Rating the best individual seasons of the past 10 years..

Thom Yorke · 06-15-03, 12:16 AM

I recently sent this out in an email to all my baseball loving friends, and it has resulted in a lot of debate about the accuracy of my list. How dare they question my baseball acumen!

Through quite a bit of research, and with a lot of credit to Baseball Reference.com, I decided to come up with what I consider to be the 20 greatest seasons by hitters over the past 10 years. There have been so many mind-numbing offensive achievements over this 1930s-esque era--it made me think about what players and seasons truly are the best of the best. The list reflects a lot of my beliefs in what stats are the most important in winning games (I'm a Bill James guy). I realize that I'm a newbie and really have no right to express my opinions so freely

, but I thought this could initiate some interesting debate. Go Yanks!

1. Barry Bonds--2001 .328, 73 HR, 137 RBI, 515 OBP, 863 SLG, 177 BB
Only one of the top 5 players in history could have a season like this--anytime you best a slugging record held by Babe Ruth since 1920, you are doing something right.
2. Barry Bonds--2002 .370(!), 46 HR, 110 RBI, 582 OBP, 799 SLG, 198 BB
Uh, did I say one of the top 3 players in history? The guy got on base nearly 60% of the times he stepped to the plate. Chew on that one.
3. Sammy Sosa--2001 .328, 64 HR, 160 RBI, 437 OBP, 737 SLG, 146 RUNS, 425 total bases
Let's see, that was only the THIRD time Sosa had gone over 60 HR...only Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, Chuck Klein, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, and Stan Musial have had more total bases in a season.
4. Mark McGwire--1998 .299, 70 HR, 147 RBI, 470 OBP, 752 SLG, 130 RUNS, 162 BB
Besides breaking the 37 year old HR record, McGwire had the highest slugging pct in the NL since Rogers Hornsby's .756 in 1925. I still get goose bumps thinking about that 1998 season...
5. Jeff Bagwell--1994 .368, 39 HR, 116 RBI, 451 OBP, 750 SLG
What's so great about 39 HR and 116 RBI? Oh yeah, he did it in 110 games while batting only 368. Bagwell is on his way to the Hall of Fame. Don't protest too much because I put a season in from the nuclear winter of 1994...
6. Mike Piazza--1997 .362, 40 HR, 124 RBI, 431 OBP, 638 SLG
.362 for a Catcher? .321 lifetime average as a catcher? Uh, yeah right. This man hits the ball better to the opposite field than anyone in the history of the game I bet.
7. Manny Ramirez--1999 .333, 44 HR, 165 RBI, 442 OBP, 663 SLG, 131 RUNS
165 RBI most in majors since Al Simmons in 1930...all kinds of crazy stuff happened in 1930 (Hack Wilson's 190 RBI, and Bill Terry's .401 average to name a couple...)
8. Sammy Sosa--1998 .308, 66 HR, 158 RBI, 647 SLG, 134 RUNS
There goes that 1998 again. Over the 4 year span between 1998 and 2001, Sosa hit 243 HR, averaging a mere 61 per year.
9. Alex Rodriguez--2002 .300, 57 HR, 142 RBI, 392 OBP, 623 SLG, 125 RUNS
If you took a look at those numbers without knowing who they belonged to, you could say "that was a Babe Ruth season..." Nah, those numbers belong to a SHORTSTOP who hit twice as many homers last year as HOF Ozzie Smith hit in his career (28). A-Rod is well on his way to being one of the truly great players in the history of the game.
10. Larry Walker--1997 .366, 49 HR, 130 RBI, 452 OBP, 720 SLG, 46 2B, 409 total bases, 33 SB
Would rank higher if not for Coors...Walker is a .388 lifetime hitter at the VERY friendly confines.
11. Ken Griffey Jr--1997 .304, 56 HR, 147 RBI, 382 OBP, 646 SLG, 125 RUNS
The first of 2 straight 56 HR seasons for Griffey...do you realize that even being hurt the last 2 years that Griffey has 476 career HR at age 33?
12. Albert Belle--1995 .317, 50 HR, 126 RBI, 401 OBP, 690 SLG, 52 2B, 121 RUNS
The popular Mr. Belle did not win MVP over Mo (Ruben Studdard) Vaughn that year....
13. Todd Helton--2000 .372, 42 HR, 147 RBI, 463 OBP, 698 SLG, 405 total bases, 138 RUNS
Unbelievable numbers, but again the Coors factor must be considered. A .377 career hitter at Coors.
14. Luis Gonzalez--2001 .325, 57 HR, 142 RBI, 429 OBP, 688 SLG, 128 RUNS, 419 total bases
Gonzo unfortunately had this season during Bonds 73 HR year..never had hit more than 31 HR in a season before. Hmmmm..
15. Carlos Delgado--2000 .344, 41 HR, 137 RBI, 470 OBP, 664 SLG, 57 2B
Looks like he may surpass these numbers this year....too bad he plays in Toronto
16. Juan Gonzalez--1998 .318, 45 HR, 157 RBI, 366 OBP, 630 SLG, 50 2B
2-time MVP, also in 1996--never walks but is a great hitter nontheless.
17. Alfonso Soriano--2002 .300, 39 HR, 102 RBI, 547 SLG, 51 2B, 41 SB
And the scary thing is he is getting better. Will swing (and hit) ANYTHING--walked 23 times in 2002
18. Darin Erstad--2000 .355, 25 HR, 100 RBI, 409 OBP, 541 SLG, 240 hits, 28 SB
Hasn't really approached this again--but who could? 240 hits while batting 355?
19. Jason Giambi--2001 .342, 38 HR, 120 RBI, 477 OBP, 660 SLG, 47 2B, 129 BB
Was Ichiro REALLY the MVP? I don't think so.
20. Jim Thome--2002 .304, 52 HR, 118 RBI, 445 OBP, 677 SLG, 122 BB
Pretty good list when the number 20 guy hits 52 HR--no wonder Cleveland didn't want to sign him.

