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NEW YORK YANKEES - Bernie Williams 35 S/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 NYY 141 537 165 37 6 30 108 121 71 84 307 391 566 13 5
2001 NYY 146 540 166 38 0 26 102 94 78 67 307 395 522 11 5
2002 NYY 154 612 204 37 2 19 102 102 83 97 333 415 493 8 4
      Another superlative year for Bernie. Leading off innings, he had a .406 on-base percentage; with runners on base, he hit .340. With runners in scoring position, he hit .374; in close & late games, he hit .393. At one point during the season, he had hits in 11 straight at bats. He finished 10th in the MVP vote last season, only the second time in his career that he has had a Top-10 finish in MVP voting (he was 7th in 1998).
KANSAS CITY - Carlos Beltran 26 S/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 KC 98 372 92 15 4 7 49 44 35 69 247 309 366 13 0
2001 KC 155 617 189 32 12 24 106 101 52 120 306 362 514 31 1
2002 KC 162 637 174 44 7 29 114 105 71 135 273 346 501 35 7
      One of the better players in the league, still has yet to break out with a monster season but he is still very young. Beltran struggled the first half of the season, but was excellent in the second half and finished with very good numbers. He has better years ahead of him... in his career, he has stolen 109 bases, has been caught only 16 times.
MINNESOTA - Torii Hunter 28 R/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 MIN 99 336 94 14 7 5 44 44 18 68 280 318 408 4 3
2001 MIN 148 564 147 32 5 27 82 92 29 125 261 306 479 9 6
2002 MIN 148 561 162 37 4 29 89 94 35 118 289 334 524 23 8
      Hunter continues to improve at the plate, and has developed into a good player. He was also with the right team at the right time; the media showered him with accolades all year, and he finished sixth in the MVP vote. Defensively, Hunter is among the best outfielders in the league; at the plate, he's comparable to Aaron Boone or Preston Wilson, a solid hitter but not among the best.
SEATTLE - Mike Cameron 30 R/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 SEA 155 543 145 28 4 19 96 78 78 133 267 365 438 24 7
2001 SEA 150 540 144 30 5 25 99 110 69 155 267 353 480 34 5
2002 SEA 158 545 130 26 5 25 84 80 79 176 239 340 442 31 8
      A very solid player. Cameron's batting average was down, but he has enough secondary skills (power, walks, speed, defense) to compensate. He had a monster four-homer game early in the year, then went into a deep slump for two months. He can't hit at all at Safeco Field; last year he hit just .218 with seven homers at home.
      Cameron's Home/Road split in three years with the Mariners:
      AB HIT DB TP HR RUN RBI  BB AVG OBA SLG OPS
Home 776 170 35  7 19 119  96 125 219 328 356 684
Road 852 249 49  7 50 160 172 101 292 375 542 917

      Yikes!
BOSTON - Johnny Damon 29 L/L
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 KC 159 655 214 42 10 16 136 88 65 60 327 382 495 46 9
2001 OAK 155 644 165 34 4 9 108 49 61 70 256 324 363 27 12
2002 BOS 154 623 178 34 11 14 118 63 65 70 286 356 443 31 6
      Damon had a hot start, then coasted the last five months of the season. He was OK; he's a durable, consistent player; stardom has always been within his grasp, but has eluded him thus far.
ANAHEIM - Darin Erstad 29 L/L
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 ANA 157 676 240 39 6 25 121 100 64 82 355 409 541 28 8
2001 ANA 157 631 163 35 1 9 89 63 62 113 258 331 360 24 10
2002 ANA 150 625 177 28 4 10 99 73 27 67 283 313 389 23 3
      Erstad was maybe 2% better than he was in 2001, yet everyone kept crowing about his big comeback season. He also got a World Series ring and a new $32 million contract, so he's not complaining. Right now, he is a brilliant defensive player and a crappy hitter; he's hard-nosed, popular and terribly overpaid. It is always possible, I suppose, that he could regain the form that saw him hit .355 in 2000, in which case he would be one of the best players in the league... but that seems like an awful long time ago.
