MVP Profile: Jose Canseco, 1988

Outfielder, Oakland Athletics

Age:  24 (July 2)

3^rd season with Athletics

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 240 

Prior to 1988:

A native of Cuba, Canseco and his family resettled in Opa-Locka, Florida, near Miami. He played baseball at the junior-varsity level until he was a senior in high school, at which point he was chosen by the Athletics in the fifteenth round of the 1982 amateur draft. Playing for teams in two leagues at the Rookie and Class A levels in ’82 he batted a combined .242 with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs in 34 games. In 1983 he started the season with Medford of the short-season Class A Northwest League where he was an All-Star selection after hitting .269 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs. Canseco moved on to Madison of the Class A Midwest League to finish out the year and hit a measly .159 with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs over the course of 34 games. Playing for Modesto of the Class A California League in 1984, he batted .276 with 15 home runs and 73 RBIs. In the offseason he had his first admitted use of steroids as part of a weight training regimen in which he added several pounds of muscle. What followed in 1985 was a big performance with the Huntsville Stars of the Class AA Southern League in which he belted 25 home runs in only 58 games, along with a .318 average and 80 RBIs. Moving up to Tacoma of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League he hit another 11 home runs along with 47 RBIs and a .348 average in 60 games. Receiving a September call-up to the A’s, Canseco appeared in 29 games and hit .302 with 5 home runs and 13 RBIs. He was inserted into left field for Oakland in 1986. The result was an AL Rookie of the Year season in which he slugged 33 home runs with 117 RBIs, while striking out 175 times and batting .240 with a .318 on-base percentage. Canseco followed up with another strong season in 1987 as he hit .257 with 31 home runs and 113 RBIs. He was overshadowed by rookie first baseman Mark McGwire’s 49-home run performance as the two together came to be known as “the Bash Brothers”. Canseco was shifted to right field in 1988.

1988 Season Summary

Appeared in 158 games

RF – 144, DH – 13, PH – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 705 [2]

At Bats – 610 [9]

Runs – 120 [2]

Hits – 187 [6]

Doubles – 34 [16, tied with Paul Molitor]

Triples – 0

Home Runs – 42 [1]

RBI – 124 [1]

Bases on Balls – 78 [11]

Int. BB – 10 [12, tied with Dave Winfield, Robin Yount & Ruben Sierra]

Strikeouts – 128 [7]

Stolen Bases – 40 [4]

Caught Stealing – 16 [2]

Average - .307 [9]

OBP - .391 [6]

Slugging Pct. - .569 [1]

Total Bases – 347 [2]

GDP – 15 [18, tied with five others]

Hit by Pitches – 10 [5]

Sac Hits – 1

Sac Flies – 6

League-leading home runs were +8 ahead of runner-up Fred McGriff

League-leading RBIs were +3 ahead of runner-up Kirby Puckett

League-leading slugging percentage was +.017 ahead of runner-up Fred McGriff

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 12, HR – 24, RBI – 67, SB – 22, AVG - .290, SLG PCT - .533, OBP – .383

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) vs. California 8/12

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

Most HR, game – 3 (in 7 AB) at Toronto 7/3 – 16 innings

HR at home – 16

HR on road – 26

Multi-HR games – 2

Most RBIs, game – 6 at Toronto 7/3 – 16 innings

Pinch-hitting – 0 for 1 (.000)

Fielding

Chances – 322

Put Outs – 304

Assists – 11

Errors – 7

DP - 3

Pct. - .978

Postseason Batting: 9 G (ALCS vs. Boston – 4 G, World Series vs. LA Dodgers – 5 G)

PA – 39, AB – 35, R – 5, H – 6, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 4, RBI – 9, BB – 3, IBB – 0, SO – 7, SB – 2, CS – 1, AVG - .171, OBP - .256, SLG - .543, TB – 19, GDP – 1, HBP – 1, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

Silver Slugger

All-Star (Started for AL in LF)

