 1. Jay Payton, New York; 2. Pat Burrell, Philadelphia; 3. Rafael Furcal, Atlanta.

Comment: The impact of center fielders Payton and Long on their respective playoff teams has been huge, although in any other season Molina, Burrell, Furcal and Quinn would be legitimate winners. The rookie pitchers of the year: Oakland’s Barry Zito for his work down the stretch and the overall performance of St. Louis’ Rick Ankiel.

Kazuhiro Sasaki? The Seattle closer is likely to win the AL’s official rookie vote, but Japan’s all-time saves leader is 32 and no more a rookie than Hideo Nomo was. Taking nothing away from their performances, it is a mistake to classify the Japanese imports as rookies given their experience at Japan’s highest levels of pro ball.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR

American: 1. Jerry Manuel, Chicago; 2. Mike Scioscia, Angels; Art Howe, Oakland.

National: 1. Baker, San Francisco; 2. Tony La Russa, St. Louis; 3. Bobby Cox, Atlanta.

Comment: It is no disrespect to Scioscia and his impressive debut, but it’s impossible to dismiss Manuel’s leadership with the surprising White Sox. The Giants weren’t as big a surprise, but neither were they favored, and Baker brought them back from a 4-11 start and early losing streaks of seven and eight games.

EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

American: Pat Gillick, Seattle.

National: Walt Jocketty, St. Louis.

Comment: Ron Schueler deserves recognition for rebuilding the White Sox over a period of years that started with the White Flag trade of 1997, but no one did more last winter to put their teams in the playoffs than Gillick and Jocketty.

Amid industry tears about the lack of pitching, Jocketty aggressively rebuilt the Cardinal staff by acquiring Darryl Kile, Pat Hentgen, Andy Benes and Dave Veres, among others. He also restocked the lineup, adding Fernando Vina and Jim Edmonds in the spring, and Will Clark to replace Mark McGwire in July, and he is now a free agent, unsigned beyond the postseason if the Dodgers are interested.

Gillick was equally aggressive in his first winter with the Mariners, adding John Olerud, Aaron Sele, Arthur Rhodes, Mark McLemore, Stan Javier and Sasaki. He was cornered and forced to trade Ken Griffey Jr., but Mike Cameron has provided Seattle with reliable and often spectacular defense in center field while driving in more than 70 runs. When he’s not on the tee, Griffey can catch his former team on TV next week.

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR

A definition is needed here.

Many players have come back spectacularly from disappointing seasons, such as Erstad, but some have had to travel farther than others. Consider Atlanta’s Andres Galarraga or Houston’s Moises Alou, who didn’t play last year but returned better than ever. So did St. Louis’ Edmonds and Pittsburgh’s Jason Kendall and Milwaukee’s Jeff D’Amico, one of the National League’s best pitchers following his return from almost 1 1/2 years of arm problems.

If this has been a season of stunning comebacks, including that of Kerry Wood and making it difficult now to pick just one over the others, it has also been a season of stunning injuries and setbacks, creating the possibility that there will be another series of impressive comebacks next year.

John Smoltz, Tony Gwynn, Justin Thompson, Jaret Wright, Rey Ordonez, Gary DiSarcina and Billy Wagner will be among the many attempting to do what Galarraga, Alou and their comeback colleagues did in 2000.