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| Jones | Burnitz | Olson | White | Rivera | Jenkins |
TEAM:Bums
OWNER: Ron Olson
ESTABLISHED: 1991
CHAMPI0NSHIPS: 1
YEARLY FINISHES: 3, 8, 3, 12, 5, 5, 7, 6, 1, 2
MANAGER:Rex "The Wonder Dog" Hudler
HISTORY: The free wheeling Bums entered the league as an expansion team in 1991, calling themselves J&R Inc. Even in their first year, very few players remained on the Bums roster from the beginning to the end of the year. Fueled by a league leading 101 Wins, J&R Inc finished a solid third, a highly respectable position for an expansion team.
Expectations were high entering �92 and visions of a pennant danced in the Bums head. However, dragged down by injuries and an inability to trade for exactly the right combinations, J&R Inc slid all the way to eighth.
Seeking a new direction , the team officially became the Bums to start the 1993 season. The Bums of 1993 were a potentially dominating team, putting together some truly outstanding stretches and a solid third place finish. MVP Barry Bonds led the Bums to second place finishes in HR and RBI. Disappointing seasons from Greg Swindell and Tom Browning prevented the Bums from making a legitimate run at the title.
1994 can be dismissed in Bum history as �one of those years�. Simply think of their season as the antithesis of the Pistols. Summary: 12 points out of 11th place.
In 1995, the Bums toyed with the money positions for much of the year before finishing in fifth, only 5 points out of first. Led by a solid group of second tier players (Brian McRae, Shawon Dunston, Curt Leskanic, Raul Mondesi), the Bums gave it a good run in '95.
1996 proved to be very similar to �95 as the Bums once again finished in the fifth position, bringing back memories of the �always the bridesmaid� Osty Spoos. Despite the strong surprise of Eric Davis and multi-categorical stars Barry Bonds, Raul Mondesi, Rondell White, and Brian McRae, team depth and suspect pitching kept the Bums just out of the money.
The Bums loaded up on power again at the 1997 draft, with an imposing outfield of Bonds, Mondesi, White, and Andruw Jones. As a team they didn�t disappoint in the power category, hitting 213 home runs despite a lowly .260 AVG. However, despite the acquistion of young Shawn Estes, the pitching could never quite get on track as the Bums scuffled along to a 7th place finish.
In 1998, the Bums continued their mid-level finishes with a 6th place finish. Solid power numbers from his stil intact powerful outfield along with surprise Jose Hernandez and young first-baseman Travis Lee could not overshadow this team�s inability to assert itself in any other way.
After 5 straight seasons of competitive (usually) but second division teams, the Bums finally broke through with their first championship in 1999 in a race reminiscent of 1995 as the Bums became the team with the lowest winning point total since expansion took the league to 11+ teams. The Bums brought home the hardware without domination in any particular area, but rather by consistent category production, particularly in the pitching categories. The Bums season was typified by the trade of Matt Mantei, not only giving Mantei additional save chances but also elevating reserve player Antonio Alfonseca into the closer�s role, serving to get the Bums over the hump.
The Bums followed up their terrific �99 campaign with a solid 2nd place finish in 2000. The team was relatively balanced, with a solid supply of power (7 players with 20+ homers) and starting pitching, especially after the early season deal that brought them Kevin Brown.
BEST TRADE:In 2000, the Bums trade injured closer Ugueth Urbina to the Pistols in exchange for Kevin Brown, Willie Greene, and John Franco. Franco outperforms Urbina all by himself, while Brown solidifies his pitching staff with his usual outstanding numbers.
WORST TRADE:Trying to cash in on Walker after two spectacular years, the Bums traded his topper rights to the Hickory Huskers for Sid Fernandez before the 1993 season began. Although a seemingly good trade for both teams, Fernandez ended up hurt (surprise, surprise, SURPRISE!) and never did pitch for the Bums. Meanwhile, Walker's rights were retained by the Huskers and he continued to post his regular solid numbers.
FRANCHISE MVP:Barry Bonds
SHOELESS JOE MVP
WONDER DOG AWARD
Given to the biggest overachiever
TEAM CY YOUNG
CAREER LEADERS:
AB H HR RBI Ro. White 2783 Ro. White 822 B. Bonds 143 B. Bonds 391 R. Mondesi 2366 R. Mondesi 694 An. Jones 111 Ro. White 386 An. Jones 2274 An. Jones 620 R. Mondesi 110 An. Jones 353 B. Bonds 1805 B. Bonds 557 Ro. White 102 R. Mondesi 353 T. Zeile 1697 T. Zeile 449 J. Burnitz 69 T. Zeile 251 SB AVG IP W B. Bonds 118 B. Abreu .326 D. Dreifort 611.7 D. Dreifort 37 An. Jones 94 Ch. Jones .319 T. Mulholland 461 K. Millwood 35 R. Mondesi 89 J. Vidro .318 R. Martinez 440.3 R. Martinez 35 Ro. White 88 B. Larkin .317 An. Benes 430.3 T. Mulholland 29 2 tied with 68 G. Jefferies .313 K. Millwood 402.3 2 tied with 26 SV RAT ERA Mit. Williams 78 K. Brown 0.97 To. Worrell 2.23 A. Alfonseca 65 M. Maddux 0.98 M. Maddux 2.39 Ra. Myers 38 C. Schilling 1.05 J. Shaw 2.49 M. Mantei 32 S. Fernandez 1.10 B. Wagner 2.54 B. Wagner 32 To. Worrell 1.11 K. Brown 2.55
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