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Jose Canseco, Oak.: 392 points - 28 of 28 first place votes, 100% share

Mike Greenwell, Bos.: 242 points – 62% share

Kirby Puckett, Min.: 219 points – 56% share

Dave Winfield, NYY: 164 points – 42% share

Dennis Eckersley, Oak.: 156 points – 40% share

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Athletics went 104-58 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 13 games over the Minnesota Twins. A youthful team supplemented by veteran acquisitions the A’s took command of the AL West thanks to a 14-game winning streak from April into May.  The lead held up the rest of the way despite a brief June slump. Canseco made good on his stated objective of becoming the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season. Won ALCS over the Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 0. Lost World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 1.

Aftermath of 1988:

Heading into 1989, off-field issues began to tarnish Canseco’s image in addition to his being sidelined by a stress fracture in his left wrist that required surgery. When he finally took to the field for the A’s, he played well, batting .269 in 65 games with 17 home runs and 57 RBIs. The team again won its division and the AL pennant, as well as the World Series, in which Canseco batted .357 with a home run. He had a solid season in 1990 in which he batted .274 with 37 home runs and 101 RBIs. Oakland won a third straight pennant and was swept by Cincinnati in the World Series, where Canseco’s hitting was negligible. He topped the AL with 44 home runs in 1991, in addition to batting .266 with 122 RBIs for the fourth place A’s. Having run afoul of the Oakland front office and manager Tony LaRussa, Canseco was traded to the Texas Rangers on August 31, 1992 for outfielder Ruben Sierra, RHP Jeff Russell, RHP Bobby Witt, and cash. For the year he ended up with 26 home runs, 87 RBIs, and a .244 batting average. In 1993 Canseco was embarrassed in the outfield by having a fly ball hit him on the head and bounce over the wall for a home run. More seriously, a few days later in a runaway loss to the Red Sox in Boston, he was used as a pitcher and injured his arm to the extent that he required surgery. Appearing in only 60 games, he batted .255 with 10 home runs and 46 RBIs. Coming back to the Rangers during the strike-shortened 1994 season, he was utilized as a Designated Hitter and batted .282 with 31 home runs and 90 RBIs. In the offseason Canseco was dealt to the Boston Red Sox where he DH’d and hit .306 with 24 home runs and 81 RBIs in 1995. He was again productive at bat in 1996 where he batted .289 with 28 home runs and 82 RBIs. Traded back to Oakland in 1997, Canseco appeared in 108 games and hit .235 with 23 home runs and 73 RBIs. He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent in 1998 and had a big year with 46 home runs, 107 RBIs, and a .237 batting average. With the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999 he was an All-Star for the last time in his career, hitting 34 home runs with 95 RBIs and a .279 average. Waived by Tampa Bay during the 2000 season, he bounced around among a few major and minor league clubs in 2001 and ’02 to finish out his career. Overall, Canseco batted .266 in the major leagues with 1877 hits that included 340 doubles, 14 triples, and 462 home runs. He also accumulated 1407 RBIs and 200 stolen bases. With Oakland he batted .264 with 1048 hits, including 186 doubles, 8 triples, and 254 home runs as well as 793 RBIs and 135 stolen bases. He was a six-time All-Star (5 with the A’s), won four Silver Slugger awards, and twice led the AL in home runs. In 30 postseason games he hit .184 with 7 home runs and 18 RBIs. Canseco’s twin brother Ozzie also briefly played major league baseball. His life post baseball continued to be filled with controversy, particularly after the publishing of his tell-all book Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, that discussed the alleged extent of steroid use in the major leagues during Canseco’s playing career and fueled the investigation of performance enhancing drugs in baseball.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player. 

