Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 28, 1994 TAG: 9410280089
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: SPORTS EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
``I don't think I could have played much better than I did,'' Bagwell said. ``It feels great, but it still feels strange, too, not having the World Series.''
Bagwell swept all 28 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America and finished with 392 points. Second place went to home run champ Matt Williams of the San Francisco Giants, who had 201 points. Moises Alou of Montreal was third with 183.
Barry Bonds, winner of the previous two NL MVP awards and three in the past four seasons, finished fourth with 144 points.
Bagwell, the first Houston player named MVP, and Williams were the only players named on all 28 ballots.
Bagwell was leading the major leagues with 116 runs batted in and in the midst of an 18-game hitting streak when a pitch by Andy Benes of San Diego struck his left hand on Aug.10.
Now Bagwell wonders if he'll be able to play as well again.
``I'm almost worried about if I could do it again,'' Bagwell said. ``I hit 39 home runs. That's scary.''
The injury was expected to sideline the Astros first baseman for three to five weeks. But two days later the players went on strike, ultimately ending the season.
It was the second such injury in as many seasons for Bagwell, who broke another bone on the same hand the previous season.
``I'm becoming an all-pro at breaking my hand,'' Bagwell said. ``I seem to learn things the hard way, but now I'm having a pad put on my batting glove so, hopefully, this won't happen again.''
In 110 games, Bagwell batted .368 with 39 home runs, second in the batting race to Tony Gwynn's .394 and second in the home run chase to Williams' 43. He had 32 doubles and two triples, and his 300 total bases tied Cesar Cedeno's club record set in 1972. He also led the league with 104 runs scored.
Bagwell's 39 home runs, 116 RBI, 72 extra base hits and .368 batting average were club records.
Bagwell almost doubled his previous career high of 20 homers in a season.
``I just learned how to hit with more backspin on the ball,'' Bagwell said. ``I used to hit a lot of topspin and I'm also pulling the ball. But turning from 20 homers to 39, I'm not going to try to figure that out. I'll just let that ride.''
He became the third unanimous winner of an NL MVP award, joining Orlando Cepeda in 1967 and Mike Schmidt in 1980. There have been seven unanimous MVPs in the American League - Al Rosen, 1953; Mickey Mantle, 1956; Frank Robinson, 1966; Denny McLain, 1968; Reggie Jackson, 1973; Jose Canseco, 1988; and Frank Thomas, 1993.
Thomas, the Chicago White Sox slugger, repeated as AL MVP on Wednesday.
Also this week, Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves was a unanimous choice for the NL Cy Young award and David Cone of the Kansas City Royals won the AL Cy Young.
Bagwell said he wasn't concerned about remaining with the Astros.
``I've been traded before,'' he said. ``I've learned that baseball is a business. All of America has learned that, so I'm not going to worry about it.''
When the Boston Red Sox traded Bagwell to the Astros, it was a dark day for the New England native.
``When they traded me, it was devastating, but it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me. So I thank Boston for trading me and the Astros for taking me.''
by CNB