Baseball Digest articles from February 2001

Baseball Digest archives from February 2001

DAVE WINFIELD: His first cover appearance in Baseball Digest was 22 years ago with the Padres.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... DURING THE 1978 SEASON, DAVE WINFIELD WAS becoming a dominant presence in the National League as one of its most promising stars when he hit .308 with 24 homers, 97 RBI and 181 hits. At 26, he was at the doorstep of his expected potential...

The Fans Speak Out.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2001... In the World Series, the two best baseball teams over the whole 162-game season should face each other, right? In 2000, the team with the fifth best record (Mets) in the majors faced the team with the ninth best record (Yankees), and the...

Shortstop Derek Jeter, Cornerstone of Recent Yankee Championships.(Interview)
February 1, 2001... AT A PHOTOGRAPHER'S REQUEST, DEREK JETER LIFTED HIS LEFT HAND WITH four fingers extended upward, signifying the number of World Series the Yankees had won since he began playing regularly for the club in 1996. There was a slight smile on...

2000 World Series Statistics.
February 1, 2001... NEW YORK YANKEES BATTING Player BA SLG OBP G AB R H TB Luis Polonia .500 .500 .500 2 2 0 1 1 Paul O'Neill .474 .789 .545 5 19 2 9 ...

Jason Giambi Comes Up Big for Oakland.(Interview)
February 1, 2001... A's slugger won MVP Award with .333 BA, 43 homers and 137 RBI last season IF YOU COULD BE ANYONE IN baseball right now, for the pure voyeuristic thrill of it all, you might as well be Jason Giambi. He's old enough (30) to be considered...

Giants' Jeff Kent Capture's 2000 N.L. MVP Honors.(Interview)
February 1, 2001... AFTER HITTING A CAREER HIGH .334 WITH 33 HOME RUNS AND 125 RBI IN 2000, SAN FRANCISCO SECOND baseman Jeff Kent garnered 22 out of a possible 32 first-place votes to run away with his first Most Valuable Player Award. Kent beat out teammate...

Hero or Goat?(Interview)
February 1, 2001... In pressure situations, a baseball player can be labeled a success or failure from a single performance IN 1997, ON A MUGGY OCTOBER evening in Miami, a little-known rookie second baseman was about to come of age with the planet watching....

Mike Torrez Won't Let Bucky Dent's Homer Ruin the Big Picture.(Interview)
February 1, 2001... MIKE TORREZ WON 16 GAMES IN 1978 AND POSTED A 3.96 ERA for the Boston Red Sox, and was 60-54 from 1978-82. He never has been invited back. "Not even for an Old-Timers Day," Torrez said. "But I have nothing to be ashamed of." Nor...

Mitch Williams Survived Joe Carter's Homer.(Interview)
February 1, 2001... WHEN MITCH WILLIAMS WALKED INTO THE PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES' CLUBHOUSE AFTER THE HOME RUN heard `round the world, he felt like laughing. Not because he had just given up a three-run homer to Joe Carter in the bottom of the ninth inning to lose...

BASEBALL PROFILE.(Interview)
February 1, 2001... KEVIN TAPANI FULL NAME: Kevin Tapani AGE, HT., WT.: 35, 6-1, 195 Born: February 18, 1964 HOME: Minneapolis, Minnesota STATUS/FAMILY: Married with three children NICKNAME: Tap LIFE OUTSIDE BASEBALL: I used to play...

Vladimir The Great ...(Vladimir Guerrero, baseball player)
February 1, 2001... Despite lack of publicity and playing on a second division team, Expos right fielder shines through with superstar talent THE SHY GUY WEARING No. 27 HAS a Russian first name, speaks Spanish and, in a city of predominantly French Canadians,...

Big Unit: Randy Johnson Takes Dominance to Historic Level.(baseball player)
February 1, 2001... Over the last two seasons, Arizona left-hander has captured two Cy Young Awards, won 36 games, fanned 711 batters and posted 10 or more strikeouts in 46 outings WHEN RANDY JOHNSON STRIDES to the mound, you don't just see the most...

