Baseball

September Song
It's in the season's final month that the MVP races hit full swing

It's a fundamental debate, like liberal versus conservative or Napster versus Metallica: What constitutes an MVP? "An MVP is who had the best season, period," says outfielder Gary Sheffield, who's having a terrific year for the disappointing Dodgers. "It's not about winning or losing. It's about having a better year than everybody else."

Counters Jeff Kent, stellar second baseman for the National League West-leading Giants: "How can you be the most valuable if you didn't help your team get to the playoffs? Isn't that why we play?"

One tiling that's certain about an MVP race is that it's settled in September. Take last year: Early in the season's final month Mets third baseman Robin Ventura was often serenaded by fans at Shea Stadium with chants of "MVP!" By the end of September—a month in which Ventura hit .266 with only 12 RBIs—those cheers had quieted. The Braves' Chipper Jones clinched the award by bashing 10 homers and driving in 22 runs in September, thereby almost singlehandedly thwarting New York's drive to overtake Atlanta in the National League East.

This year another Met, catcher Mike Piazza (.347 average, 33 home runs, 101 RBIs through Sunday), appears to have a stranglehold on the National League MVP award as September opens, but he's not known for strong finishes: His .310 career average in September and October, though respectable, is lower than his average for any other month. Piazza's quest for his first MVP trophy may depend on the fortunes of his former team, the Dodgers. Sheffield, second in the league with 40 homers, has put up MVP-type numbers (he also had a .331 average and 96 RBIs at week's end), but L.A. was six games out in the West and even further out of the wild-card chase. The Dodgers' poor showing will cost him when ballots are cast—unless, of course, he can haul Los Angeles closer to first place. "Right now I'd rate Gary Sheffield and Mike Piazza one-two," says San Francisco's Barry Bonds. "It's hard to imagine where the Dodgers would be without Sheffield."

The American League race is more wide open. Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays is fast becoming the perfect candidate for both philosophical camps: a player with startlingly good numbers who's also carrying a team that's hanging tough in both the division and wild-card races. Delgado finished the week tied for first in the league in homers (38), second in hitting (.362) and third in RBIs (117).

Two other worthy candidates, the White Sox' Frank Thomas and the Mariners' Edgar Martinez, play for first-place teams—though slumping Seattle's margin has wilted—but both are designated hitters. No fulltime DH has won an MVP; in fact, only two, Toronto's Paul Molitor in 1993 and Martinez in '95, finished among the top three in the balloting during the '90s.

If Chicago, which had an eight-game lead over the Indians through Sunday, cruises to the American League Central title and maintains the league's best record, even the anti-DH bias might not be enough to stop Thomas. He was tied for the league lead in homers (38) and was second in RBIs (120). "He's been huge," says Chicago manager Jerry Manuel. "He's the presence in the lineup that we need with a young club. There's nothing else you can ask of a hitter."

Managers' Hot Seat
Survivor: Big League Style

If no skipper is fired before Oct. 1, this will be the first season since 1942 during which no manager is canned. Despite the calm, however, the stage has been set for a busy winter on the managerial merry-go-round. Several big-name skippers have taken heat in recent weeks as their teams have slid in the standings.