Rookie of the Year: Eric Karros, 1992

First Baseman, Los Angeles Dodgers

 

Age:  24

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 205

Prior to 1992:

Born in New Jersey, Karros (pronounced Kare-ose) moved to California with his family during his youth. A good student at San Diego’s Patrick Henry High School, he played baseball as well. Going on to college at UCLA, Karros made the baseball team as a walk-on. Developing into a solid line drive hitter, he was chosen by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the 1988 amateur draft, following his junior year. Starting out professionally with Great Falls of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, Karros batted .366 with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs. Advancing to Bakersfield of the Class A California League in 1989, he hit .303 with a league-leading 40 doubles, 15 home runs, and 86 RBIs along with 18 stolen bases. Karros spent 1990 with San Antonio of the Class AA Texas League where he batted .352 with 45 doubles, 18 home runs, and 78 RBIs. In 1991 he moved up to the Albuquerque Dukes of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he hit .316 with 33 doubles, 8 triples, 22 home runs, and 101 RBIs. Called up by the Dodgers for the September stretch run, he had one hit in 15 plate appearances. With veteran first baseman Eddie Murray having departed via free agency, Karros beat out Todd Benzinger for the starting job for 1992.  

1992 Season Summary

Appeared in 149 games

1B – 143, PH – 7

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 589

At Bats – 545 [18]

Runs – 63

Hits – 140

Doubles – 30

Triples – 1

Home Runs – 20 [11, tied with Ray Lankford & Matt Williams]

RBI – 88 [12]

Bases on Balls – 37

Int. BB – 3

Strikeouts – 103 [9, tied with Darren Daulton & Jay Bell]

Stolen Bases – 2

Caught Stealing – 4

Average - .257

OBP - .304

Slugging Pct. - .426

Total Bases – 232 [20, tied with John Kruk]

GDP – 15 [5, tied with four others]

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 5

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 13, HR - 10, RBI – 33, AVG - .259, SLG – .430, OBP - .289

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Most hits, game – 3 on nine occasions

Longest hitting streak – 7 games

Most HR, game – 1 on twenty occasions

HR at home – 6

HR on road – 14

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Cincinnati 8/11

Pinch-hitting – 4 for 7 (.571) with 3 R, 1 2B, 1 HR & 4 RBI

Fielding

Chances – 1346

Put Outs – 1211

Assists – 126

Errors – 9

DP - 98

Pct. - .993 

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

NL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Eric Karros, LAD: 116 pts. – 22 of 24 first place votes, 97% share

Moises Alou, Mon.: 30 pts. – 25% share

Tim Wakefield, Pitt.: 29 pts. – 2 first place votes, 24% share

Reggie Sanders, Cin.: 23 pts. – 19% share

Donovan Osborne, StL.: 12 pts. – 10% share 

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Dodgers went 63-99 to finish sixth in the NL Western Division, 35 games behind the division-winning Atlanta Braves. The Dodgers were at .500 on June 1 but a 10-game losing streak in June dropped them into last place for good.

Aftermath of ‘92:

Following his impressive rookie season, Karros remained a dependable run producer in 1993 with 27 doubles, 23 home runs, and 80 RBIs while his average dropped to .247 and his OBP to .287. He remained dependable in the field as he led NL first basemen with 147 assists. The steady Karros hit .266 with 14 home runs and 46 RBIs during the strike-shortened 1994 season but in 1995, aided by a strong second half, he batted .298 with 32 home runs and 105 RBIs. He finished fifth in NL MVP voting. The power production remained strong in 1996 as Karros hit .260 with 34 home runs and 111 RBIs. In 1997 he batted .266 with 31 home runs and 104 RBIs but still found himself exposed in the expansion draft. Remaining with the Dodgers in 1998, but due to missing the first 21 games of the season due to injury, his production dropped to 23 home runs and 87 RBIs with a .296 batting average and .355 OBP. Karros rebounded in 1999 by hitting .304 with 40 doubles, 34 home runs, and 112 RBIs. Lacking adequate protection in the batting order in 2000, he had a disappointing second half on his way to batting .250 with 31 home runs and 106 RBIs. Karros spent two more years in Los Angeles with diminishing production before being traded to the Chicago Cubs following the 2002 season. He hit .286 in 2003 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs. Moving on to the Oakland Athletics in 2004 he primarily appeared as a DH and pinch-hitter in just 40 games prior to his retirement in August. For his major league career, Karros batted .268 with 1724 hits that included 324 doubles, 11 triples, and 284 home runs. He also scored 797 runs and compiled 1027 RBIs while producing a .325 on-base percentage. With the Dodgers, where he spent eleven full seasons, he batted .268 with 752 runs scored, 1608 hits, 302 doubles, 10 triples, 270 home runs, and 976 RBIs. Appearing in 15 postseason games, Karros hit .300 with 4 home runs and 6 RBIs. Never an All-Star, he received MVP votes following two seasons and was awarded one Silver Slugger. Following his playing career, he went into broadcasting.