Closing in Seattle: Kazuhiro Sasaki's exotic pitch finishes off foes.(baseball player)
February 1, 2001... Mariners' relief ace recorded 37 saves en route to winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award IT IS THE MARINERS' VERSION OF THE 100-meter finals--Kazu Sasaki and Jose Paniagua sprinting out of the Seattle bullpen, like fungo...

Speed has no substitute: Braves' Rafael Furcal: A Tough Runner To Pin Down.
February 1, 2001... SPEED IN BASEBALL IS EASY TO identify, not so easy to explain. In Minnesota, Cristian Guzman might be the fastest man in the majors, but he has difficulty stealing a base. In Florida, Luis Castillo might be the game's foremost base-stealing...

Obscure Records Part of the Game's Attraction.(baseball)
February 1, 2001... Nothing in baseball is too trivial for the hardcore fan TRIVIA? SCRATCH THE WORD. When it comes to baseball it's disrespectful, disparaging and condescending. What's more, it's meaningless. No record, feat or achievement of the...

Baseball Quick Quiz.(trivia)
February 1, 2001... Collect ten points for each question answered correctly. (If you score 80 or better, you are a baseball expert; 70 or better, superior; between 60 and 70, good, and between 40 and 60, average. This February Quick Quiz is a trivia...

Biggest Batting Gainers and Losers for 2000.(baseball players, statistics)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Anaheim's Darin Erstad and Houston's Richard Hidalgo were among the players who improved their hitting average dramatically in 2000. REBOUNDING SMARTLY FROM A SUB-PAR season in 1999 that saw his batting average plummet to .253, Darin...

2000 Batting Gainers.(baseball statistics)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... LAST YEAR 30 PLAYERS IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES INCREASED THEIR BATTING average by 30 or more points from the previous season. Angels outfielder Darin Erstad topped the majors in this department by improving his average by 102 points from .253 in...

2000 Batting Losers.(baseball players)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson had the largest decline in his batting average from 1999 to 2000 by falling 82 points from .315 with the Mets in '99 to a disappointing .233 with the Mets and Mariners last season. Last year there were...

Rollie Fingers Put a Face on Bringing Closure.
February 1, 2001... Reliever earned his way to Cooperstown with many innings, appearances and saves for Athletics, Padres and Brewers WITH A TWIRL OR A STROKE OF that Snidely Whiplash mustache--the trademark of one of only two relief pitchers in...

off-beat stats.(baseball)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Active Career Batting Leaders Listed below are the career batting leaders among players who were on the active list at the end of the 2000 season. For some players, all-time ranking is in parentheses with top three lifetime leaders in each...

Active Career Pitching Leaders.
February 1, 2001... Listed below are the career pitching leaders among players who were on the active list at the end of the 2000 season. For some pitchers, all-time ranking is in parentheses with top three lifetime leaders in each category in bold face. ...

Baseball Rules Corner.
February 1, 2001... Infield Fly rule requires baserunners to remain alert THE BALTIMORE ORIOLES TURNED the 12th triple play in their history on September 1 and there can't be a more bizarre one in the dozen. In the bottom of the second inning, Cleveland...

2000 Fielding Statistics.
February 1, 2001... GOLD GLOVE WINNERS AMERICAN LEAGUE Year Player, Team 1957 Sherm Lollar, White Sox 1958 Sherm Lollar, White Sox 1959 Sherm Lollar, White Sox 1960 Earl Battey, Senators 1961 Earl Battey, Twins 1962 Earl...

HOW CATCHERS FARED AT THROWING OUT ATTEMPTED BASE STEALERS IN 2000.
February 1, 2001... AMERICAN LEAGUE Catcher, Team G GS SBA CS CS% Ivan Rodriguez, Tex. 87 85 39 19 .49 Brad Ausmus, Det. 150 140 80 38 .48 Josh Paul, Chi. ...