Awards are child's play, future might not be
The American League MVP Award went to Twins first baseman Justin Morneau on Tuesday, capping a clean sweep of baseball's major prizes by players just moving into their primes.
Morneau is 25. The National League MVP, Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, is 26. The AL Cy Young Award winner, Johan Santana, is 27. The NL Cy Young Award winner, Brandon Webb, is 27.
It's more evidence to support the theory that athletes peak at age 27. And it's something else.
In the 40 years that separate Cy Youngs have been given to the best pitchers in both leagues, there has been only one other season when the MVPs and Cy Youngs all were won by players 27 and under. Therein lies a cautionary tale about the many directions a promising career can go.
We're talking about 1985, when the MVPs went to 24-year-old Don Mattingly (AL) and 26-year-old Willie McGee (NL), the Cy Youngs to 21-year-old Bret Saberhagen (AL) and -- ominous music, please -- 20-year-old Dwight Gooden (NL). All continued to be stars, but for various reasons none became an all-time great.
Mattingly (.324, 35 homers, 145 RBI for the Yankees) played 10 more years, matching his '85 performance for the next few, but never won a playoff series before back problems caught up with him. McGee (.353, 114 runs as one of the speedy Cardinals) played 14 more years, won a second NL batting title in '90 but never matched '85, was part of two more pennant-winners, and retired as a beloved figure in St. Louis. Cleveland High of Reseda product Saberhagen (20-6, 2.87 ERA for the World Series-winning Royals) played 14 more years interrupted by arm problems, won another Cy Young in '89, actually a better season than '85. Then there's Doc.
After going 24-4, 1.53, with 268 strikeouts for the Mets, Gooden was going to be one of the great pitchers ever. He did have 14 more seasons, was top-10 in Cy Young voting three more times, and pitched a no-hitter for the Yankees in 1996.
But drugs kept him from being what he should have been. The week before last, he was released from a Florida prison after serving seven months for a probation violation.
I'd rate their careers in this order: 1. Mattingly, 2. Gooden, 3. Saberhagen, 4. McGee.
Whatever the disappointments, that foursome set a high bar for this year's young award winners moving forward. Nine years after his '85 glory, Mattingly was hitting .304 for the Yankees; 11 years later, McGee was hitting .307 as a part-time Cardinal; 11 years later, was going 11-7 and throwing his no-hitter for the Yankees' first World Series team in forever; and 13 years later, Saberhagen was going 15-8 for the Red Sox.
I'll rate the futures of this year's group like this: 1. Howard, 2. Morneau, 3. Santana, 4. Webb.
What adventures or misadventures await them?