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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. 

MVP Profile: Barry Bonds, 1992

 Outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates

Prior to 1992:

The son of major league outfielder Bobby Bonds was born in Riverside, California and hit .476 with 14 home runs as a senior at Junipero Serra High School where he also played football and basketball. Initially he was drafted as an amateur by the Giants in 1982 but rejected a $70,000 offer and instead attended Arizona State where he was criricized for being a rule-breaker with a poor attitude as well as lauded for outstanding all-around ability. Bonds was chosen by the Pirates in the first round of the 1985 amateur draft. He batted .299 with 13 home runs for Prince William of the Carolina League in ’85, moved up to Hawaii in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 1986 but was called up to the Pirates after 44 games. He was inserted in center field and batted only.223 but showed flashes of future greatness with 16 home runs, 36 stolen bases, and 48 RBIs in 113 games. Bonds was shifted to left field in 1987 and improved to 25 home runs, 32 stolen bases, and 59 RBIs, and a .261 batting average. The numbers rose to .283 with 24 home runs, 17 stolen bases, and 58 RBIs in 1988 but fell off to .248 with 19 home runs, 32 stolen bases, and 58 RBIs in 1989. The disappointed Pirates sought to deal him in the offseason but were unable to work out a trade. Pittsburgh won the NL East in 1990 and Bonds batted .301 with 33 home runs, 52 stolen bases, and a .301 batting average to go with his league-leading .565 slugging percentage. He was also selected to his first All-Star Game and received a Gold Glove for his play in left field. Bonds finished second in NL MVP voting in 1991 following a season in which he batted .292 with 25 home runs, 43 stolen bases, and 116 RBIs. Pittsburgh again topped the NL East and fell in the NLCS while Bonds hit only .148.

 

1992 Season Summary

Appeared in 140 games

LF – 139, PH – 2

 

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

 

Batting

Plate Appearances – 612 [18]

At Bats – 473

Runs – 109 [1]

Hits – 147

Doubles – 36 [9, tied with Jay Bell]

Triples – 5

Home Runs – 34 [2]

RBI – 103 [4]

Bases on Balls – 127 [1]

Int. BB – 32 [1]

Strikeouts – 69

Stolen Bases – 39 [9]

Caught Stealing – 8 [20, tied with five others]

Average - .311 [6, tied with Terry Pendleton]

OBP - .456 [1]

Slugging Pct. - .624 [1]

Total Bases – 295 [5, tied with Fred McGriff]

GDP – 9

Hit by Pitches – 5 [15, tied with seven others]

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 7 [8, tied with eight others]

 

League-leading runs scored were +5 ahead of runner-up Dave Hollins

League-leading bases on balls were +31 ahead of runner-up Fred McGriff

League-leading intentional bases on balls were +9 ahead of runners-up Fred McGriff & Will Clark

League-leading OBP was +.033 ahead of runner-up John Kruk

League-leading slugging percentage was +.044 ahead of runner-up Gary Sheffield

 

Midseason snapshot: HR – 15, RBI - 49, AVG - .303, SLG – .588

 

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at San Diego 5/16, (in 5 AB) vs. Montreal 9/17 – 13 innings

Longest hitting streak – 15 games

HR at home – 15

HR on road – 19

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 5 AB) vs. San Diego 5/16

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 6 vs. San Diego 5/16

Pinch-hitting – 0 of 2 (.000)

 

Fielding

Chances – 317

Put Outs – 310

Assists – 4

Errors – 3

DP – 0

Pct. - .991

 

Postseason: 7 G (NLCS vs. Atlanta)

PA – 30, AB – 23, R – 5, H – 6, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 2, BB – 6, IBB – 1, SO – 4, SB – 1, CS – 0, AVG - .261, OBP - .433, SLG - .435, TB – 10, GDP – 0, HBP – 1, SH – 0, SF – 0

 

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

Gold Glove

Silver Slugger

All-Star (Started for NL in LF)

 

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Barry Bonds, Pitt.: 304 pts. - 18 of 24 first place votes, 90% share

Terry Pendleton, Atl.: 232 pts. – 4 first place votes, 69% share

Gary Sheffield, SD: 204 pts. – 2 first place votes, 61% share

Andy Van Slyke, Pitt.: 145 pts. – 43% share

Larry Walker, Mon.: 111 pts. – 33% share

 

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Pirates went 96-66 to finish first in the NL Eastern Division by 9 games over the Montreal Expos, for their third straight division title while leading the league in runs scored (693), triples (54), and RBIs (656). Tailing off after a 14-3 start, Pittsburgh, rode an 11-game July/August winning streak that spurred a 43-18 finish propelling the club past the Expos. Lost NLCS to the Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 3, as Bonds hit only .261, his third consecutive disappointing postseason performance.