OK, I am sure there are guys that I have left out...(Biggio 1998, Sosa & McGwire, 1999, Jeter 1999, Gwynn 1997, Bonds nearly any year, etc.), but I was hoping this would encourage some debate. Have fun with this list, and pass it along to anyone who loves baseball. Comments, feedback, retorts are highly encouraged.

Spiker · 06-15-03, 12:29 AM

Terrific idea for a discussion. And I want to think about it some more before I get into some detail.
But from a purely philosophical point of view, I don't rate anybody in the Top 20 unless his season came during a year in which his team at least contended. I'm sure other people have different views but to me, a stat doesn't mean a damn thing unless it helps a team pursue the ultimate goal, which is to win it all. A homer hit by a player for a team that is 20 games out in September is meaningless for me, especially when that homer comes against another team that is playing out the string. So for all the wonder of it, I don't put Mark McGwire's 1998 season in the top 20, though it was definitely one of the greatest statistical seasons of all time.

06-15-03, 12:16 AM	#1
Thom Yorke Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Raleigh, NC	Rating the best individual seasons of the past 10 years.. I recently sent this out in an email to all my baseball loving friends, and it has resulted in a lot of debate about the accuracy of my list. How dare they question my baseball acumen! Through quite a bit of research, and with a lot of credit to Baseball Reference.com, I decided to come up with what I consider to be the 20 greatest seasons by hitters over the past 10 years. There have been so many mind-numbing offensive achievements over this 1930s-esque era--it made me think about what players and seasons truly are the best of the best. The list reflects a lot of my beliefs in what stats are the most important in winning games (I'm a Bill James guy). I realize that I'm a newbie and really have no right to express my opinions so freely , but I thought this could initiate some interesting debate. Go Yanks! 1. Barry Bonds--2001 .328, 73 HR, 137 RBI, 515 OBP, 863 SLG, 177 BB Only one of the top 5 players in history could have a season like this--anytime you best a slugging record held by Babe Ruth since 1920, you are doing something right. 2. Barry Bonds--2002 .370(!), 46 HR, 110 RBI, 582 OBP, 799 SLG, 198 BB Uh, did I say one of the top 3 players in history? The guy got on base nearly 60% of the times he stepped to the plate. Chew on that one. 3. Sammy Sosa--2001 .328, 64 HR, 160 RBI, 437 OBP, 737 SLG, 146 RUNS, 425 total bases Let's see, that was only the THIRD time Sosa had gone over 60 HR...only Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, Chuck Klein, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, and Stan Musial have had more total bases in a season. 4. Mark McGwire--1998 .299, 70 HR, 147 RBI, 470 OBP, 752 SLG, 130 RUNS, 162 BB Besides breaking the 37 year old HR record, McGwire had the highest slugging pct in the NL since Rogers Hornsby's .756 in 1925. I still get goose bumps thinking about that 1998 season... 5. Jeff Bagwell--1994 .368, 39 HR, 116 RBI, 451 OBP, 750 SLG What's so great about 39 HR and 116 RBI? Oh yeah, he did it in 110 games while batting only 368. Bagwell is on his way to the Hall of Fame. Don't protest too much because I put a season in from the nuclear winter of 1994... 6. Mike Piazza--1997 .362, 40 HR, 124 RBI, 431 OBP, 638 SLG .362 for a Catcher? .321 lifetime average as a catcher? Uh, yeah right. This man hits the ball better to the opposite field than anyone in the history of the game I bet. 7. Manny Ramirez--1999 .333, 44 HR, 165 RBI, 442 OBP, 663 SLG, 131 RUNS 165 RBI most in majors since Al Simmons in 1930...all kinds of crazy stuff happened in 1930 (Hack Wilson's 190 RBI, and Bill Terry's .401 average to name a couple...) 