Let us share a quiet moment as we put to rest one of the most exciting regular seasons in MLB history. We had great pennant races. We had record breaking performances. We had milestones reached. And we had it all available to us on television, internet and highlight shows. It was a great ride but it's not over yet. Now we look forward to what hopefully will be memory-making post season games that eventually lead to the big show itself. It's been fun MLB. Thanks for a labor free season. Now find a home for the Expos and give us umpiring befitting professional baseball and we'll be good.

The Fan wants to take a final look at his favorite boxscore players and what kind of seasons they put together:
- Nick Johnson. Johnson is the most important cog in the Yankee lineup. The Yankees were hot early, cooled off when he was injured, and then revived when he returned. He ended the season 0 for 13 and finished the season at his lowest season average of .284. But that isn't the story. The story is his 70 walks in only 95 games to give him an OBP of .422. Because of that, he scored sixty runs in those 95 games. When you have someone who can get on base like that from the second spot in the lineup, it makes all the other hitters better. His 14 homers and 47 RBI helped too.

- Rocco Baldelli. Baldelli finished the season with a .308 average his last seven games. His final season average of .289 was remarkably consistent. He had 185 hits of which 51 were for extra bases. Baldelli scored 89 runs and drove in 78. He also had 27 stolen bases. Baldelli will only get better as he learns to hit for more power and to be more selective at the plate. If he can improve on his paltry 30 walks, he will be as superstar. I rate him third in rookie of the year standings behind Matsui and Teixeira.

- Coco Crisp. Coco wilted at the end of the year as he went hitless in seven of his last ten games. But his first year in the majors showed enough promise to see what will happen. Crisp managed 414 at bats in just 98 games and batted .264. He scored 55 runs while only making one error in the outfield all season. It will be interesting to see where Crisp fits in the Indians' plans next year. You have to love the name.

- Hank Blalock. Blalock also faded at the end but still ended his second season (first as a starter) with a solid .300 average. His OBP was .350 and his slugging percentage was .522. All good numbers. Blalock had 65 extra base hits including 29 homers and drove in 90 runs. Blalock is going to be a star for a long time. He needs to cut down on his strikeouts and find a permanent slot in the lineup. I love his manager, but the man makes too many lineup changes.

- Mark Teixeira. Teixeira finished strong and in many ways, found more favorable lineup spots at the end of the season than Blalock. The Fan's Rookie of the Year finished with 26 homers and 84 RBI. He only batted .259 but his OBP was .331. This is going to be a star for years to come.

- Michael Young. The Texas Rangers' leadoff batter had a very good year. With 204 hits and 106 runs scored to go along with his 56 extra base hits and 72 RBI, Young really arrived as a player. He also had a great year in the field, making only 10 errors. Young will also be a superstar if he gets more patient at the plate and improves his 36 walks in 700 plate appearances. He can be a batting champion if he can do so.

The previous three boxscore players will form a great nucleus for the Rangers along with A-Rod and I believe this team will be a contender. My only question is why you would let Rafael Palmeiro go? He got his homers and drove in over 100 runs again. Why would you let him walk? Okay, let's continue:

- Miguel Cabrera. The twenty year old had a big impact in his first major league season as 36 of his 84 hits were for extra bases. His 62 RBI in 86 games were huge for the Marlins in their playoff run. He also had a great first year in the field as he made only three errors in left field, a foreign position for him and only one error in 32 games at third base. This kid is going to be a big star.

- Jose Reyes. Reyes unfortunately got hurt in his debut season, but the other twenty year old in the majors finished with a .307 average with 13 stolen bases. Reyes scored 47 runs in his 69 games and drove in 32. His fielding was acceptable and this is another future star.

- Pat Burrell. Oh well. Burrell never did put it together although his last twenty games were passable. At least he ended above the dreaded Mendoza Line. His final average of .209 is embarrassing. He did walk quite a bit and at least his OBP was over .300. The other positive is that 56 of his 109 hits were for extra bases. Hopefully Bowa will be fired and Burrell can get a coach that can figure out how to put him back on the star track he was on last year.

- Scott Podsednik. Podsednik became a late season favorite and became only the fourth rookie in MLB history to hit .300 (.314), steal 40 bases (43) and score a hundred runs (100 even). He also had a very respectable .379 OBP as a leadoff batter. This is another future star who has already arrived. My man, Dontrelle Willis and even Brandon Webb had great seasons, but Podsednik has to be the Rookie of the Year.

- Sean Burroughs. Burroughs had a solid, if unspectacular second season. He batted .286 with a .352 OBP. He has to improve his pop as his percentage of hits to extra base hits is not impressive. But you just get the feeling that he will get better and better.

They were fun to watch and there were many others like Sosa, Jeter, Sexson, Bonds, and many, many others who make following the boxscores such a joy. It was a great season and this post-season will be terrific too. The Fan's post-season analysis will be featured in tomorrow's post. See you then.