 

Aftermath of ‘92:

Having garnered his second NL MVP award in three years Bonds left the Pirates as a free agent and signed a six-year $43 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. Bonds won his third MVP award in 1993 as the Giants contended and he led the NL with 46 home runs, 123 RBIs, a .458 on-base percentage, .677 slugging percentage, and 365 total bases to go along with a .336 batting average and 29 stolen bases. He continued to be a strong performer, gaining seven consecutive All-Star selections from 1992 through ’98 and six Gold Gloves during the same time span. The Giants reached the postseason only once during that period. Bonds became the second player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season in 1996 and regularly led the NL in walks and intentional walks. Following a 1998 season in which the home run race between Mark McGwire of St. Louis and Sammy Sosa of the Cubs drew headlines, Bonds apparently turned to steroid use to improve his already impressive power hitting. Initially this was problematic in that his 1999 season was limited to 102 games due to a torn triceps that required surgery. He came back with a 49-home run season in 2000 and broke McGwire’s single-season record of 70 with 73 home runs in 2001. He was voted NL Most Valuable Player for an unprecedented fourth time and was signed to a five-year $90 million deal by the Giants despite being 37 years old. Bonds finally got to play in a World Series in 2002 and hit .471 with four home runs in a losing cause. He was the NL MVP a total of seven times, the last in 2004. His career, which became plagued by injuries in its late stages finally came to an end in 2007. Overall, Bonds hit a major league record 762 home runs, 176 of which were compiled as a member of the Pirates. He stole 514 bases, 251 with Pittsburgh, and compiled 1996 RBIs, 556 as a Pirate, and batted .298, .275 with Pittsburgh. He walked 2558 times, 688 intentionally, which are all-time major league records, as well as his single-season highs of 232 total walks and 120 intentional walks in 2004. A 14-time All-Star, the lingering concerns regarding performance enhancing drugs have thus far kept him from election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but his #25 has been retired by the Giants.

 

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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.

Cy Young Profile: Greg Maddux, 1992

Pitcher, Chicago Cubs

Age:  26 (Apr. 14)

6^th season with Cubs

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 170

Prior to 1992:

Maddux was born in Texas, where his father was stationed in the Air Force at the time. Growing up in several different locations due to his father’s postings, Maddux played football and basketball as well as baseball during his youth. Later transferred to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas where he retired from the USAF and settled down. Maddux began to concentrate on his pitching at Valley High School. Not possessed of overwhelming speed, he concentrated on developing his control, which came to serve him well. Chosen by the Cubs in the second round of the 1984 amateur draft, Maddux passed up on college to accept a bonus contract from the Cubs. Initially assigned to Pikeville of the Rookie-level Appalachian League, he appeared in 14 games (12 of them starts) and produced a 6-2 record with a 2.63 ERA and 62 strikeouts over 85.2 innings. With Peoria of the Class A Midwest League in 1985 he was 13-9 with a 3.19 ERA and 125 strikeouts. Maddux jumped from Class AA to AAA in 1986 and was a combined 14-4 with a 2.91 ERA, earning a September call-up to the Cubs. Back in Class AAA with Iowa of the American Association in 1987 he was soon recalled to the Cubs where he was a rocky 6-14 with a 5.61 ERA. A strong first half in his breakout season of 1988 garnered Maddux his first All-Star selection on the way to a record of 18-8 with a 3.18 ERA. He started slower in 1989 but finished at 19-12 with a 2.95 ERA, placing third in NL Cy Young Award voting. The Cubs won the NL East and Maddux lost his only NLCS decision in his first taste of postseason action. He was a .500 pitcher at 15-15 with a fourth-place club in 1990, registering a 3.46 ERA and 144 strikeouts. Maddux topped the NL with 263 innings pitched in 1991 as he compiled a 15-11 record with a 3.35 ERA and 198 strikeouts. With command of a large repertoire of pitches, including a fastball, circle change-up, slider, sinker, and curve, Maddux was known for his intelligent and fearless approach to pitching, in which he would throw any pitch in any situation.