8. Sammy Sosa--1998 .308, 66 HR, 158 RBI, 647 SLG, 134 RUNS There goes that 1998 again. Over the 4 year span between 1998 and 2001, Sosa hit 243 HR, averaging a mere 61 per year. 9. Alex Rodriguez--2002 .300, 57 HR, 142 RBI, 392 OBP, 623 SLG, 125 RUNS If you took a look at those numbers without knowing who they belonged to, you could say "that was a Babe Ruth season..." Nah, those numbers belong to a SHORTSTOP who hit twice as many homers last year as HOF Ozzie Smith hit in his career (28). A-Rod is well on his way to being one of the truly great players in the history of the game. 10. Larry Walker--1997 .366, 49 HR, 130 RBI, 452 OBP, 720 SLG, 46 2B, 409 total bases, 33 SB Would rank higher if not for Coors...Walker is a .388 lifetime hitter at the VERY friendly confines. 11. Ken Griffey Jr--1997 .304, 56 HR, 147 RBI, 382 OBP, 646 SLG, 125 RUNS The first of 2 straight 56 HR seasons for Griffey...do you realize that even being hurt the last 2 years that Griffey has 476 career HR at age 33? 12. Albert Belle--1995 .317, 50 HR, 126 RBI, 401 OBP, 690 SLG, 52 2B, 121 RUNS The popular Mr. Belle did not win MVP over Mo (Ruben Studdard) Vaughn that year.... 13. Todd Helton--2000 .372, 42 HR, 147 RBI, 463 OBP, 698 SLG, 405 total bases, 138 RUNS Unbelievable numbers, but again the Coors factor must be considered. A .377 career hitter at Coors. 14. Luis Gonzalez--2001 .325, 57 HR, 142 RBI, 429 OBP, 688 SLG, 128 RUNS, 419 total bases Gonzo unfortunately had this season during Bonds 73 HR year..never had hit more than 31 HR in a season before. Hmmmm.. 15. Carlos Delgado--2000 .344, 41 HR, 137 RBI, 470 OBP, 664 SLG, 57 2B Looks like he may surpass these numbers this year....too bad he plays in Toronto 16. Juan Gonzalez--1998 .318, 45 HR, 157 RBI, 366 OBP, 630 SLG, 50 2B 2-time MVP, also in 1996--never walks but is a great hitter nontheless. 17. Alfonso Soriano--2002 .300, 39 HR, 102 RBI, 547 SLG, 51 2B, 41 SB And the scary thing is he is getting better. Will swing (and hit) ANYTHING--walked 23 times in 2002 18. Darin Erstad--2000 .355, 25 HR, 100 RBI, 409 OBP, 541 SLG, 240 hits, 28 SB Hasn't really approached this again--but who could? 240 hits while batting 355? 19. Jason Giambi--2001 .342, 38 HR, 120 RBI, 477 OBP, 660 SLG, 47 2B, 129 BB Was Ichiro REALLY the MVP? I don't think so. 20. Jim Thome--2002 .304, 52 HR, 118 RBI, 445 OBP, 677 SLG, 122 BB Pretty good list when the number 20 guy hits 52 HR--no wonder Cleveland didn't want to sign him. OK, I am sure there are guys that I have left out...(Biggio 1998, Sosa & McGwire, 1999, Jeter 1999, Gwynn 1997, Bonds nearly any year, etc.), but I was hoping this would encourage some debate. Have fun with this list, and pass it along to anyone who loves baseball. Comments, feedback, retorts are highly encouraged.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

06-15-03, 12:29 AM	#2
Spiker NYYF HOF Join Date: Dec 2002	Terrific idea for a discussion. And I want to think about it some more before I get into some detail. But from a purely philosophical point of view, I don't rate anybody in the Top 20 unless his season came during a year in which his team at least contended. I'm sure other people have different views but to me, a stat doesn't mean a damn thing unless it helps a team pursue the ultimate goal, which is to win it all. A homer hit by a player for a team that is 20 games out in September is meaningless for me, especially when that homer comes against another team that is playing out the string. So for all the wonder of it, I don't put Mark McGwire's 1998 season in the top 20, though it was definitely one of the greatest statistical seasons of all time.


			Our 10th Season!