YEAR IN REVIEW : 2002 National League

Off the field...

Big business took the witness stand in 2002 as Enron, WorldCom and Xerox were all exposed in major accounting scandals. The total cost of corporate fraud in the United States was estimated at more than five trillion dollars, coming in plunging stocks, loss of investments and tax revenue.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed with U.S. President George W. Bush in Moscow a nuclear disarmament treaty and a strategic partnership agreement. Under the treaty, the two countries pledged to slash their nuclear arsenals by two-thirds.

On September 11, tributes around the nation showcased American emotion and patriotic pride on the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States. Major League Baseball held special opening ceremonies in every ballpark operating that day.

In the American League...

The Anaheim Angels dethroned the perennial American League Champion New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins to face the San Francisco Giants in their first Fall Classic since entering the league forty-two years earlier. The victory was sweetened by overcoming a 5-0 seventh-inning deficit in Game 6, fittingly the greatest elimination-game comeback in Classic history. The Angels went on to win the contest four games to three.

From August 13th to September 4th, Most Valuable Player Miguel Tejada and the Oakland Athletics set an American League record of twenty straight wins.

Seattle's Mike Cameron hit four homers in Comiskey Park on May 2nd, becoming the first Major Leaguer in nine years (Mark Whiten, 1993) to manage the feat. He was outdone twenty-one days later in Milwaukee as the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shawn Green totaled a six-for-six, nineteen total base spectacle and finished the week with nine home runs of his own.

In the National League...

Barry Bonds continued to chase Babe Ruth as the most dominant player in MLB history. The San Francisco Giants outfielder tallied his 600th home run off the Pittsburgh Pirates' Kip Wells on August 9th and won his first batting title (.370) before falling to the Anaheim Angels in Game 7 of the World Series.

The Arizona Diamondbacks continued to dominate on the mound as Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling went 47-12 and ranked 1-2 in the Majors with a combined total of six-hundred fifty strikeouts. The lethal 1-2 combination also boasted thirteen complete games, more than any other big-league team.

No one demonstrated more resolve than the Cardinals, who experienced the untimely deaths of longtime announcer Jack Buck and pitcher Darryl Kile. The team, though mourning, went on to dominate the National League Central dedicating the season in the memory of their departed comrades.

Around the League...

Major League owners and players, inevitably heading toward a ninth play stoppage over labor issues, reached accord virtually minutes before the first feared cancellation. It was the first time a new Collective Bargaining Agreement was struck without the loss of a single inning.

For only the second time in the History of the Midsummer Classic, the 2002 All-Star Game was called at a 7-7 tie after eleven innings due to both teams running out of available pitchers.

The West was the best as six of the nine West Division teams won ninety-two-plus games (more teams than the other four divisions combined) and West players dominated the individual awards including the Cy Young, Most Valuable Player and eight of the nine American League Gold Gloves.

Baseball bid farewell to some of the greatest ever to lace up a pair of cleats including Ted Williams, Jim Spencer, Al Cowens, Minnie Rojas, Joe Black, Wes Westrum, Darrell Porter, Enos Slaughter, John Roseboro, Hoyt Wilhelm and Darryl Kile.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"I'd rather win the World Series, but this (winning the MVP Award) is great. I'm very happy about it, very excited. I'm trying to figure out why a 38-year-old player is still playing like this. Forget the historical part about MVPs. I'm overjoyed, very happy, very pleased, especially coming off the 73-home-run year, to be able to pretty much stay consistent." - Barry Bonds (2002)

2002 National League Player Review

Hitting Statistics League Leaderboard

Base on Balls Barry Bonds San Francisco 198 Top 25
Batting Average Barry Bonds San Francisco .370 Top 25
Doubles Bobby Abreu Philadelphia 50 Top 25
Hits Vladimir Guerrero Montreal 206 Top 25
Home Runs Sammy Sosa Chicago 49 Top 25
On Base Percentage Barry Bonds San Francisco .582 Top 25
RBI Lance Berkman Houston 128 Top 25
Runs Sammy Sosa Chicago 122 Top 25
Slugging Average Barry Bonds San Francisco .799 Top 25
Stolen Bases Luis Castillo Florida 48 Top 25
Total Bases Vladimir Guerrero Montreal 364 Top 25
Triples Jimmy Rollins Philadelphia 10 Top 25

2002 National League Pitcher Review

Pitching Statistics League Leaderboard

Complete Games Randy Johnson Arizona 8 Top 25
ERA Randy Johnson Arizona 2.32 Top 25
Games Paul Quantrill Los Angeles 86 Top 25
Saves John Smoltz Atlanta 55 Top 25
Shutouts A.J. Burnett Florida 5 Top 25
Strikeouts Randy Johnson Arizona 334 Top 25
Winning Percentage Randy Johnson Arizona .828 Top 25
Wins Randy Johnson Arizona 24 Top 25

2002 National League

Team Standings

Atlanta Braves 101 59 .631 -- $93,470,367
Montreal Expos 83 79 .512 19 $38,670,500
Philadelphia Phillies 80 81 .497 21½ $57,955,000
Florida Marlins 79 83 .488 23 $41,979,917
New York Mets 75 86 .466 26½ $94,633,593
St. Louis Cardinals 97 65 .599 -- $74,098,267
Houston Astros 84 78 .519 13 $63,448,417
Cincinnati Reds 78 84 .481 19 $45,050,390
Pittsburgh Pirates 72 89 .447 24½ $42,323,598
Chicago Cubs 67 95 .414 30 $75,690,833
Milwaukee Brewers 56 106 .346 41 $50,287,833
Arizona Diamondbacks 98 64 .605 -- $102,820,000
San Francisco Giants 95 66 .590 $78,299,835
Los Angeles Dodgers 92 70 .568 6 $94,850,952
Colorado Rockies 73 89 .451 25 $56,851,043
San Diego Padres 66 96 .407 32 $41,425,000
National League Team Standings