Rookie of the Year: Walt Weiss, 1988

Shortstop, Oakland Athletics

Age:  24

Bats – Both, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 175 

Prior to 1988:

A native of New York state, Weiss was physically and mentally tough with a strong work ethic, although he was a scrawny 5’3” and 105 pounds when he entered Suffern High School. Filling out in the ensuing years, he ran track and played football in addition to baseball. Named Rockland County baseball player of the year in 1982, he was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the ’82 amateur draft. Deciding instead to attend the Univ. of North Carolina, he was all-conference for three years and was drafted by the Athletics eleventh overall in 1985. After signing, Weiss split time in the Rookie-level Pioneer League and the Class A California League in ’85 and in a combined 70 games he batted .261. Moving on to Madison of the Class A Midwest League in 1986, Weiss hit .301 with a .362 on-base percentage while appearing in 84 games and was promoted to Huntsville of the Class AA Southern League where he hit .250 in 46 games. Starting the 1987 season with Huntsville, Weiss batted .285 in 91 games and moved on to Tacoma of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League for 46 games. He saw his first action with Oakland where he appeared in 16 games and hit .462, also showing enough in the field that veteran shortstop Alfredo Griffin was traded in the offseason to create an opening for Weiss in 1988.  

1988 Season Summary

Appeared in 147 games

SS – 147, PH – 1, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 511

At Bats – 452

Runs – 44

Hits – 113

Doubles – 17

Triples – 3

Home Runs – 3

RBI – 39

Bases on Balls – 35

Int. BB – 1

Strikeouts – 56

Stolen Bases – 4

Caught Stealing – 4

Average - .250

OBP - .312

Slugging Pct. - .321

Total Bases – 145

GDP – 9

Hit by Pitches – 9 [6, tied with four others]

Sac Hits – 8 [19, tied with six others]

Sac Flies – 7 [11, tied with ten others]

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 6, HR – 3, RBI – 26, AVG - .232, OBP - .291

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Most hits, game – 3 on six occasions

Longest hitting streak – 6 games

Most HR, game – 1 (in 3 AB) at Baltimore 5/15, (in 4 AB) at Minnesota 6/3, (in 4 AB) at Detroit 7/10

HR at home – 0

HR on road – 3

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Detroit 7/10

Pinch-hitting – 0 for 1 (.000)

Fielding

Chances – 700

Put Outs – 254

Assists – 431

Errors – 15

DP – 83

Pct. - .979

Postseason Batting: 9 G (ALCS vs. Boston 4 G; World Series vs. LA Dodgers 5 G)

PA – 32, AB – 31, R – 3, H – 6, 2B – 2,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 0, IBB – 0, SO – 6, SB – 1, CS – 0, AVG - .194, OBP - .194, SLG -.258, TB – 8, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA 

AL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Walt Weiss, Oak.: 103 points – 17 of 28 first place votes, 74% share

Bryan Harvey, Cal.: 49 points –3 first place votes, 35% share

Jody Reed, Bos.: 48 points – 6 first place votes, 34% share

Don August, Mil.: 22 points. – 16% share

Dave Gallagher, ChiWS.: 18 points – 2 first place votes, 13% share

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Athletics went 104-58 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 13 games over the Minnesota Twins. A youthful team supplemented by veteran acquisitions the A’s took command of the AL West thanks to a 14-game winning streak from April into May.  The lead held up the rest of the way despite a brief June slump . Won ALCS over the Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 0. Lost World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 1.

Aftermath of ‘88:

