The Gator Accepts 1998 AL MVP Award
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As seen on Six Pack Sports Report
We've done it again SPSR Nation. I have once again received some BREAKING NEWS that you are not going to find anywhere else in blogfrica. Recently we brought you an exclusive letter from Brady Quinn to Browns fans and now we are proud to present something even bigger then that. As some of you may be aware Curt Schilling showed up on Bob Costas' talk show and claimed that Jose Canseco disgraced baseball and should have everything he ever did stripped away. The exact quote used by the always outspoken Schilling was:
"Jose Canseco admitted he cheated his entire career. Everything he ever did should be wiped clean. I think his MVP should go back and should go to the runner-up."
That is where I come in folks. The 1988 American League MVP Runner Up Mike "The Gator" Greenwell got in touch with Six Pack Sports Report exclusively to accept his award. Again I must stress how huge this is for our little slice of blogfrica - but I now present to you, Mike Greenwell.
I just want to take a moment to recognize the people who made this possible. Obviously it's been a long time coming but Pete Ueberroth first and foremost I need to thank you as the Commissioner of Baseball for allowing something like this to take place. I'd also never be able to forgive myself if I didn't thank my managers John McNamara and Joe Morgan. My teammates Ellis Burks, Jim Rice, Dwight Evans, and everyone else you guys were the greatest teammates anyone could ask for.
But the real story is that finally one of the great injustices in the history of professional baseball has been corrected. I've been calling for this moment for many years - Jose Canseco you disgraced the game and The Gator deserved to be the 1988 AL MVP all along. Not only were my statistics fantastic but while you were taking steroid injections into your ass, I was grooming one of history's great mustaches. In '88 I hit .325 with 22 non-steroid aided home runs, 119 RBIs and 313 total bases. Those are MVP numbers Canseco and finally - justice has been served.
Your numbers were a joke and it's about time someone with as big a mouth as Curt Schilling brought it to the forefront. You hit 42 home runs in '88 - that's unheard of but you only had 124 runs batted in. Twenty more home runs for only 5 more RBIs Canseco - sounds like someone went to the Wade Boggs school of home run hitting, wait until they don't count and smash a few solo shots. Suck in all the glory for yourself - that was your modus oprendi wasn't it Jose? Well that's all over now - your records are wiped clean and it's The Gator who holds the 1988 MVP trophy.
You think The Gator cares about that 40 home run 40 steal record when everyone knows you were on the juice? There is a reason that nobody did it before you Jose and that's because we were all fueled by alcohol and speed - real baseball player drugs. Think you could have stolen 40 bases had you spent the whole night before a game drinking 100 beers with Wade Boggs on a cross country flight? Hell you'd have been lucky to hold the bat in your hands - but not The Gator, I played 158 games in 1988 with a blood alcohol level higher than Rich Gedman's batting average.
Am I biter? Not really. I always felt that justice would be served and I was proven right here today. Thank you Bob Costas for having the guts to be a whiny little dwarf who calls out superstar athletes because you could never be one yourself. I really appreciate all the hard work that has gone into discrediting guys like Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco - it's not easy being a little weasel but you've made it an art form Mr. Costas and I've got to thank you for that.
But I'll gladly accept this MVP trophy on behalf of all the other great stars who were wrongly voted MVP runner up throughout the years. This is for Nomar Garciaparra in 1998, and A-Rod in 1996 (both runners up to Juan Gonzales). This is for Mike Piazza in 1996 (runner up to Ken Caminiti), and Moises Alou in 1998 (3rd runner up to Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire). And finally it's for Albert Pujols who for about four years in a row (2001-2004) was the runner up, or third runner up to a known steroid user. Let this award show that all you have to do is complain for 20 years and the wrong that has been done to you will be righted.
Thank you Six Pack Sports Report for giving me this platform to accept my 1988 American League MVP trophy. It's time for me to head back to my Family Fun Park in Cape Coral, Florida.
Mike Greenwell
Once again I would just like to extend our fullest congratulations to Mike Greenwell. As a lifelong Red Sox fan he was and still remains one of my favorite players of all time. Truly we are doing God's work here at the Six Pack Sports Report.