2002 National League Team Review

Hitting Statistics League Leaderboard

Arizona 162 5,508 819 1,471 283 41 165 783 2,331 643 1,016 92 46 .346 .423 .267
Atlanta 161 5,495 708 1,428 280 25 164 669 2,250 558 1,028 76 39 .331 .409 .260
Chicago 162 5,496 706 1,351 259 29 200 676 2,268 585 1,269 63 21 .321 .413 .246
Cincinnati 162 5,470 709 1,386 297 21 169 678 2,232 583 1,188 116 52 .330 .408 .253
Colorado 162 5,512 778 1,508 283 41 152 726 2,329 497 1,043 103 53 .337 .423 .274
Florida 162 5,496 699 1,433 280 32 146 653 2,215 595 1,130 177 73 .337 .403 .261
Houston 162 5,503 749 1,441 291 32 167 719 2,297 589 1,120 71 27 .338 .417 .262
Los Angeles 162 5,554 713 1,464 286 29 155 693 2,273 428 940 96 37 .320 .409 .264
Milwaukee 162 5,415 627 1,369 269 29 139 597 2,113 500 1,125 94 50 .320 .390 .253
Montreal 162 5,479 735 1,432 300 36 162 695 2,290 575 1,104 118 64 .334 .418 .261
New York 161 5,496 690 1,409 238 22 160 650 2,171 486 1,044 87 42 .322 .395 .256
Philadelphia 161 5,523 710 1,428 325 41 165 676 2,330 640 1,095 104 43 .339 .422 .259
Pittsburgh 161 5,330 641 1,300 263 20 142 610 2,029 537 1,109 86 49 .319 .381 .244
San Diego 162 5,515 662 1,393 243 29 136 627 2,102 547 1,062 71 44 .321 .381 .253
San Francisco 162 5,497 783 1,465 300 35 198 751 2,429 616 961 74 21 .344 .442 .267
St. Louis 162 5,505 787 1,475 285 26 175 758 2,337 542 927 86 42 .338 .425 .268

2002 National League Team Review

Pitching Statistics League Leaderboard

Arizona 98 64 3.92 14 10 40 59 1,446.2 1,361 674 630 170 54 421 1,303
Atlanta 101 59 3.13 3 15 57 71 1,467.1 1,302 565 511 123 42 554 1,058
Chicago 67 95 4.29 11 9 23 48 1,441.1 1,373 759 687 167 58 606 1,333
Cincinnati 78 84 4.27 2 8 42 57 1,453.2 1,502 774 690 173 56 550 980
Colorado 73 89 5.20 1 8 43 59 1,426.2 1,554 898 825 225 64 582 920
Florida 79 83 4.36 11 12 36 55 1,456.1 1,449 763 706 151 58 631 1,104
Houston 84 78 4.00 2 11 43 58 1,445.0 1,423 695 643 151 55 546 1,219
Los Angeles 92 70 3.69 4 15 56 71 1,457.2 1,311 643 598 165 46 555 1,132
Milwaukee 56 106 4.73 7 4 32 42 1,432.1 1,468 821 752 199 62 666 1,026
Montreal 83 79 3.97 9 3 39 59 1,453.0 1,475 718 641 165 46 508 1,088
New York 75 86 3.89 9 10 36 51 1,442.2 1,408 703 624 163 55 543 1,107
Philadelphia 80 81 4.17 5 9 47 71 1,449.2 1,381 724 671 153 70 570 1,075
Pittsburgh 72 89 4.23 2 7 47 66 1,412.2 1,447 730 664 163 55 572 920
San Diego 66 96 4.62 5 10 40 62 1,436.1 1,522 815 737 177 66 582 1,108
San Francisco 95 66 3.54 10 13 43 60 1,437.1 1,349 616 566 116 36 523 992
St. Louis 97 65 3.70 4 9 42 63 1,446.1 1,355 648 595 141 60 547 1,009
Seasonal Events: All-Star Game | All-Star Game | All-Star Game | World Series
Navigation: Year in Review Menu | Previous Season | Next Season
Miscellaneous: A.L. Leaderboard
Retirements | Rookies List
Average Salary: $2,383,235.00
Minimum Salary: $200,000.00
baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

Why did Barry Bonds win the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 2002? Perhaps it was due to list of records: highest on-base percentage in a single season, highest on base percentage in a single season by a lefthanded batter, most consecutive seasons with thirty (or more) home runs (this was his eleventh), most seasons leading the league in base on balls (this was his eighth), and many others.

On July 15, 2002, Chris Reitsma pitched a 2-0 complete game victory for his Cincinnati Reds - the first complete game tossed by a Reds' pitcher since July 28, 2001 (a National League record one-hundred fifty game span).

The New York Mets had the highest payroll in the National League East, the third highest payroll overall in the National league, and might be best remembered for breaking the National League record for most consecutive games lost at home during a single season with fifteen.