CHICAGO CUBS - Sammy Sosa 33 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 CHC 162 625 180 24 2 63 114 141 78 171 288 367 635 7 8 2000 CHC 156 604 193 38 1 50 106 138 91 168 320 406 634 7 4 2001 CHC 160 577 189 34 5 64 146 160 116 153 328 437 737 0 2       Sammy is a monster; he now has four straight 50+ homer seasons under his belt, three times topping the 60 mark. I could say, I suppose, that this is as good as he is going to get, but I say that every year, and every year he makes more dramatic improvements. I don't think you can overstate how great this guy is right now. I would love to watch him in the playoffs... too bad he plays for the Cubs.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: Slammin' Sammy is better than ever... and he didn't even need Moises Alou to protect him in the lineup. Now, if the Cubs were smart, they would have invested the money they spent on to Alou into a leadoff hitter, but...

MONTREAL - Vlad Guerrero 26 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 MON 160 610 193 37 5 42 102 131 55 62 316 378 600 14 7 2000 MON 154 571 197 28 11 44 101 123 58 74 345 410 664 9 10 2001 MON 159 599 184 45 4 34 107 108 60 88 307 377 566 37 16       My favourite player, an unbelievable talent who does everything well, and continues to surprise every year. Last year, he set a career high in doubles, and also stole many more bases than he had before. He has also increased his walks total every year that he has been in the league. Though he has been a star for several years now, he is only 26 years old; he will get his 1000th hit this year, and should pass 200 home runs as well.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: Still an Expo.

HOUSTON - Lance Berkman 26 S/L

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 HOU 34 93 22 2 0 4 10 15 12 21 237 321 387 5 1 2000 HOU 114 353 105 28 1 21 76 67 56 73 297 388 561 6 2 2001 HOU 156 577 191 55 5 34 110 126 92 121 331 430 620 7 9       Berkman has quickly developed into one of the best hitters in baseball. There is absolutely nothing not to like about him; he could win the batting title or hit 60 doubles or 40 homers, and he has outstanding plate discipline. He should be one of the best players in baseball over the next ten years.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: Leading the league in homers and RBI, and playing centre field! I think the baseball world has heard of him now.

PHILADELPHIA - Bobby Abreu 28 L/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 PHI 152 546 183 35 11 20 118 93 109 113 335 446 549 27 9 2000 PHI 154 576 182 42 10 25 103 79 100 116 316 416 554 28 8 2001 PHI 162 588 170 48 4 31 118 110 106 137 289 393 543 36 14       The National League is stacked with outstanding right fielders. Abreu hits for average and hits for power and is a good baserunner and has excellent command of the strike zone and is a fine defensive player... but the same is true for half the other guys on this list. Like Sosa, Guerrero, Berkman, Walker, Green, Drew, etc., he is an MVP candidate.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: His power numbers are way down (seven homers at the break), but otherwise Abreu is quietly having another stellar season.

LOS ANGELES - Shawn Green 29 L/L

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 TOR 153 614 190 45 0 42 134 123 66 117 309 384 588 20 7 2000 LA 162 610 164 44 4 24 98 99 90 121 269 367 472 24 5 2001 LA 161 619 184 31 4 49 121 125 72 107 297 372 598 20 4       Green drew some criticism after a sub-par debut season with Los Angeles. All he did last year was come back and set a new Dodgers record for home runs in a season. And there is no reason to think that it was a fluke, since he had almost the exact same season in 1999. More of the same in 2002; I still think he should hit for a higher batting average, and he may yet.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: You know the story... slow start... was sat down for a couple of games in May... since then he has hit a boatload homers and led the Dodgers into first place. Historically, he's always been much stronger in the second half of the season.

ATLANTA - Gary Sheffield 33 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 LA 152 549 165 20 0 34 103 101 101 64 301 407 523 11 5 2000 LA 141 501 163 24 3 43 105 109 101 71 325 438 643 4 6 2001 LA 143 515 160 28 2 36 98 100 94 67 311 417 583 10 4       It seems odd to describe Sheffield as "consistent", but he has now given the Dodgers three consecutive healthy, All-Star seasons. It is becoming, perhaps, easy to take the man for granted; he is a really great hitter with as much explosive ability as any other player in the game. I could easily rank him higher than this... but he's still Gary Sheffield, and his big mouth still gets him in the news even in the middle of winter. He could win the MVP Award just as easily as he could be traded by April.       ADDENDUM: Nope, he was traded in January, about a week after I wrote the above comment. He will now patrol right field for the Braves.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: Sheffield has been hurt a lot and hasn't produced as much as the Braves hoped he would. On the other hand, as soon as he got healthy the Braves started winning all of their games, and they now have the best record in the league. Despite the success of Odalis Perez, I don't think Schuerholtz regrets making the trade.

