ALBERT
PUJOLS
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
He has played five seasons in the majors and
hit .332 with 201 homers and 621 RBIs so far,
claiming the NL MVP last season. Pujols is unquestionably
the most consistent and dangerous hitter in baseball
today. He may end up being the best ever. The
26-year-old Dominican has appeared in 790 of the
810 regular season games the Cardinals have played
since he broke into the majors in 2001 and won
the National League Rookie-of-the-Year award.
Imagine this: If you were to take his lowest singleseason
totals for a variety of statistical categories,
here is what you’d get: a .314 batting average
(2002), 185 hits (2002), 38 doubles (2005), one
triple (2003), 34 homers (2002), 117 RBIs (2005),
a .394 onbase- percentage (2002) and a .561 slugging
percentage (2002).
ALEX
RODRÍGUEZ
NEW YORK YANKEES
Defense made the difference as A-Rod came out
on top in voting for the 2005 American League
MVP award. Unlike runner-up David Ortiz, a Boston
Red Sox designated hitter who played 10 games
at fi rst base, Rodríguez appeared in 161
games at third base in his second season. He enters
the 2006 season with 429 homers after hitting
48 last season, a Yankees record for a right-handed
hitter. He has 1,901 hits and 1,226 RBIs. If any
ballplayer is worth $25 million per year, Rodríguez
has delivered the goods through the midway point
of his record-setting 10-year contract.
DAVID
ORTIZ
BOSTON RED SOX
Big Papi finished second in AL MVP voting last
season, claiming 11 of 28 firstplace votes. A
postseason hero in Boston’s unforgettable
run to the 2004 World Series title, Ortiz hit
.300 last season and posted career highs with
102 walks, 119 runs, 47 homers and 148 RBIs, which
led the majors. The 30-year-old Dominican combines
with teammate Manny Ramírez to provide
the Red Sox’s batting order with the most
dangerous one-two punch in the league and Ortiz
has a knack for delivering the crucial blow.
MARIANO
RIVERA
NEW YORK YANKEES
When Bruce Sutter was elected to the Hall of Fame
in January, that result essentially assured Rivera’s
eventual entry to the shrine in Cooperstown. New
York fans are in no hurry to see that day come,
though, as the Panamanian closer continues to
punctuate Yankees wins with one of baseball history’s
most devastating pitches: a mid-90s cut fastball
with the action of a slider. Virtually a sure
thing during the regular season, Rivera is lethal
in the postseason. In 72 playoff games, including
six World Series, he is 8-1 with 34 saves and
a ridiculously low 0.81 ERA.
PEDRO
MARTÍNEZ
NEW YORK METS
Mets fans hopes for a return to the postseason
rest gingerly on Martínez’s sore
right toe. The three-time Cy Young Award winner
got his new career with the Mets off on the right
foot last season. He was 15-8 with a 2.82 ERA
when the injury forced him to miss his last two
starts of the season. The sore big right toe dates
back to just prior to the 2004 playoffs, Martínez’s
last hurrah with Boston as the Red Sox won their
fi rst World Series since 1918. The toe woes are
the latest in a string of nagging injuries the
34-yearold has dealt with in recent years. Martínez’s
performance last season clearly demonstrates he’s
capable of leading the Mets to the playoffs as
long as his increasingly fragile body doesn’t
interfere too much with his gifted arm.
VLADIMIR
GUERRERO
LOS ANGELES ANGELS
It was kind of an off year for Vlady in 2005,
when he hit .317 with 32 homers and 108 RBIs.
The AL MVP in 2004, his fi rst with the Angels
after seven seasons in Montreal, Guerrero’s
consistent production has set a high standard
in terms of expectations. The 30-year-old Dominican
has unbelievable plate coverage and is capable
of hitting pitches that are anywhere in the general
vicinity of the strike zone well over the outfi
eld wall at any point from foul pole to foul pole.
And despite his free-swinging approach, Guerrero
struck out just 48 times last season and has only
whiffed a total of 606 times in 10 seasons.
JOHAN
SANTANA
MINNESOTA TWINS
The Twins pretty much stumbled into good fortune
when they fi nally gave middle reliever Santana
an opportunity to become a starter midway through
the 2003 season. The Venezuelan lefthander hasn’t
missed a beat since. The 2004 AL Cy Young Award
winner when he went 20-6 with a 2.61 ERA, Santana
followed that up with a 16-7 mark last season
and a 2.87 ERA as he fi nished third in Cy Young
voting. The 27-year-old is a combined 48-16 over
the last three seasons.
CARLOS
DELGADO
NEW YORK METS
The 33-year-old Puerto Rican has hit at least
30 home runs in each of the last nine seasons,
including last year, when he hit 33 for the Florida
Marlins, his only season with the team. Delgado’s
115 RBIs with Florida in 2005 marked the 10th
straight season he had driven in at least 91 runs.
Acquired by the Mets in a trade one year after
they failed to land him as a free agent, Delgado
figures to provide the best production from a
fi rst baseman at Shea Stadium since John Olerud
in the late 90s.
MANNY
RAMÍREZ
BOSTON RED SOX
Where will Manny be in 2006? It seems like there
has been speculation about where Ramírez
will end up every moment since he joined the Red
Sox as a free agent after leaving Cleveland following
the 2000 season. Beantown fans are mostly okay
with Manny being Manny, though, considering that
the $20-million man hit .292 with 45 homers and
145 RBIs last season. Unless something happens
this spring, he’ll be back in Boston ready
to wreak havoc with the city’s media once
again.
BARTOLO
COLÓN
LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Angels owner Arte Moreno went on a spending spree
following the 2003 season and two years later
Colón delivered an award-winning season.
Despite a 5.01 ERA in 2004, Colón managed
to win 18 of 30 decisions in his fi rst year with
the Angels. The 32- year-old Dominican lowered
his ERA to a more respectable 3.48 last season
and his 21-8 record in 33 starts made a strong
enough case for him to beat out Santana and Rivera
in voting for the AL Cy Young award.