In 1989, a knee injury hindered Weiss, who was limited to 84 games and batted .233. He overcame further injuries in 1990 to hit .265 with a .337 OBP. Oakland won a third straight pennant, but Weiss was injured during the ALCS triumph over the Red Sox and missed the World Series, in which Cincinnati swept the A’s. In 1991 he suffered a serious leg injury and appeared in only 40 games while hitting a paltry .226. Playing in just 103 games in 1992, Weiss batted only .212 and was dealt to the expansion Florida Marlins in the offseason. Healthy enough to appear in 158 games in 1993, he hit .266 with a .367 OBP, thanks to drawing 79 walks. His defense was solid as well. A free agent in the offseason, Weiss signed with the other ’93 expansion club, the Colorado Rockies. Helping the Rockies solidify their middle infield with his good defense that included an accurate throwing arm, Weiss also batted .251 with a .336 OBP and 12 stolen bases during the strike-shortened 1994 season. The Rockies reached the postseason in 1995 and Weiss contributed steady play at shortstop and furthermore drew 98 walks although typically batting eighth in the lineup. He hit .260 with a .403 OBP and stole 15 bases in 18 attempts. In 1996 he batted a career-high .282 with 8 home runs and 48 RBIs while drawing 80 walks. Weiss spent one more season in Colorado in 1997 and hit .270 with a .377 OBP before departing as a free agent in the offseason and signing with the Atlanta Braves. He was an All-Star for the only time in his career, but injuries and the distraction of his young son’s illness limited him to 96 games, and while he hit .280, his second-half production was only .227 after being .312 at the All-Star break. Weiss played two more seasons with the Braves before retiring after the 2000 season. For his major league career, Weiss batted .258 with 1207 hits that included 182 doubles, 31 triples, and 25 home runs. He scored 623 runs and compiled 386 RBIs, 96 stolen bases, and a .351 OBP. Weiss drew 658 walks, which matched his strikeout total over the course of 1495 games. Defensively he was more impressive, if not a spectacular performer with a fielding percentage of .970. With the Athletics he batted .246 with 395 hits, 60 doubles, 8 home runs, 178 runs scored, 130 RBIs, 32 stolen bases, and a .316 OBP. Weiss appeared in 46 postseason games and hit .190 with a home run and 7 RBIs. Following his playing career, he returned to the Colorado Rockies where he held several roles in the organization, including manager from 2013-16. His teams produced a 283-365 overall record.  

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.  

Cy Young Profile: Frank Viola, 1988

Pitcher, Minnesota Twins

 

Age:  28 (April 19)

7^th season with Twins

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 200 

Prior to 1988:

A native of New York’s Long Island, Viola was an All-Nassau County first baseman at East Meadow High School. He began pitching as a junior and was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1978. He passed on the Royals to accept a scholarship to St. John’s University where he improved his mechanics and produced a 26-2 record. Selected by the Twins in the 1981 amateur draft, he signed and was initially assigned to Orlando of the Class AA Southern League where he went 5-4 with a 3.43 ERA. Viola started the 1982 season in Class AAA with the Toledo Mud Hens of the International League but was called up by the struggling Twins and, following a promising start, he lost his last six decisions on the way to a 4-10 tally with a 5.21 ERA for a last-place club that lost 102 games. 1983 was another difficult year in which Viola went 7-15 with a 5.49 ERA, a league-leading 128 earned runs surrendered, and further gave up 34 home runs. Improvement came in 1984 as he posted an 18-12 mark with a 3.21 ERA and 149 strikeouts. Under the guidance of pitching coach Johnny Podres he added a changeup to go along with his fastball and curve, which made a difference, and he also picked up the nickname “Sweet Music” thanks to a Twins fan who regularly hung a sign from the upper deck at the Metrodome that read “Frankie Sweet Music Viola”. In 1985 he overcame a slow start to produce an 18-14 record with a 4.09 ERA and 135 strikeouts. His 1986 tally was 16-13 with a 4.51 ERA and 191 strikeouts. Easily derailed by adversity, he took a page from veteran teammate Bert Blyleven and better mastered his emotions while also improving his changeup. The result was encouraging in 1987 as Viola compiled a 17-10 record for the division-winning Twins, along with a 2.90 ERA and 197 strikeouts. He won a game in the ALCS defeat of the Detroit Tigers and was 2-1 in the seven-game World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, earning MVP honors.   

