2001 Astrology Awards Recap
View the 2001 FABL Lineups Here!
I’ve already talked a lot about Barry Bonds and his home runs on this blog, but 2001 was the first year when his power hitting exploits put him in the record books. Once the 2001 season was in the books (following a week’s delay because of the September 11 terrorist attacks), Bonds had amassed 73 home runs, beating the single-season record set by Mark McGwire just three years prior. In fantasy terms, Bonds ended up with 3,618 fantasy points, with an average of 23.6 per game. This is the highest points total we’ve seen so far in our reverse-chronological trip through Fantasy Astrology Baseball League history, surpassing Randy Johnson’s brilliant 2002 (3,537 / 101.1).
Thanks partly to Bonds and his gaudy home run totals, Leo took home the FABL points crown in 2001. The Lions would defend their title in three of the next four years, a dynasty that could very well continue further back into the past. We’ll have to wait until next week to find out, but as far as ’01 was concerned, Bonds was supported in the lineup by Todd Helton (3,245 / 20.4) and Alex Rodriguez (3,133 / 19.3). Bonds’s Negative Polarity MVP counterpart was Sammy Sosa (3,452 / 21.6), who broke Ernie Banks’s record for 30-homer seasons as a Cub (according to the back of his Topps card).
Runner up to Sosa in the NP MVP voting was Luis Gonzalez (3,256 / 20.1) of the World Series champion Diamondbacks. But his teammates on the pitching staff really stole the spotlight, headlined by Randy Johnson (3,451 / 98.6), who won his third straight National League Cy Young Award in 2001. The gap between him and Curt Schilling (3,069 / 87.7) was wider than it was in 2002, so I wouldn’t consider having them share the CYA in the FABL’s Negative Polarity again. But nevertheless, the gap between Johnson and Schilling was smaller than the one between Schilling and the top Positive Polarity pitcher Mike Mussina (2,397 / 70.5) in his first year with the Yankees.
I haven’t run the numbers past the last two decades, but I don’t think it would be a stretch to posit that the Rookies of the Year in 2001 were the strongest class ever. Albert Pujols (2,723 / 16.9) took home the trophy in the National League (as well as in the Negative Polarity), hitting his first home run in the Cardinals’ home opener, and sticking on the roster for the entire season. In the AL/PP, Ichiro Suzuki (2,637 / 16.8) did more than impress in his first season in the majors, leading the league in batting average, hits, and stolen bases, while also winning MVP, Gold Glove, and Silver Slugger honors.
If you’re looking for a more traditional Positive Polarity rookie (i.e. one who didn’t already have a very successful nine-year career in Japan), Sagittarius shortstop Jimmy Rollins (2,110 / 13.4) fits the bill. Rollins’s Archers teammate Mariano Rivera (2,414 / 34.0) scored the most points of any relief pitcher, winning his last Positive Polarity Reliable Reliever award until 2004. Fellow Sagittarian Robb Nen (2,179 / 27.6) was second overall among relievers in fantasy points, with just 160 more than the top Negative Polarity closer Armando Benitez (2,019 / 27.7).
On Sunday, I’ll return to my analysis of which real-life MLB teams I associate with the FABL teams. This time I’ll talk about the less obvious fits, which just happen to be the signs in the latter half of the zodiac wheel.