The Brady Anderson Award
by Asher B. Chancey, BaseballEvolution.com
April 27, 2009



The Brady Anderson Award The Brady Anderson Award has nothing to do with steroids. It is also not given to the Player Most Guilty of Impersonating a Beverly Hills 90210 Character. Rather, Anderson has the honor of having a BaseballEvolution.com Award named after him because of his performance during the 1996 season – one of the most remarkable single season performances of all time, and one which no baseball fan on the planet Earth considered him capable of replicating.

The 1996 season was, at the time anyway, known as the Year of the Homerun. In reality, even in 1996 this was a false moniker, because 1987 was truly the year in which homeruns were hit at a bizarre, inexplicable pace. History has revealed easy explanations for the homeruns hit in 1996 – these homeruns were hit during an expansion period, and they would have probably been eclipsed by the homeruns hit in 1994 and 1995 if not for the players’ strike; they were also hit during a period of rampant steroid usage, a fact we wouldn’t learn until much later; finally, they were also hit during a period of unbridled Denver, Colorado homerun inflation.

If the homeruns being hit in 1996 unfairly surprised the baseball world, there was nothing unfair by the surprise felt in response to the performance Baltimore Orioles leadoff hitter Brady Anderson. 1996 was Anderson’s ninth major league season, and at the age of 32 he had never done anything to demonstrate anything more than ordinary power. Just four seasons earlier, in 1992, he’d led the majors with 749 plate appearances and managed only 21 homeruns. In the three seasons between that season and 1996, he’d managed a high of 16 homeruns. Anderson was a leadoff speedster, more likely to steal 50 bases (which he did in 1992) than to hit 50 homeruns.

But 50 homeruns he did hit in 1996. At the time, only 19 players had hit 50 or more homeruns in a season before, so what would today be really impressive was, in 1996, intergalactically absurd. But there was also a better word to describe what had happened:

And that word was “fluke.”

It was clear to everyone that 1996 was a special year in major league baseball, and it was also clear to everyone that 1996 was a special year for Brady Anderson. If baseball’s best power hitters don’t hit 50 homeruns in a season twice in a row – Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, Hack Wilson, and Babe Ruth among them – then Brady Anderson would have been lucky to muster 30 in 1997. And, indeed, he didn’t repeat his feat – in 1997 he hit would only hit 18 homeruns in 696 plate appearance – or nine more plate appearances than he’d had the year before.

And so it is that Brady Anderson has the Brady Anderson Award named after him, and so it shall be that the Award will be given each year to the player who enjoys a fluke season that everyone in baseball knows he has no chance to repeat.

And now, without further ado, the past winners of the Brady Anderson Award:

2008 – Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians (22-3, 223.1 innings, 2.54 ERA, 12 HR, 170/34 K/BB)

I don’t know why Cliff Lee was so awesome last season, but at the end of the year we all looked at Cliff Lee and said, “this isn’t who Cliff Lee is”. Simple as that. He will probably be a successful pitcher for years to come, but he won’t be doing that again.

2006 – Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox (146 games, 42 homeruns, 120 RBI, 103 runs, 151 OPS+)

Not that Jermaine Dye hasn’t spent his career being an excellent player hurt by injury and inopportunity. In many ways, Dye’s 2006 was the best expression of what he had always been capable of. We were all smart enough to know, however, that it couldn’t be counted on again.

NL Winner – Bill Hall, Milwaukee Brewers

2004 – Adrian Beltre, Los Angeles Dodgers (200 hits, 104 runs, 32 2B, 48 HR, 121 RBI, 163 OPS+)

Beltre almost got this Award named after him, and would have if not for the great debate that broke out after 2004 about whether he was a new hitter, or if his 2004 season had been the worst case scenario of a contract year in baseball history. His numbers were legit in 2004 – he was better on the road, better in the second half of the season, he didn’t strikeout a lot. But given his record up to 2004, common sense ratted Beltre out. Which leads, inevitably, to a discussion that involves the words “Seattle Mariners” and “Common Sense.”

2003 – Javy Lopez, Atlanta Braves (457 at-bats, 43 homeruns, 109 RBI, 169 OPS+)

In a contract year, there were many categories in which Lopez topped his previous two years’ totals combined. There was no doubt that he was playing at a higher level than he’d ever played before, little doubt as to why, and rampant speculation as to how. It was pretty clear that this was a one year deal.

AL Winner: Nomar Garciaparra (13 triples)

2002 – Quinton McCracken, Arizona Diamondbacks (349 AB, 27 2B, 8 3B, .309 AVG, 107 OPS+)

McCracken fell two games shy of 1,000 for his career, which is a shame because he probably would have been the worst player ever to play 1,000 games. When he was actually offensively productive for the D’Backs in 2002, no one, not even his mother, thought it would last. And it didn’t.

By the way – am I the only one who for years thought Quinton McCracken was a wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars (yes, a Keenan McCardell joke).

AL Winner: Jeremy Giambi

Other Past Winners:

2001: Luis Gonzalez, Arizona Diamondbacks

1999: Jay Bell, Arizona Diamondbacks

1998: Greg Vaughn, Cincinnati Reds

1987: Brook Jacoby, Cleveland Indians

1961: Jim Gentile, Detroit Tigers

1930: Hack Wilson, Chicago Cubs

To see the Winners of the Kevin Maas Award, go here.