[Moriarty9]

1999: Sox Season Ends In Disappointment
Boston fails to make playoffs

After making it to the playoffs the previous four seasons, the Boston Red Sox found themselves preparing for the 2000 season before the Division Series had gotten underway.

The team's 86-76 record was good enough for a second place finish in the AL East, 13 games behind the 99-63 New York Yankees. Boston finished 5 games behind the 91-72 Oakland Athletics in the hunt for the Wild Card spot.

The team drew more than 3.3 million fans (5th highest total in AL) to Fenway Park with a $78 million payroll (2nd highest in AL).

KEY OFFENSIVE CONTRIBUTORS
Mo Vaughn, 1B (All Star, AL HR leader)
Mo Vaughn had another spectacular season in 1999 and hit his 300th career home run. Vaughn hit .360 with 55 HR, 153 RBI and 134 runs. He led the league in hits (226), home runs, slugging (.688) and total bases (432).

Jose Cruz Jr., CF
Coming off a career-season, Cruz performed well again in 1999, hitting .258 with 35 HR, 84 RBI, 109 runs and swiping 18 bases.

Manny Ramirez, RF (All Star)
Ramirez put together another strong season in 1999, hitting .289 with 30 HR, 75 RBI and 75 runs - good enough to earn a spot on the All Star team. His numbers were down due to a skull fracture suffered on July 17, putting him on the shelf for just more than one year.

Todd Helton, 1B
Todd Helton made the move to first base on a full time basis in 1999 and responded with a .348 average, 28 HR, 91 RBI and 93 runs.

OFFENSIVE DISAPPOINTMENTS
Jason Varitek, C
27-year-old catcher Jason Varitek was brought up as a backup backstop in 1999 with hopes he would show he could become the everyday catcher in 2000. His offensive skills, however, indicated he may not quite be ready. Varitek hit .175 with 4 HR and 24 RBI through 206 at bats, striking out 45 times.

John Valentin, 2B
Valentin battled a few injuries during the 1999 season but still managed to appear in 115 games. During those games, Valentin hit .222 with 6 HR and 27 RBI.

KEY PITCHING CONTRIBUTORS
Randy Johnson (All Star, Cy Young)
Randy Johnson won his third Cy Young in four years in 1999, earned an All Star spot, led the league in numerous catergories and threw a one-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts against the Chicago White Sox. Johnson went 24-4 with a 2.90 ERA and 315 strikeouts over 248 innings.

Mike Hampton (Southpaw Starter)
Although he missed some time with a knee injury, Hampton had a successful 1999 season. He went 10-3 with a 3.34 ERA and 126 strikeouts in 140 innings.

Derek Lowe (All Star Closer)
Lowe earned a spot as an All Star in 1999, saving 38 games in 60 appearances, posting a 5-4 record with a 2.40 ERA and 64 strikeouts.

PITCHING DISAPPOINTMENTS

Roger Clemens (Starting Pitcher)
The Rocket never quite lifted off in 1999, although he did record his 3,000th career strikeout. The milestone was the lone highlight of the season as he went 4-14 with a 7.26 ERA in 30 games in which opponents hit .329 against Clemens.


Roy Halladay (Starting Pitcher)
With the pitching staff struggling, Halladay was given the opportunity to make his mark with Boston but failed to leave a good one. Halladay went 3-8 with a 7.13 ERA in 15 games, 10 of which were starts. Opponents hit .318 off him.


Rolando Arrojo (Starting Pitcher)
Having put together strong numbers in AAA, Arrojo was given the shot to help out the Red Sox rotation but failed to do so. Arrojo went 3-6 with a 9.90 ERA in 10 games, seven of which were starts. Opponents hit .382 against Arrojo.


Scott Schoeneweis (Reliver)
Boston's first round pick in the 1998 draft, Schoeneweis made his way to the Red Sox bullpen in 1999 but had some noticeable growing pains. In 65 appearances, Schoeneweis went 8-3 with 3 saves and a 5.89 ERA.


Troy Percival (Reliever, Traded to St. Louis)
Percival was not a happy camper in 1999 after Derek Lowe had claimed the closer's role as his job at the end of 1998. That, coupled with his start to the season, ultimately led to Percival being dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals after posting a 1-2 record with 4 saves and an 8.22 ERA in 36 games with Boston.

NOTEABLE TRANSACTIONS
Sox Swap Valdez for OF Wells
To Boston Red Sox: Vernon Wells
To New York Mets: Ismael Valdez
During the winter of 1998, the Red Sox acquired 20-year-old outfielder Vernon Wells from the New York Mets for pitcher Ismael Valdez. Wells went on to hit .282 with 10 HR, 52 RBI and 57 runs in 126 games. In New York, Valdez went 13-10 with a 4.60 ERA in 30 games.
Through the 2008 season, Wells had hit 131 career HR with 537 RBI in 1,151 games over 11 seasons.
Valdez retired prior to the 2008 season with a 101-88 record and 4.30 ERA in 13 seasons.

