In 2003, his last season with Texas, Alex Rodriguez led the American League in home runs, runs scored, and slugging percentage, and won his second consecutive Gold Glove Award.
Rodriguez also became only the second player to win an MVP award while playing for a last place team. Who was the first?
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November 8, 2009 - 12:25 pm
Here we go again. Time for another edition of our semi-annual “What They Need” series, where we play GM for all 30 teams. As usual, we’ll be suggesting subtle tweaks for some squads, and major overhalls for others. There’s already movement going on in the Hot Stove front, so there’s no time to waste!
Here’s a [...]
September 3, 2009 - 11:20 am
The 2003 Los Angeles Dodgers had one of the greatest pitching staffs the game of baseball has ever known. At the height of the steroids era, in a season when 104 players would test positive for performance enhancing drugs, the Dodgers hurlers posted a 3.16 ERA, good enough for an insane 128 team ERA+, and [...]
August 31, 2009 - 11:19 am
Okay, so at a time when most people are debating whether or not the Washington Nationals can even break .500 next season, this is going to sound more than a little crazy, but I think the Nats have an outside chance at contending next season.
I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but I am saying [...]
June 29, 2009 - 9:30 pm
We here at Umpbump have done quite a few all-time teams. We’ve also cataloged quite a series of Hot Baseball Wives. In this post, I will attempt the acrobatic feat of bridging the twain. Yes, reader: The All-Hot Team.
For reasons of attention span, or specifically, the lack of it, I am focusing on current major [...]
October 30th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Do I need to make a no-google pledge here? I think it was Andre Dawson with the Cubs, sometime in the mid-80’s?
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October 30th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Obviously, I made this one a little too easy. Andre Dawson is correct.
On a sidenote, wasn’t Andre Dawson awesome? And isn’t “The Hawk” a really cool nickname?
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October 30th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
I had an Andre Dawson toothbrush. It was shaped like a baseball bat and came with a baseball card.
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October 30th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Yes indeed, Doogan, “Trivia Time” is also colloquially known around the UmpBump.com offices as “Please Don’t Just Go Google This, That’s Not Why We Post These Time”.
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October 30th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Holy crap. We have offices?!?!
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October 30th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Yeah… About those offices… Ummm… Have I not been alerted to its whereabouts because I’m the new guy?
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October 30th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
“The Hawk” is not only a cool nickname but a guy that deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He was a 5 tool player that excelled in relative obscurity in Montreal. He got that MVP when he was with the Cubs and probably would have had a much longer career if his knees hadn’t taken such a pounding on the Expos’ artificial turf.
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October 30th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
Dawson wasn’t really a five tool guy. He averaged something like 5 SBs a year. And his defense really declined due to injuries mid-way through his career. Plus, if he’d made the Hall of Fame, he’d have the worst career OBP of any Hall-of-Famer who didn’t play middle infield. And this is coming from a guy who was a fan of Hawk growing up.
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October 30th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Paul, I was surprised when I heard this a while back as well, but you’re way off on 5 SB’s a year. Over his first 7 seasons he actually averaged like 30 steals a year. That was news to me, as I’m only old enough to remember him in the late-80’s and 90’s when he looked like he could barely make it around the bases on home run trots. The OBP would be a knock on him though.
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October 30th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Yeah, it doesn’t surprise me that he averaged 5 SB’s a year. If he averaged 5 SB’s, that means he must have stolen a bunch early in his career, because I know he didn’t steal a damn thing towards the end.
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October 30th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Whoops, you’re right, Doogan. My bad.
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October 30th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Dawson is one of only six players to have over 300 stolen bases and 300 home runs for his career. He’s the only player eligible for the Hall of Fame with over 1000 extra base hits. He played stellar defense in Wrigley which is considered to be one of the toughest due to the wind and unique dimensions. An 8 time gold glove winner and 8 all-star appearances. He won the MVP once and finished 2nd in the voting twice. Unfortunately his first 11 seasons, when he was probably at his best, he was in Montreal. He was the best at his position for almost 10 years and deserves to be in the Hall.
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October 30th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Melissa, I agree with you! I actually wrote a post supporting Dawson for the hall a while back…
If I Had a Hall of Fame Ballot
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