2002 Astrology Awards Recap
View the 2002 FABL Lineups Here!
While 2003 was the first time the same franchise won the World Series twice as a Wild Card winner, the year before was the first time two Wild Card teams faced off against each other in the Fall Classic. This matchup led to the Angels winning their first (and so far only) World Championship against the Giants, whose offensive attack was led by the fearsome Barry Bonds (3,118 fantasy points / 21.8 points per game), who won the NL batting title while setting MLB records for walks and OPS in a season. While Bonds got all 32 first-place votes in the real-life National League MVP voting, in the Fantasy Astrology Baseball League, he shares Positive Polarity MVP with his Leo teammate Alex Rodriguez (3,052 / 18.8).
With not one but two 3,000-point scorers in their lineup, it’s no surprise that the Lions took home the fantasy points crown in 2002, an achievement they would repeat the following year, and then again in ’05, setting the stage for a Leo dynasty. On the other end of the spectrum, Aquarius has been the veritable opposite of a dynasty, but they nevertheless sported an impressive outfield, led by Vladimir Guerrero (2,979 / 18.5) and Magglio Ordonez (2,741 / 17.9). In the Negative Polarity, MVP honors goes to Capricorn then-second baseman Alfonso Soriano (2,825 / 18.1), whose runner-up Jason Giambi (2,726 / 17.6) was his teammate on both the real-life Yankees and the FABL Sea-Goats.
While the Positive Polarity had 4 out of the league’s top 5 hitters in ’02, the Negative Polarity was similarly dominant in terms of pitchers. For the second year in a row, Diamondbacks teammates Randy Johnson (3,537 / 101.1) and Curt Schilling (3,238 / 89.9) each surpassed 3,000 points. While Johnson won the NL Cy Young Award (unanimously, and for the fourth consecutive time, I might add), it makes sense from a fantasy perspective to have the tall Virgo lefty share the NP CYA with the Scorpio Schilling, no matter what you might think of the latter’s politics. Gemini’s Derek Lowe (2,486 / 77.7) takes home the PP version of the award, although he was outscored by rival NP pitchers Pedro Martinez (2,827 / 94.2) and Barry Zito (2,601 / 74.3), the latter of whom won the real-life AL CYA with the A’s. Lowe’s runner-up in the PP is fellow Gemini Odalis Perez (2,260 / 70.6).
Capricorn closer Eric Gagne (2,707 / 35.2) didn’t reach the dizzying heights of his NL Cy Young-winning 2003, but these two seasons represent the two highest-scoring fantasy campaigns for a reliever in the 18 years I’ve covered so far in this project. (Aries closer Edwin Diaz’s 2018 is third overall, with 2,672 points.) The next highest-scoring reliever in ’02 was Taurus John Smoltz (2,465 / 32.9), another pitcher in his first season as a full-time closer. The two top bullpen arms in the Positive Polarity were both Sagittarians: Billy Koch (2,339 / 27.8) and Robb Nen (2,133 / 32.2).
As is usually the case, one polarity had a stranglehold on the top rookies, and in ’02 it was the Positives. Leo third baseman Eric Hinske (2,085 / 13.8) led the way, although I had to cheat him into an outfield spot in order to fit him in the Leo lineup, what with Troy Glaus (2,118) at the hot corner and John Olerud (2,131) the DH. I say “cheat,” but Hinske would go on to play more than 300 games in the grass over his 12-year career… although none before 2006. The next two rookies in terms of fantasy points are Sagittarius starting pitcher Rodrigo Lopez (1,723 / 52.2) and Gemini 1B/OF Brad Wilkerson (1,685 / 11.0). By the time we get to a Negative rookie, Jorge Julio (1,435 / 21.4) and Austin Kearns (1,411 / 13.2) are grouped so close together that it makes sense to have them share Rookie of the Year honors.
Next time, I’ll continue my analysis of which real-life teams would represent the FABL signs in a simulation tied to the structure of Major League Baseball.