Pitching Prospects Traded
To Boston Red Sox: Mark Buehrle
To Seattle Mariners: Bartolo Colon
In a swap of promising young hurlers, Boston landed lefty Mark Buehrle from Seattle Mariners on July 4. Buehrle went 8-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 17 games with Seattle before the trade and was seen as a strong young pitcher to help the struggling Boston staff. In 13 starts with the Red Sox, Buehrle went 4-4 with a 5.28 ERA, striking out 68 in 76 2/3 innings.
Buehrle would stay with the Red Sox organization through 2002 and, through the 2008 season, has posted a 120-67 record in nine seasons.
Colon struggled in just four appearances with Boston (0-3, 7.65 ERA) before the trade and went 3-7 with a 4.55 ERA in 16 games with Seattle.
Through the 2008 season, Colon has amassed a 91-132 record and a 4.77 ERA in 11 seasons.

THE DRAFT
Santana taken with Boston's 1st round pick
Shocked that he had fallen to the end of the 1st round, the Red Sox happily selected LHP Johan Santana with the 29th pick of the draft.
Boston's other draft selections included reliever Lorenzo Barcelo (2nd round), catcher Eric Munson (3rd round) and reliever Kris Wilson (4th round).

THE PLAYOFFS
Division Series: Athletics v. Indians
Returning to the playoffs once again, the 105-57 Cleveland Indians were expected to at least return to the ALCS if not get to the World Series. The Oakland A's, however, didn't care one bit about expectations and favorites as the Wild Card entrants knocked the Tribe out of the ALDS in four games.

Division Series: Rangers v. Yankees
A franchise with little-to-none experience in the post-season squared off against the most storied franchise in baseball and put them on their backside as the Texas Rangers eliminated the New York Yankees in the ALDS, 3 games to 1.

Division Series: Astros v. Braves
The upsets continued in the NLDS as the 99-63 Houston Astros (the best record in the NL) were knocked out by the Wild Card Atlanta Braves (92-71) in five games.

Division Series: Giants v. Mets
Where the Yankees failed, their cross-town rivals succeeded as the Mets advanced to the NLCS by defeating the San Francisco Giants in five games.

ALCS: Athletics v. Rangers
The A's and Rangers, familiar with one another from their numerous battles during the season as AL West foes, locked horns in the ALCS. The Wild Card Athletics took down the favored Rangers in five games to advance to the World Series.

NLCS: Braves v. Mets
Division rivals also squared off for the pennant in the NL as the Braves upset the division champion Mets in five games.

World Series: Athletics v. Braves
For the fourth time in the last five years, the American League's entrant into the World Series came out victorious. Oakland and Atlanta fought hard for the full seven games before the A's took home the trophy.

AWARDS
MVPs: Giambi, Alou
Jason Giambi of the Oakland Athletics hit .357 with 44 HR and 153 RBI. Giambi led the AL in on-base percentage (.489) was second in RBI (153) and walks (139), third in batting average and slugging (.667), fourth in runs (130) and total bases (361). He beat out batting champion Bernie Williams (.385) and former MVPs Mo Vaughn (.360, 55 HR, 153 RBI, 134 runs) and Carlos Delgado (49 HR, 168 RBI, 138 runs, 20 hits, 49 doubles, 9 triples).
Moises Alou of the Atlanta Braves had a career season in 1999, hitting .366 with 46 HR and 156 RBI. Alou led the NL in slugging (.680), OPS (1.121), total bases (415) and RBI. He was second in batting average, hits (223); third in runs (149) and homers (46); fifth in singles (128) and doubles (44).

Very familiar names take home Cy Young Awards
Randy Johnson won his third Cy Young Award in four years after posting an impressive 24-4 record, 2.90 ERA and striking out 315 batters. Johnson led baseball in wins and led the AL in ERA, complete games (5), shutouts (3), strikeouts, opponents batting average (.218) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.4).
Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves also won his third Cy Young Award in four years, going 21-8 with a 2.85 ERA and 168 strikeouts. Maddux was the NL's only 20-game winner, led the league in complete games (8) and shutouts (5), was third in ERA and in opponents batting average (.224), fourth in winning percentage (.724)

Rookies Huff, Meluskey honored for excellence
Toronto Blue Jays rookie Aubrey Huff slugged his way to the winner's circle in the Rookie of the Year race. Huff hit .356 with 36 HR and 112 RBI. Huff was fourth in the AL in batting.
Mitch Meluskey of the Colorado Rockies took home the NL Rookie of the Year in 1999. Colorado's catcher hit .313 with 20 HR and 101 RBI.