COLORADO - Larry Walker 36 L/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 COL 127 438 166 26 4 37 108 115 57 52 379 458 710 11 4 2000 COL 87 314 97 21 7 9 64 51 46 40 309 409 506 5 5 2001 COL 142 497 174 35 3 38 107 123 82 103 350 449 662 14 5       Walker is Canadian, as am I; we grew up only about 2000 miles from each other. North of the border, we like to talk about Walker's achievements with one eye closed, celebrating his big seasons while conveniently ignoring the profound impact that Coors Field has had on his statistics.       Walker is probably the greatest Canadian-born position player, for what it's worth; his only rivals are Tip O'Neill and Jeff Heath, both good players but I think I will take Walker. Fergie Jenkins remains the greatest Canuck of them all, and is the only Canadian-born player in the Hall Of Fame.       There is some sentiment north of the border that Walker is headed for the Hall as well; after all, he has an MVP Award, three batting titles, and his numbers the past five years are the kind that Ted Williams used to put up. I don't know if he will go in or not, but I have to think that his chances are slim. Consider that,       1) Walker is 36 years, and has entered the final stage of his career       2) Walker has always been prone to injury, and that is unlikely to change as he gets older       3) Walker has 1702 hits, and is still two healthy seasons away from 2000. Even if he reaches that milestone, he will be 38 years old, and 2000 hits isn't much for a Hall Of Fame outfielder. There are many outfielders with more than 2000 hits who are not in the Hall.       4) Walker has 309 home runs. At his age, 500 is probably out of reach, 400 is still a long ways away       Once again, I also have to mention Coors Field. I know that his defenders will say that it is unfair to criticize Walker because of the park he plays in, but I think that the basic facts of the case are obvious. Walker, despite playing half of his career in baseball's greatest hitters' park, in a great hitters' era that has seen many offensive records fall, is still 2-3 years away from reaching the mininum numbers that you would expect from a Hall Of Famer. He's had everything in his favour, and still comes up short. He's a terrific player, but not a Hall Of Famer.       As for 2002, Walker probably deserves to rank higher on this list... but he seems to get hurt every other year, so I don't expect him to put in another full season.

ST LOUIS - JD Drew 26 L/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 STL 104 368 89 16 6 13 72 39 50 77 242 340 424 19 3 2000 STL 135 407 120 17 2 18 73 57 67 99 295 401 479 17 9 2001 STL 109 375 121 18 5 27 80 73 57 75 323 414 613 13 3       How good are the right fielders in the National League? JD Drew might win the MVP Award this year, and I have him ranked 8th at his own position... he's an outstanding young hitter who is quickly maturing into one of the best hitters in the league. Only 26 years old; he's got bigger things ahead of him.

SAN DIEGO - Ryan Klesko 31 L/L

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 ATL 133 404 120 28 2 21 55 80 53 69 297 376 532 5 2 2000 SD 145 494 140 33 2 26 88 92 91 81 283 393 516 23 7 2001 SD 146 538 154 34 6 30 105 113 88 89 286 384 539 23 4       Over the past two seasons, Klesko has stolen 46 bases, and has been caught only 11 times. When he is not terrorizing opposing pitchers on the basepaths, he hits some homers, draws walks and keeps his average up. He's a terrific hitter, and I still wouldn't rule out a big 45-homer season.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: Has been back at first base because of the injury to Nevin, and has been outstanding.

SAN FRANCISCO - Reggie Sanders 34 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 SD 133 478 136 24 7 26 92 72 65 108 285 376 527 36 13 2000 ATL 103 340 79 23 1 11 43 37 32 78 232 302 403 21 4 2001 ARI 126 441 116 21 3 33 84 90 46 126 263 337 549 14 10       Sanders is a veteran who has a long history of getting hurt. Even last year, when he seemed to be healthier than usual, he still managed to miss 35 games. Sanders is no longer the outstanding all-around player that he once was, but he can still hit home runs, and he earned himself a World Series ring with Arizona last season. He should help the Giants lineup that sorely missed Ellis Burks last season.

FLORIDA - Kevin Millar 30 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS Millar 1999 FLO 105 351 100 17 4 9 48 67 40 64 285 362 433 1 0 2000 FLO 123 259 67 14 3 14 36 42 36 47 259 364 498 0 0 2001 FLO 144 449 141 39 5 20 62 85 39 70 314 374 557 0 0       Millar had a heck of a season, but hasn't gotten a lot of credit for it; even now, there are rumours swirling that the Marlins are looking for another outfielder. He's buried among the elite of NL right fielders, would rank higher in the junior circuit. Millar can hit, but has always had trouble finding playing time; if he is lucky, he might get dealt to an American League team that needs a full-time DH.

NEW YORK METS - Jeromy Burnitz 33 L/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 MIL 130 467 126 33 2 33 87 103 91 124 270 402 561 7 3 2000 MIL 161 564 131 29 2 31 91 98 99 121 232 356 456 6 4 2001 MIL 154 562 141 32 4 34 104 100 80 150 251 347 504 0 4       Burnitz played a little better last year, still nowhere near as good as he was three years ago. At age 33, his decline is probably irreversible; he's an OK player, probably won't last too much longer.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: His batting average is resting at .206.

