A's Giambi Wins AL MVP

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) â€” With black leather covering his tattooed biceps and his hair slicked back, Jason Giambi's look belied his emotions as the American League's newly crowned Most Valuable

Thursday, November 16th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) â€” With black leather covering his tattooed biceps and his hair slicked back, Jason Giambi's look belied his emotions as the American League's newly crowned Most Valuable Player.

The Oakland Athletics first baseman cried as he looked at his brother and teammate, Jeremy.

``This has been story book for me all year long. Having him come over, us winning the division, winning this award,'' he said. ``It doesn't get any better than that.''

Giambi got 14 of 28 first-place votes and finished with 317 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Giambi also got 11 seconds, two thirds and one fifth.

Chicago's Frank Thomas, a two-time winner, rebounded from his worst season to finish second with 285 points and 10 first-place votes. Seattle's Alex Rodriguez got the other four first-place votes and finished third with 218 points.

The honor indeed caps a story-book season for Giambi. He hit .333 with 43 homers, 137 RBIs and 137 walks. He led the league with a .476 on-base percentage and was third with a .647 slugging percentage.

But Giambi earned the award with an amazing final month, hitting .396 with 13 homers and 32 RBIs and leading the A's to the AL West title.

``I'll never forget this year for the rest of my life,'' he said, ``especially at the end of the year, when my teammates carried me off the field. That will live forever in my memories.''

When Giambi came up to Oakland early in the 1995 season, Mark McGwire was entrenched at first base. Giambi became the slugger's pupil â€” to the point of cutting his hair short.

The two remain close to this day. When Giambi found out he won the award, one of the first calls he placed was to McGwire.

``Not only is he my best friend, he's my mentor,'' Giambi said. ``I love him to death and he's a big part of this honor.''

Giambi took over at first when McGwire was traded to St. Louis. The A's had a new look and new young players, and Giambi was the anchor.

Although they struggled, the A's came together to win this season's division title, then took the Yankees to a deciding fifth game in the division series before being eliminated.

``A couple of years ago, we almost lost 100 games,'' Giambi said. ``We've really turned the corner. (GM) Billy Beane did an unbelievable job putting together this machine we have going now. Hopefully, we can take it to the next step.''

The next step for the A's will be how to keep Giambi in Oakland beyond next year. He is eligible for free agency following the 2001 season, and it could be difficult for the low-budget A's to keep Giambi.

``Sometimes money isn't the most important thing on this earth. Happiness plays a big part in it,'' he said. ``I've talked to a lot of players who have signed for money and weren't happy. People forget, too, that the most important thing in this game is winning.

``To look and see what Derek Jeter's done in winning four World Series rings. That's something that I think everyone who plays this game wants to achieve.''

Beane said his top priority is re-signing Giambi.

``There's no getting around the fact that Jason is going to be paid a lot and deserves to be paid a lot,'' Beane said. ``There's no pretending otherwise.''

Toronto's Carlos Delgado was fourth (206), followed by Boston's Pedro Martinez (103), Cleveland's Manny Ramirez and Seattle's Edgar Martinez (97 each), Anaheim's Darin Erstad (94), Boston's Nomar Garciaparra (66) and Jeter (44).

Thomas, the winner in 1993-94, rebounded from career lows of 15 homers and 77 RBIs to lead the White Sox to the best record in the league. He hit .328 with career highs of 43 homers and 143 RBIs.

Rodriguez, the top free agent this winter, hit .316 with 41 homers and 132 RBIs while playing shortstop. He led the Mariners to the wild-card spot and within two wins of their first World Series appearance.

Delgado might have been the best hitter in the AL this season, but was hurt in voting because he couldn't get the Blue Jays to the postseason. Delgado hit .344 with 41 homers and 137 RBIs. He also had a league-leading 57 doubles and was second in on-base percentage (.470) and slugging (.664).

Martinez, the unanimous choice for the AL Cy Young Award this week, went 18-6 with a 1.74 ERA, but was left off eight ballots â€” in part because of the bias some voters have against pitchers.

Giambi received a $100,000 bonus for winning on top of his $3 million salary.