1992 Season Summary

Appeared in 35 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 35

Games Started – 35 [1, tied with Steve Avery & John Smoltz]

Complete Games – 9 [4, tied with John Smoltz]

Wins – 20 [1, tied with Tom Glavine]

Losses – 11 [14, tied with nine others]

PCT - .645 [7]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 4 [3, tied with four others]

Innings Pitched – 268 [1]

Hits – 201 [13, tied with Tim Belcher]

Runs – 68

Earned Runs – 65

Home Runs – 7

Bases on Balls – 70 [11, tied with Dwight Gooden & Tom Glavine]

Strikeouts – 199 [3]

ERA – 2.18 [3]

Hit Batters – 14 [1]

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 5

League-leading innings pitched were +11.1 ahead of runner-up Doug Drabek

League-leading hit batters were +5 ahead of runners-up David Cone, Dennis Martinez & Mark Gardner

Midseason Snapshot: 10-8, ERA - 2.40, SO - 106 in 142.1 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 10 (in 9 IP) vs. NY Mets 6/30, (in 8 IP) vs. Pittsburgh 7/27

10+ strikeout games – 2

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 7 IP) at St. Louis 6/10

Batting

PA – 102, AB – 88, R – 6, H – 15, 2B – 3, 3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 8, BB – 1, SO – 22, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .170, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 13, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 97

Put Outs – 30

Assists – 64

Errors – 3

DP – 1

Pct. - .969

Awards & Honors:

NL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

NL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

Gold Glove

All-Star

11^th in NL MVP voting (14 points, 4% share)

NL Cy Young voting:

Greg Maddux, ChiC.: 112 pts. – 20 of 24 first place votes, 93% share

Tom Glavine, Atl.: 78 pts. – 4 first place votes, 65% share

Bob Tewksbury, StL.: 22 pts. – 18% share

Lee Smith, StL.: 3 pts. – 3% share

Doug Drabek, Pitt.: 1 pt. – 1% share

Cubs went 78-84 to finish fourth in the NL Eastern Division, 18 games behind the division-winning Pittsburgh Pirates. The pitching staff led the league in walks surrendered (575). Just 3.5 games out of first on July 29 the Cubs were finished off by a 9-20 September record.

Aftermath of ‘92:

A highly sought free agent following his Cy Young Award-winning 1992 season, Maddux turned down a large contract offer that would have kept him with the Cubs and signed with the Atlanta Braves for $28 million. He also resisted a larger offer from the Yankees to go to Atlanta. In 1993 he stepped into a solid pitching rotation that already included LHP Tom Glavine, RHP John Smoltz, and LHP Steve Avery. The Braves were coming off back-to-back pennants and won the NL West in ’93 with Maddux contributing a 20-10 record with a league-leading 2.36 ERA and 267 innings pitched, along with 197 strikeouts. He received his second NL Cy Young Award. An excellent fielding pitcher, he also won his fourth consecutive Gold Glove. He went 1-1 in the NLCS loss to Philadelphia. Maddux won another Cy Young Award following the strike-shortened 1994 season when he went 16-6 with a 1.56 ERA. 10 complete games, and 3 shutouts. In 1995 he made it four straight with a 19-2 record, 1.63 ERA, 10 complete games, and 209.2 innings pitched. The Braves won the NL pennant and Maddux was 3-1 in the postseason as they went on to win the World Series. The cerebral pitcher known as “the Professor” remained with the Braves through 2003, continuing to be one of the National League’s best pitchers throughout his tenure. In 2004 he returned to the Cubs as a free agent and was 16-11 with a 4.02 ERA. He had a losing 13-15 record in 2005 and was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 2006 season. He signed with San Diego in 2007, and after posting a 14-11 record at age 41, Maddux was 6-9 in 2008 when he was dealt back to the Dodgers in August, where he finished out his career. Overall, Maddux compiled a 355-227 major league record with a 3.16 ERA and 3371 strikeouts over 5008.1 innings pitched. He also hurled 109 complete games that included 35 shutouts. With the Cubs he was 133-112 with a 3.61 ERA and 1305 strikeouts. In 35 postseason games, his record was 11-14 with a 3.27 ERA and 125 strikeouts over 198 innings. In addition to winning four Cy Young Awards, Maddux was an eight-time All-Star and 18-time Gold Glove recipient. The Cubs retired his #31 as did the Braves. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. Maddux was also inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2009. His brother Mike pitched for nine major league teams over 15 years.

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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.