ARIZONA - Danny Bautista 30 R/R and Dave Dellucci 28 L/L

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS DELLUCCI 1999 ARI 63 109 43 7 1 1 27 15 11 24 394 463 505 2 0 2000 ARI 34 50 15 3 0 0 2 2 4 9 300 352 360 0 2 2001 ARI 115 217 60 10 2 10 28 40 22 52 276 349 479 2 1 BAUTISTA 1999 FLO 70 205 59 10 1 5 32 24 4 30 288 303 420 3 0 2000 FLO-ARI 131 351 100 20 7 11 54 59 25 50 285 333 476 6 2 2001 ARI 100 222 67 11 2 5 26 26 14 31 302 346 437 3 2       Reggie Sanders is gone, to be replaced by the Diamondbacks' reserve outfielders from 2001. Dellucci is probably the better player of the two, though Brenly fell in love with Bautista during last year's playoffs. They are an adequate platoon combination; either one of these players could emerge as a regular, though not a particularly good one.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: Bautista was making the most of his opportunity, batting .325, when he suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder in May. The Diamondbacks have since used Quinton McCracken, who has been great. Where does Arizona find these guys?

MILWAUKEE - Alex Ochoa 30 R/R and Matt Stairs 34 L/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS OCHOA 1999 MIL 119 277 83 16 3 8 47 40 45 43 300 404 466 6 4 2000 CIN 118 244 77 21 3 13 50 58 24 27 316 378 586 8 4 2001 CIN-COL 148 536 148 30 7 8 73 52 45 76 276 334 403 17 13 STAIRS 1999 OAK 146 531 137 26 3 38 94 102 89 124 258 366 533 2 7 2000 OAK 143 476 108 26 0 21 74 81 78 122 227 333 414 5 2 2001 CHC 128 340 85 21 0 17 48 61 52 76 250 358 462 2 3       Long-time Brewers right fielder Jeromy Burnitz has been traded, to be replaced by the forgettable platoon of Ochoa and Stairs. Ochoa is a pretty good fourth outfielder, but showed last year that he is stretched to play on a daily basis. Stairs is a lumbering power hitter who has lost a lot with the bat the past two seasons. On a list of Great Brewer Platoons, they rank a little ahead of Glenn Braggs and Mike Felder.

CINCINNATI - Juan Encarnacion 26 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 1999 DET 132 509 130 30 6 19 62 74 14 113 255 287 450 33 12 2000 DET 141 547 158 25 6 14 75 72 29 90 289 330 433 16 4 2001 DET 120 417 101 19 7 12 52 52 25 93 242 292 408 9 5       A poor man's Juan Samuel... his average isn't very good, he has some power and speed but not enough of either, he isn't a great defensive player... another athlete with lots of tools who could never gel them together and become a ballplayer.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: A surprising strength for the Reds. Encarnacion has played well, and has also played lots of games in centre, filling in for Junior. Young Austin Kearns has also gotten lots of playing time in right, and is having a terrific rookie season.       ANOTHER MID-SEASON UPDATE: Encarnacion has been dealt to Florida. I presume that the Reds are going to commit to Kearns the rest of the way.

PITTSBURGH - Armando Rios 30 L/L and Derek Bell 33 R/R

YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS RIOS 1999 SF 72 150 49 9 0 7 32 29 24 35 327 420 527 7 4 2000 SF 115 233 62 15 5 10 38 50 31 43 266 347 502 3 2 2001 SF-PIT 95 319 83 17 3 14 38 50 36 74 260 332 464 3 2 BELL 1999 HOU 128 509 120 22 0 12 61 66 50 129 236 306 350 18 6 2000 NYM 144 546 145 31 1 18 87 69 65 125 266 348 425 8 4 2001 PIT 46 156 27 3 0 5 14 13 25 38 173 287 288 0 2       Bell was a big free agent signing for the Pirates (or, at least, as big as they get in Pittsburgh) but had a miserable season. Later in the season, Rios was picked up in a trade with the Giants. Bell is better than he showed last year, Rios probably isn't; the two of them together may not be the worst in the league, but they are the most depressing.       ADDENDUM: Bell, apparently not happy to be battling for a job, has announced that "Operation Shutdown" will go into effect if he is not the starter in right. I admire a man who feels no shame in a .173 batting average.       MID-SEASON UPDATE: The Pirates have been using a right fielder called Mackowiak who has a great name and is a much better player than Derek Bell.

RIGHT FIELDERS - BOTH LEAGUES
1 Sammy Sosa	11 JD Drew	21 Danny Bautista
2 Vladimir Guerrero	12 Jermaine Dye	22 John Vander Wal
3 Lance Berkman	13 Ryan Klesko	23 Rob Fick
4 Bobby Abreu	14 Trot Nixon	24 Alex Ochoa
5 Shawn Green	15 Reggie Sanders	25 Mark Quinn
6 Magglio Ordonez	16 Matt Lawton	26 Brian Buchanan
7 Ichiro Suzuki	17 Raul Mondesi	27 Melvin Mora
8 Gary Sheffield	18 Kevin Millar	28 Randy Winn
9 Larry Walker	19 Tim Salmon	29 Juan Encarnacion
10 Juan Gonzalez	20 Jeromy Burnitz	30 Armando Rios