It’s a week and a half into the 2001 baseball season, and Mike Hampton has as many home runs as Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr. combined. The Phillies lead the NL East, the Twins pace the AL Central and the A-Rod-less Mariners sit atop the AL West. After spending over 300 million dollars on free agents this offseason, the Texas Rangers and their “juggernaut offense” have stumbled to a 4-5 start and are only scoring 4.4 runs a game. Overall, the beginning of the 2001 baseball season has been full of surprises.
Hideo Nomo re-emerged from his three-year hiatus from acceptable pitching and threw the first no-hitter since the 1999 season. After subpar years with the Tigers and Brewers, Nomo tossed a gem against the Orioles, walking only three and striking out 11. The 1995 rookie of the year continued his impressive start, pitching six solid innings in his next outing, giving up only one run and four hits. Both wins came against the hapless Baltimore Orioles, however, so don’t start proclaiming Hideo Nomo as the next Pedro Martinez.
Edgardo Alfonzo is regarded as one of the top offensive second basemen in baseball and was a preseason MVP candidate. At this point, he wouldn’t even be able to get a hit off of me, even though I do have a fastball that tops out at 64 mph and a wicked curve that breaks almost two inches. Alfonzo has only three hits in 28 at bats this season, despite benefiting from hitting in front of Mike Piazza. Look for him to improve in the coming weeks, but right now he is killing fantasy teams across the country, including my own.
When the Cardinals traded Fernando Tatis to the Expos this offseason, many wondered just what they were thinking. Craig Paquette certainly wouldn’t be able to fulfill the offensive slot left open by Tatis’s departure. But Rookie third basemen Albert Pujols has emerged, with 2 HR, 10 RBI, and a .471 average in his last four starts. Pujols also plays in the outfield, giving the Cards the option of playing him instead of Ray Lankford or JD Drew against left-handed starters. As long as he gets enough at bats, Pujols should continue to deliver.
Randy Johnson, fresh off his 2000 Cy Young performance, made his second start of the season against a depleted St. Louis team. Instead of dominating the Edmonds-less and McGwire-less Cardinals, Johnson got rocked, giving up 11 hits and 9 runs in 5 2/3 innings. This was Johnson’s worst outing since 1994, when he was with Seattle, and only the fourth time in his career that the opposing pitcher had four or more strikeouts than him. It was obvious Johnson wasn’t himself when Mike Matheny and Eli Marrero, of all people, hit back-to-back homeruns. Watch him closely.
The National League is home to Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr., and Sammy Sosa, arguably the three greatest home run hitters in the game, yet Luis Gonzalez and light hitting Mark Grudzielanek lead the Senior Circuit with six and five homers respectively. At age 33, Gonzalez continues to improve his offensive productivity as he gets older, setting career highs in dingers each of the last three years. Expect 35 bombs out of the D-Back left fielder. Grudzielanek, on the other hand, has never hit more than 10 home runs in a season. He’ll hit for a good average this season, but expect Grudzielanek to cool down on those power numbers and get back to his slashing style of hitting.
Hideo Nomo will get hit hard, Randy Johnson will rediscover his mastery over hitters, and Edgardo Alfonzo will find his swing again. Junior and Big Mac will return from their early injuries and bash bombs at the usual pace. Minnesota will quickly fall from the ranks of baseball’s elite, but each Canadian team will make a run at the wild card, with both Carlos Delgado and Vladimir Guerrero competing for their respective league’s MVP award. Young and unexpected players will continue to make surprising impacts this season, and the superstars will get their stats eventually. It’s a long season.