Barry Bonds, the all-time leading home run leader (as polarizing at that is) had his chance to add a World Series to his resume in 2002, but he came up just short. The Giants wound up losing in 7 games to then Anaheim Angels. On the other end of the spectrum, the trio of the Brewers, Tigers and Devil Rays all managed to lose 106 games. It is a game of ups and downs, and 2002 was certainly full of both.
1.) Álex Rodríguez, Texas Rangers: 57 Home Runs and 142 RBIs
An all-out statistical dream season for A-Rod saw him also finish with a .300 batting average. While 57 homers aren’t as impressive as Bonds’ 73 from the year prior, Rodriguez managed to take two of the three Triple Crown categories across the Majors. Bonds also never reached 142 RBIs at any point in his career, which shows that Rodriguez had a different skillset through his career. A-Rod also played in every single game during that season, a testament to his early career durability.
2.) Barry Bonds, San Fransisco Giants: .582 On Base Percentage
I truly did not want to make this the Barry Bonds show, but a .582 OBP is not something that can be ignored. No one walked more than Bonds during his career, and it definitely helped him boost this particular stat. If Bonds was not being walked (he got a free pass 198 times in 2002) he was likely hitting a home run (or at least an extra base hit). The truth is, reaching base nearly 60% of the time is something that we will likely never see again. His talents, even with steroids aside, were unmatched.
3.) Mike Hampton, Colorado Rockies: 6.15 ERA and a .344 Batting Average
Yeah, you read that correctly. Mike Hampton, a starting pitcher for the Rockies, posted a horrendous 6.15 ERA while pitching 178 innings. Now, pitching in the Denver altitude never helped anyone’s ERA, but to be given that long of a leash says a lot about the options Colorado had. Or maybe there was another factor that kept Hampton in the rotation (and with a job). Hampton, who had 16 career home runs, also put together a batting average of .344. In 64 at bats, Hampton tallied 22 hits and only struck out 13 times. Stat lines like these make me miss the times when pitchers hit.
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