TORONTO - Vernon Wells 24 R/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 AAA 107 493 120 31 7 16 76 66 48 88 243 313 432 23 4
2001 AAA 127 413 116 27 4 12 57 52 29 68 281 333 463 15 11
2001 TOR30 96 30 8 0 1 14 6 5 15 313 350 427 5 0
2002 TOR 159 608 167 34 4 23 87 100 27 85 275 305 457 9 4
      Wells, in his first full season, grabbed the everyday centre field job in Toronto. He struggled early in the season, but played better during the summer and finished with decent numbers. At least he has proven that he can play in the majors; Wells has already made the transition from super-prospect to super-suspect, but now can be called a major league player.
      He is still young enough to get better. The good news is that management seems to love him, and will give him every chance to play. He will become a solid player, a new Ken Landreaux or Mike Devereux; stardom is unlikely.
TEXAS - Carl Everett 32 S/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 BOS 137 496 149 32 4 34 82 108 52 113 300 373 587 11 4
2001 BOS 102 409 105 24 4 14 61 58 27 104 257 323 438 9 2
2002 TEX 105 374 100 16 0 16 47 62 33 77 267 333 439 2 3
      A very talented player who has a few screws loose, Everett crashed and burned the first half of the season, and was batting only .193 at the break. He got his act together in the second half, and played at an MVP level, saving his season. He is too unstable to rely on, but you can't dismiss his formidable talents, either.
OAKLAND - Chris Singleton 31 L/L
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 CHW 147 511 130 22 5 11 83 62 35 85 254 301 382 22 7
2001 CHW 140 392 117 21 5 7 57 45 20 61 298 331 431 12 11
2002 BAL 136 466 122 30 6 9 67 50 21 83 262 296 410 20 2
      Singleton has now had two good seasons and two not-so-good years. Last year wasn't so good; he is a fine defensive player and he did a great job stealing bases, but his on-base percentage was very poor. He's not a young player anymore; though he has twice hit .300 I doubt he will do it again, plus the 17 homers he hit in his rookie season now look like a fluke. He's OK, better suited as a fourth outfielder. Billy Beane seems to like him, though, which might be a good thing.
BALTIMORE - Melvin Mora 31 R/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 NYM-BAL 132 414 114 22 5 8 60 47 35 80 275 337 411 12 11
2001 BAL 128 436 109 28 0 7 49 48 41 91 250 329 362 11 4
2002 BAL 149 557 130 30 4 19 86 64 70 108 233 338 404 16 10
      Last year was probably Mora's best season; he played over 100 games in the outfield, but also started 36 games at shortstop while Bordick was injured. With the glove, he wasn't as good as Bordick but was OK, and he showed excellent range in centre field.
      With the bat, he is almost a completely different player than he was two years ago. His average has dropped 40 points, but has improved his on-base percentage thanks to his ability to draw walks and get hit by pitches (20 times in 2002). He also more than doubled his career home run total.
      Mora is a late bloomer and is already 31, but should be in the league for a few more years. If he can keep getting on base and hitting home runs, then his defense in the outfield and versatility around the diamond will make him a useful player. I am assuming that he will play centre field, but Bordick is gone so who knows how things will unfold.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX - Aaron Rowand 26 R/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 AA 139 532 137 26 5 20 80 98 38 117 258 321 438 22 7
2001 AAA 82 329 97 28 0 16 54 48 21 47 295 353 526 8 2
2001 CHW 63 123 36 5 0 4 21 20 15 28 293 385 431 5 1
2002 CHW 126 302 78 16 2 7 41 29 12 54 258 298 394 0 1
      Rowand took over centre field duties in Chicago after Kenny Lofton was dealt. He was OK in the field but didn't hit. He's not the centre fielder of the future in Chicago, but he will play a little better this year, well enough to put him in a group with Mora, Singleton and a few others.
