One of These Years Does Not Belong Here
Adrian Beltre has had a decent year. He's hitting .275 with 25 homers and 94 RBI's. He stands a very good chance of posting his second-best annual stats in both those power categories. He is a double machine, a great defensive third baseman, and is, by all accounts, a very charming fellow who eschews hip-hop during his at-bat warmup music for sweet, sweet salsa.
But consider 2004. That year, Beltre hit .334 with 48 homers and 121 RBI's in leading the Dodgers to the playoffs. I saw Beltre's Dodgers lose to the Cardinals that year in the playoffs and Beltre was the toughest out on the field -- tougher than Albert Pujols. The year before that career year, in which he finished 2nd in the National League MVP voting, he hit .240 with 23 homers and 80 RBI's. The year after that career year, he signed a massive, $13 million per year deal with the M's, and hit .255 with 19 homers and 87 RBI's. Suffice it to say, 2004 was a statistical anomaly for Adrian Beltre, and it made him a rich man.
In scouring the annals of Major League history for an equivalent to Beltre, we bring you the one and only Brady Anderson. In 1996, Anderson, previously a wiry center fielder with a smidge of pop in his bat, grew Popeye-esque biceps and whacked 51 homers to go with 110 RBI's, both far and away career highs. To put this in perspective, the prior year, Anderson had 16 homers and 64 RBI's. The year after his mammoth year: 18 & 73.
So, like, weird, huh? I wonder why those two guys had such enormous years before falling to competent but pedestrian levels. Did they take extra vitamins? Eat more Wheaties? Somebody help me out here, because, unlike Jose Canseco, I don't want to suggest something that's totally out of line.
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