Freund's Picks for 1997

By Peter Freund | Wednesday, April 16, 1997

It was this time last year, after attending opening day in New York, that I sat down and wrote an article that appeared in the same spot, on the same page as this one. I assumed that a baseball column was a one time deal. In that article I made only three predictions: Derek Jeter would win the Rookie of the Year Award, Baltimore would win the wild card spot in the American League, and my beloved Yankees would win the World Series. All of the preceding came true. So I asked myself, 'am I gifted?' More likely just lucky. There is only one way to find out. So, here are my predictions for this year.

The Most Valuable Player: In the National League, Florida's Gary Sheffield, Doc Gooden's nephew and perhaps the most underrated player in the league, will win the MVP award. After signing a $61 million dollar contract extension earlier this week, obviously the Florida Marlins think highly of him as well. The runners-up in this category will include Los Angeles' Mike Piazza and Atlanta's Chipper Jones. The American League opens its season with the reigning MVP Juan Gonzalez on the disabled list with a broken thumb. There seems to be a consensus in baseball that this season will belong to Ken Griffey, Jr. If he stays healthy, he will become the first real threat to Roger Maris' home run record. The Yankees' Tino Martinez and the White Sox' Frank Thomas will fall close behind in the voting.

The Cy Young Award: In the American League, Randy Johnson and David Cone will return to form and Roger Clemens should improve on his win total from last year. In the National League, Hideo Nomo, Greg Maddux and Curt Schilling will all be contenders for the award. Last year's ERA leader Kevin Brown, who has become the best pitcher in either league, will finally see some run support and win the award in the NL. Ken Hill of Texas and Juan Guzman in Toronto might be the dark horses in the American League.

Biggest Losers: Oakland's Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco will play all of 50 games at the same time this year. Both are always hurt and would rather collect their pay checks by the pool (both should simply forward them to their chiropractors). Also included in this category should be the Red Sox organization, who will fail to win a World Series for the 79th consecutive year.

Biggest Surprises: These will include huge comebacks by Kenny Rogers in NY and Larry Walker in Colorado. This category will also include the Minnesota Twins, who will finish ahead of the Chicago White Sox despite the power of Frank Thomas and Albert Belle. The White Sox lack any semblance of a pitching staff. And the final surprise of the year, at least according to ESPN's Peter Gammons, might be Darryl Strawberry's returned bat speed.

The Division Winners:

AL East: The New York Yankees
AL Central: The Cleveland Indians
AL West: The Seattle Mariners (Texas Wild Card)
NL East: The Florida Marlins (Atlanta Wild Card)
NL Central: The Houston Astros
NL West: The Los Angeles Dodgers

The World Series: Remember, nothing beats pitching in the playoffs, and that's exactly what the Marlins and Braves have in the NL. The Marlins, however, have exactly what it takes. Their top three starters, Brown, Fernandez, and Leiter, are simply awesome, and their bullpen, headed up by 100mph throwing Robb Nen, is more dominant than that of the1996 Yankees'. Over in the American League, look out for Texas. After adding Wetteland, they might have found the missing piece to their puzzle. And though Seattle is the favorite with their potent line-up, their bullpen and bottom 3 starters are atrocious. The Yankees are destined to repeat. Though they will not have the dominant bullpen of last year, a healthy David Cone and Kenny Rogers will make up for it. This year, it will be the Bombers over the Fish.

Freund's Picks for 1997

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