It's December. It's time. Time to cast your ballot for the recipient of the first Batter's Box Andujar Award. Remember, it's all about the greatest single word ever uttered to describe The Grand Game: YouNeverKnow!
The What Award?
Original Announcement & Rules
Preseason Nominations
Midseason Update
We've selected the 12 finalists. Now it's up to you to vote. The 2003 Andujar Winner will be announced -- natch -- on Dec. 26 ... Boxing Day.
The 12 finalists are listed below alphabetically ...
Included is each candidate's name, position, team, 2003 salary, a couple of "traditional" statistics, one key "ZLC" statistic and a few pithy lines on why each candidate should or should not win. But it's up to you ...
Vote by sending an e-mail to mickwrites@hotmail.com listing your five choices in order. Write-in ballots will be accepted ONLY if the candidate actually fits all the criteria outlined in the earlier posts. The primary disqualifiers are: former all-star, traded for or signed after the season started, never been on a major league roster before this season.
Votes will be tabulated on a 7-4-3-2-1 basis; one vote per e-mail address, just like the MLB All-Star balloting done online. Votes will be accepted through 11:59:59 p.m. Central Dec. 23. This thread is hereby designated as a discussion/argument/defend your candidate zone -- no votes posted here will be accepted. Votes MUST be e-mailed to mickwrites@hotmail.com. But please feel free to defend or insult any of the finalists here in order to sway other votes.
On a personal note, writing from the DFW Metroplex (but not a Rangers fan per se), I find it highly amusing that six of the listed 12 used to be Texas Rangers.
So ... here they are, your Andujarian Dirty Dozen!
Candidate: Casey Blake, 3B, Cleveland Indians
2003 Salary: $330K
Traditional Stats: .257/17/67
ZLC Stats: .727 OPS (95 OPS+)
Why he should win: "Casey at the Bat" headlines for announcement very exciting.
Why he shouldn't win: "Casey with the Glove" ... not so much.
Candidate: Frank Catalanotto, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
2003 Salary: $2.2M
Traditional Stats: .299/13/59
ZLC Stats: .823 OPS (111 OPS+)
Why he should win: Hometown favorite.
Why he shouldn't win: Last name is hard to spell.
Candidate: Jose Cruz, Jr., OF, San Francisco Giants
2003 Salary: $2.5M
Traditional Stats: .250/20/68
ZLC Stats: .779 OPS (104 OPS+)
Why he should win: Hometown favori ... oh, wait. Never mind.
Why he shouldn't win: "I got it! I got it! I ... dammit!"
Candidate: Danny Kolb, RP, Milwaukee Brewers
2003 Salary: $300K
Traditional Stats: 1-2, 21 saves 1.96 ERA
ZLC Stats: 223 ERA+
Why he should win: All 21 saves after July 19.
Why he shouldn't win: Plays for Brewers.
Candidate: Esteban Loiaza, SP, Chicago White Sox
2003 Salary: $500K
Traditional Stats: 21-9, 207 K, 2.90 ERA
ZLC Stats: 155 ERA+
Why he should win: 20 wins! Started All-Star Game!
Why he shouldn't win: Insert your own punchline here.
Candidate: Kevin Millar, 1B/DH, Boston Red Sox
2003 Salary: $2M
Traditional Stats: .276/25/96
ZLC Stats: .820 OPS (110 OPS+)
Why he should win: Blew off an entire country, Japan, for Sox.
Why he shouldn't win: Third best candidate on own team?
Candidate: Bill Mueller, 3B, Boston Red Sox
2003 Salary: $2.1M
Traditional Stats: .326/19/85
ZLC Stats: .938 OPS (140 OPS+)
Why he should win: Cool "Mueller Time" headline possibilities.
Why he shouldn't win: Staying with either of his previous two teams would have kept Marlins out of World Series.
Candidate: Darren Oliver, SP, Colorado Rockies
2003 Salary: $350K
Traditional Stats: 13-11, 5.04
ZLC Stats: 94 ERA+
Why he should win: Thirteen wins! For the Rockies!
Why he shouldn't win: Forget Coors. An ERA over 5 is an ERA over 5.
Candidate: David Ortiz, 1B/DH, Boston Red Sox
2003 Salary: $1.25M
Traditional Stats: .288/31/101
ZLC Stats: .961 OPS (144 OPS+)
Why he should win: Peter Gammons thinks he should've been MVP.
Why he shouldn't win: Peter Gammons thinks he should've been MVP.
Candidate: Scott Podsednik, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
2003 Salary: $300K
Traditional Stats: .314/9/58 43 SB
ZLC Stats: .822 OPS (112 OPS+)
Why he should win: With Sexson gone, now Milwaukee's marquee player.
Why he shouldn't win: See "Kolb, Danny."
Candidate: Desi Relaford, IF/OF, Kansas City Royals
2003 Salary: $900K
Traditional Stats: .254/8/59 20 SB
ZLC Stats: .691 OPS (73 OPS+)
Why he should win: Versatile. Team player. A "baseball" guy.
Why he shouldn't win: Did you see that OPS?
Candidate: John Thomson, SP, Texas Rangers
2003 Salary: $1.3M
Traditional Stats: 13-14, 4.85
ZLC Stats: 102 ERA+
Why he should win: Named Rangers Pitcher of the Year.
Why he shouldn't win: Named Rangers Pitcher of the Year.
Boxers, the floor is yours.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20031201055449999