1988 Season Summary

Appeared in 35 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 35

Games Started – 35 [3, tied with six others]

Complete Games – 7 [17, tied with Charlie Leibrandt, Bert Blyleven & Bruce Hurst]

Wins – 24 [1]

Losses – 7

PCT - .774 [1]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 2 [8, tied with thirteen others]

Innings Pitched – 255.1 [6]

Hits – 236 [9]

Runs – 80

Earned Runs – 75

Home Runs – 20

Bases on Balls – 54

Strikeouts – 193 [3]

ERA – 2.64 [3]

Hit Batters – 3

Balks – 1

Wild Pitches – 5

League-leading wins were +3 ahead of runner-up Dave Stewart

League-leading win percentage was +.024 ahead of runner-up Bruce Hurst

 

Midseason Snapshot: 14-2, ERA - 2.24, SO - 104 in 140.1 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 10 (in 9 IP) vs. Texas 8/20

10+ strikeout games – 1

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 9 IP) vs. California 6/22, (in 9 IP) vs. Boston 7/6, (in 7 IP) vs. Baltimore 4/26

 Fielding

Chances – 37

Put Outs – 5

Assists – 30

Errors – 2

DP – 1

Pct. - .946

Awards & Honors:

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

10^th in AL MVP voting (39 points, 10% share)

All-Star (Starting P for AL)

AL Cy Young voting:

Frank Viola, Min.: 138 pts. – 27 of 28 first place votes, 99% share

Dennis Eckersley, Oak.: 52 pts. – 1 first place vote, 37% share

Mark Gubicza, KCR.: 26 pts. – 19% share

Dave Stewart, Oak.: 16 pts. – 11% share

Bruce Hurst, Bos.: 12 pts. – 9% share

Roger Clemens, Bos.: 8 pts. – 6% share

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Twins went 91-71 to finish second in the AL Western Division, 13 games behind the division-winning Oakland Athletics. The slow-starting Twins were 11-18 by May 9 but went 80-53 the rest of the way and were unable to gain ground on Oakland in the division race.

Aftermath of ‘88:

Following bitter negotiations, in 1989 Viola signed a contract extension with the Twins. He got off to a poor start, losing his first five decisions, and being booed by the home fans as a result. On July 31 he was traded to the New York Mets for five players that included pitchers Rick Aguilera and Kevin Tapani. At 8-12 with a 3.79 ERA at the time of the deal, Viola went 5-5 with a 3.38 ERA the rest of the way for the Mets, giving him a combined record of 13-17 with a 3.66 ERA and 211 strikeouts. With the Mets in 1990 he returned to form with a 20-12 tally and 2.67 ERA with 182 strikeouts while topping the National League with 249.2 innings pitched. Having been diagnosed with bone spurs in his left elbow, Viola still got off to a 10-5 start in 1991 before fading in the second half and finishing up at 13-15 with a 3.97 ERA and 132 strikeouts. A free agent in the offseason he signed with the Boston Red Sox for three years and $13.9 million. In 1992 Viola posted a 13-12 tally with a 3.44 ERA and 121 strikeouts. Despite chronic elbow problems in 1993 which caused the club to shut him down by mid-September, he finished at 11-8 with a 3.14 ERA. Viola had offseason elbow surgery and started the 1994 season but was done by May when it became necessary to have further surgery on his elbow. After spending time with the Toronto and Cincinnati minor league organizations in 1995 and making one last major league appearance with the Blue Jays in 1996, Viola retired. For his major league career, “Sweet Music” posted a 176-150 record with a 3.73 ERA, 74 complete games, 16 shutouts, and 1844 strikeouts in 2836.1 innings pitched. With the Twins he was 112-93 with a 3.86 ERA, 54 complete games, 10 shutouts, and 1214 strikeouts in 1772.2 innings. In five postseason games, all in 1987, he posted a 3-1 tally with 4.31 ERA and 25 strikeouts. A three-time All-Star he received Cy Young votes after four seasons, winning once. Viola was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015. He has worked as a pitching coach for several minor league teams.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.