Daily Baseball Update: 10/18: SPECIAL EDITION: A look back at 2000.

On days in which there is no news to report on, which there very well be over the course of the Hot Stove season, I will substitute the lack of material with a special. Today's special is a look back at the year 2000, the Year of the Hitter. 

Setting the Stage: Players who had monster seasons.

Todd Helton (Rockies): 42 HR, 147 RBI, .372 AVG, 59 doubles.

Vladimir Guerrero (Expos): 44 HR, 123 RBI, .345 AVG, 11 triples. 

Jeff Kent (Giants): 33 HR, 125 RBI, .334 AVG, 12 SB, NL MVP award.

Barry Bonds (Giants): 49 HR, 106 RBI,  .306 AVG, 11 SB.

Alex Rodriguez (Mariners): 41 HR, 132 RBI, .316 AVG, 15 SB. 

Jason Giambi (A's): 43 HR, 137 RBI, .333 AVG, AL MVP award.

Chipper Jones (Braves): 36 HR, 111 RBI, .311 AVG, 14 SB.

Andruw Jones (Braves): 36 HR, 104 RBI, .303 AVG, 21 SB. 

Manny Ramirez (Indians): 38 HR, 122 RBI, .351 AVG in just 118 games. 

Jeff Bagwell (Astros): 47 HR, 132 RBI, .310 AVG.

Nomar Garciaparra (Red Sox): 21 HR, 96 RBI, .372 AVG, 51 doubles.

How Did This Happen
I think that is more than enough evidence to suggest this was no ordinary season. A major league record was set as 5,693 home runs were hit. Was it steroids that caused this power outbreak? Was the weather perhaps a little bit different? Maybe the lack of John Smoltz's and Tom Gordon's presence (both missed entire season to Tommy John surgery) caused the hitters' confidence to raise. That one was just a joke, but nobody really knows why the hitters hit so well. But we do know one thing. The year left a lasting impression as home runs were blasted this way and that. Steroid speculations were beginning to take place and many players' careers rocketed forward and gave them success for years to come. On the other hand, we can look at some of the big name pitchers that didn't have the best of seasons.  

Pitchers

Billy Wagner (Astros): 2-4, 6.18 ERA, 6/15 in save opportunities.

Curt Schilling (Phillies/Diamondbacks): 11-12, 3.81 ERA, .255 BAA. 

Jamie Moyer (Mariners): 13-10, 5.49 ERA, .281 BAA. 

Tim Wakefield (Red Sox): 6-10, 5.48 ERA, .272 BAA.

Mariano Rivera (Yankees): 7-4, 2.85 ERA (remember this is THE Mariano Rivera), 36/41 in save opportunities.

Andy Pettitte (Yankees): 19-9, 4.35 ERA, .271 BAA. 

Jason Schmidt (Pirates): 2-5, 5.40 ERA, .284 BAA. 

Some of these numbers may not seem so bad, but keep in mind these are some of the game's premier pitchers. Look at Billy Wagner, a usually dominating closer who could get batters out. Mariano's ERA reached almost to 3.00. That says something, because Mariano's career ERA sits at 2.21 and the only two years in which he went over three were his rookie 1995 season (5.51) and his subpar 2007 (3.14). Not many have heard of or know much about Jason Schmidt, but look at his 2003 season, just 3 years after the Year of the Hitter: 17-5, 2.34 ERA, .200 BAA. One thing is interesting to note. Pedro Martinez shined like he never shined before in 2000.

Pedro Martinez

18-6, 1.74 ERA, .167 BAA, 284 K's in just 217 innings. Pedro not only shined in the Year of the Hitter, but actually had one of the best seasons ever by a starter. He gave up only 128 hits and 42 earned runs over his 217 innings of work. When facing Martinez, all of the above hitters just seemed to forget how to hit. Below is the success rate of hitters above that Martinez faced in 2000 against him.

Vladimir Guerrero: 0-2, 2 K's. 

Alex Rodriguez: 0-9, 6 K's.

Jason Giambi: 1-6 (.167 AVG), 4 K's. 

Manny Ramirez: 2-9 (.222 AVG), 3 K's.

Those players had some crazy seasons, but they combined to go 3-26 (.115 AVG) with 15 K's against Martinez. Look at A-Rod especially. He struck out 6 out of 9 times against Martinez, and couldn't get a hit in the three times that he actually hit the ball. As a team, the Orioles, stacked with players such as Harold Baines and Brady Anderson, were a combined 1-32 (.031 AVG) with 16 K's against Martinez. 

2000 was a pretty crazy year in baseball. 

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Teams followed in this update: Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves

If your team is not included or you would like to be included on the original email that I send out every morning, please leave a comment and I will take care of it.

HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average.  BAA: batting average against.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage

Zack Silverman