1.
Ken Griffey Jr. : Was
the 1997 AL MVP. He was voted Player of the Year by the Player’s Choice and
Sporting News in all of MLB, and was considered my many the
top player in baseball at the time.
He was
the Player of the Month in April when he set the MLB record with 13 Home
Runs in a month.
He also earned the starting spot for the AL
All-Stars in CF, an eighth straight Gold Glove, and the Silver Slugger award.
He was also given the 1998 (after 1997
season) ESPY by ESPN as the co-Male Athlete of the Year (July 1997-July1998).
Junior
Griffey led the American League in most offensive categories. HR with 56 (6th
most in a season), RBI with 147, runs (125), total bases (393), and slugging
(.646)
He was also 1st in position
player and offensive WAR.
Griffey was
2nd in the AL in OPS with 1.028, 6th in hits (185),
and hit .304 in 158 games.
He was 1-3 with a RBI and 2 SB in a Game
Two loss to Baltimore in the ALDS.
His
two-out RBI single in Game Three gave Seattle a 2-0 lead in the fifth.
Seattle went on to win Game Three but lost
the series in four to the Orioles.
The Mariners went 90-72 and won the AL West
by six games, and had the third best record in the AL.
Griffey led Seattle to baseball’s best
offensive by scoring 5.71 runs/game, and hitting 264 HR.
2.
Moises Alou: Was named
the Babe Ruth award winner (NY baseball writers World Series MVP). For the
Series he hit .321 with a team high three Home runs and nine RBI.
He was an All-Star and finshed 10th
in NL MVP voting.
Alou
gave the Marlins a 2-0 series lead over the Giants with a walk off RBI
single to break a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the ninth.
Alou got
Florida off to a hot start in NLCS with a bases clearing double in the top
of the 1st of Game One vs. Atlanta. He tacked on another RBI in the
3rd on a groundout, as the Marlins won 5-3.
In the pennant clinching Game Six, he drove
in another run and walked twice.
In
Game One of the World Series his three-run bomb put Florida ahead 4-1 in
the 4th.
Alou
struck again in Game Five with a 3-5 2 R and 3 RBI performance. Another
three-run homer put Florida in front 5-4 in the 6th. The Marlins would hang on
8-7 and take a 3-2 series advantage.
He singled to start the ninth and would
score the tying run on Craig Counsell’s sac fly. Florida would eventually take
the Series in seven by winning
dramatically in the 11th inning.
For the playoffs in 16 games, Moises drove
in 15 runs and scored seven more.
Florida finished
with the second best record in the NL with 92 wins and won the wild card.
They swept the Giants in three games in the NLDS.
The fifth year franchise beat the two time
reigning NL champion Braves in six games in the NLCS. They would then beat the favored
Indians in seven games to win the World Series.
3.
Sandy Alomar
Jr.: Was an AL All-Star and earned MVP
with the go ahead 2-R Home Run in the 7th in his home park.
He
earned his spot in the Mid-Summer Classic by hitting .372 in the first
half, which included a 30 game hitting streak.
He finished the season with a .324 average
21 HR and 83 RBI.
In Game One of the ALDS vs. New York he was
a 2-4 with 3 RBI on a 3-R HR off David Cone in the 1st
He helped the
Indians even the series in Game Two with a RBI and run scored in the
a five-run fourth.
Alomar saved Cleveland’s
season with a two-out eighth inning HR off Mariano Rivera in Game Four. The
Indians would win in the bottom of the ninth, and take the series in Game Five.
He homered, drove in four, and scored two
on a 3-5 night in
Game Four of the ALCS win over Baltimore.
He was the top player in World Series for Cleveland
with 2 HR, 10 RBI, 5 R and 11-30 (.367).
He drove in and scored two runs in the
Indians Game Two 6-1 win.
Alomar
had three more hits and three RBI in Game Four as the Indians tied the
series at two.
Cleveland won the AL Central with a 86-75
record. The returned to the World Series for the 2nd time in three
years after knocking out Baltimore in six games.
They would lose in seven games to Florida
in the Fall Classic.