CLEVELAND - Milton Bradley 25 S/R or Coco Crisp 23 S/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
BRADLEY
2000 AAA 88 342 104 20 1 6 58 29 45 56 272 328 364 10 15
2001 AAA 65 250 66 10 2 7 39 28 42 61 264 367 404 23 3
2000 MON 42 154 34 8 1 2 20 15 14 32 221 328 364 2 1
2001 MON-CLE 77 238 53 17 3 1 22 19 21 65 223 316 391 8 5
2002 CLE 98 325 81 18 3 9 48 38 32 58 249 317 406 6 3
CRISP
2000 A 63 232 59 14 0 0 32 21 27 37 254 334 315 32 6
2001 A 139 530 162 23 3 11 80 47 52 64 306 368 423 39 21
2002 AA 96 387 120 17 1 10 70 51 39 59 310 372 437 30 10
2002 CLE 32 127 33 9 2 1 16 9 11 19 260 314 386 4 1
      We've been hearing about Bradley's potential for a long time now, but it has been a long time since you could say that he has played well at any level of ball. He is still only 25, but there is no obvious reason to expect him to develop into a good player.
      Another option is Crisp, whom the Indians acquired from the Cardinals in the Chuck Finley trade. Crisp is two years younger than Bradley and has played well in the lower minors; he also skipped a level of ball and played at least as well as Bradley. There is going to be a battle for playing time at all of the Indians' outfield positions, but my guess is that Crisp is their centre fielder of the future.
DETROIT - George Lombard 28 L/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 AAA 112 424 117 25 7 10 72 48 55 130 276 365 439 32 9
2001 INJURED
2002 DET 72 241 58 11 3 5 34 13 20 78 241 300 373 13 2
      Lombard got a chance to play after the Braves dealt him to Detroit. He fits in well with the Tigers' malaise; has a bit of this, a bit of that, but strikes out too much, can't hit for average, really isn't much of a player. Could be an OK fourth or fifth outfielder.
TAMPA BAY - Rocco Baldelli 22 R/R or Jason Conti 28 L/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
CONTI
2000 AAA 93 383 117 20 5 11 75 57 23 57 305 349 470 11 3
2001 AAA 130 519 168 35 6 14 92 70 42 85 324 386 495 5 6
2002 TAM 78 222 57 15 2 3 26 21 18 55 257 315 383 4 2
BALDELLI
2001 A 113 406 101 23 6 8 58 55 23 89 249 303 394 25 9
2002 A 77 312 104 19 1 14 63 51 18 63 333 382 535 21 6
2002 AA-AAA 40 166 54 8 2 5 23 20 5 34 325 345 488 5 7
      Two no-names who will try to establish themselves within the Rays' talent vacuum. Conti has to grab a job; he can't afford to be sent back to the minors again. He spent three years at Triple-A, though he didn't play badly. His skills are limited, but he could hit .280 with a bit of pop.
      Baldelli is much younger. He struggled badly in the South Atlantic League in 2001, but after playing very well in 77 games at Bakersfield last season, the Rays rushed him up to Durham. He's got power and speed and could be a good player in two years, might play with the Rays this year because they have no one better.


CENTRE FIELDERS - BOTH LEAGUES
1 Bernie Williams11 Mark Kotsay21 Aaron Rowand
2 Brian Giles12 Preston Wilson22 Craig Biggio
3 Jim Edmonds13 Steve Finley23 Juan Pierre
4 Andruw Jones14 Vernon Wells24 Roger Cedeno
5 Ken Griffey Jr15 Carl Everett25 Marquis Grissom
6 Carlos Beltran16 Chris Singleton26 Milton Bradley
7 Torii Hunter17 Marlon Byrd27 Alex Sanchez
8 Mike Cameron18 Dave Roberts28 Endy Chavez
9 Johnny Damon19 Melvin Mora29 George Lombard
10 Darin Erstad20 Corey Patterson30 Jason Conti