Giambi Named AL MVP
N E W Y O R K, Nov. 15, 2000 -- Jason Giambi narrowly won the American LeagueMost Valuable Player Award today for carrying the OaklandAthletics to the playoffs.
Giambi got 14 of the 28 first-place votes to finish with 317points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association ofAmerica. He got 11 seconds, two thirds and one fifth.
“This is a boy’s dream come true,” Giambi said. “This hasbeen nothing but a fairy tale for me this year with my brother[Jeremy] here and the A’s winning the division.”
Two-time winner Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox reboundedfrom his worst season as a pro to finish second with 285 points and10 first-place votes. Seattle’s Alex Rodriguez got the other fourfirst-place votes to finish third with 218 points.
Giambi, the leader of the young A’s, spearheaded their run tothe AL West title by hitting .396 with 13 homers and 32 RBIs in thefinal month. Not that he was shabby the rest of the season, either.
“I knew when I came to the ballpark that it wasn’t a questionif I would get a hit — it was how many and if I’d have a homerun,” Giambi said. “I had never been so focused in my life. It issomething you dream about to have that kind of September to getyour team to the playoffs.”
He ended the season batting .333 with 43 homers, 137 RBIs and137 walks. He led the league with a .476 on-base percentage and wasthird with a .647 slugging percentage.
“This kid, if you look at him the last couple of years, he’sgotten better each year,” Oakland manager Art Howe said during theplayoffs. “For me, he’s the MVP of this league, hands down.”
Delgado, Martinez Also Earned Votes
Toronto’s Carlos Delgado was fourth (206), followed by Boston’s Pedro Martinez (103), Cleveland’s Manny Ramirez and Seattle’s Edgar Martinez (97 each), Anaheim’s Darin Erstad (94), Boston’s Nomar Garciaparra (66) and the Yankees’ Derek Jeter (44).
Martinez was a unanimous choice for the AL Cy Young Awardearlier this week.
Thomas, the winner in 1993-94, rebounded from career lows of 15homers and 77 RBIs to lead the White Sox to the best record in theleague. He hit .328 with career highs of 43 homers and 143 RBIs. Hewas at his best in June, when the White Sox ran away from theCleveland Indians in the AL Central. Thomas hit .330 with 12 homersand 28 RBIs in the month.
Rodriguez wasn’t distracted at all by the trade of Ken GriffeyJr., or his impending free agency, which should net him more than$200 million this offseason.
Rodriguez hit .316 with 41 homers and 132 RBIs at one of thegame’s most demanding positions. He led the Mariners to the wildcard spot and within two wins of their first World Seriesappearance.
Delgado might have been the best hitter in the AL this season,but was hurt in voting because he couldn’t get the Blue Jays to thepostseason. Delgado hit .344 with 41 homers and 137 RBIs. He alsohad a league-leading 57 doubles and was second in on-basepercentage (.470) and slugging (.664).
Pedro Martinez went 19-9 with a 1.74 ERA, but was left off eightballots — in part because of the bias some voters have againstpitchers, who are eligible for the Cy Young. Martinez unanimously won the AL Cy Young Award Monday for the second year in a row.
Ramirez drove in 122 runs in only 118 games. But a hamstringinjury that cost him six weeks of playing time hindered hiscandidacy.
Giambi received a $100,000 bonus for winning in addition to his $3million salary.