When I read that Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox won the American League MVP award, I laughed. Sometimes the Baseball Writer’s Association of America literally throws fans a curve ball.
Who else can vote for a guy who just a year earlier had won the Rookie of the Year award, and put up mediocre numbers in his second year for a mediocre Boston team? Some would argue that Pedroia wasn’t even the best on his team this year.
That honor would go to Kevin Youkilis, who had more home runs, RBIs and walks than the second baseman, and only batted 14 points less than Pedroia. Their stats compare like this: Pedroia: .326 avg., 17 home runs, 83 RBI, 118 runs and 213 hits. Youkilis: .312 avg., 29 home runs, 115 RBI, 91 runs, and 168 hits.
Youkilis’ numbers are phenomenal and comparable to Pedroia’s. The Red Sox first baseman had a great year from the plate and a great one from the field as well. He had a .996 fielding percentage with four errors. Compare that to Pedroia’s .992 percentage with six errors. Even the defensive numbers show that Youkilis was a better player this year.
Don’t get me wrong – Pedroia is a great player. He hustles, he gets a lot of hits, he scores runs, etc. But he’s nothing outstanding. He just had a solid year.
Ichiro Suzuki has had eight straight years of those numbers and after his first year in the league, when the Mariners won 116 games and he won the Rookie of the Year and the MVP, no one has gone back to the “good average and good hits but no power” candidate. Until now, I guess.
I think the frustrating part of voting Pedroia for MVP is the fact that one, he’s a Red Sox player, and two, there were at least three other guys who had way better years than him.
I can understand why some writers might limit their vote to only teams that have made the playoffs, but in baseball, the season is way too long for one guy to make or break a team’s chances of making the playoffs.
I hate to think I’m a traditionalist who thinks only the guys with a lot of home runs should win the MVP, but I think you have to take the power numbers into consideration.
It’s not all about hits and average; it’s also about walks, strikeouts, doubles, home runs and RBI. Then you factor in how well they did in the field. Only then can you really decide who is a worthy candidate.
So here are my top three guys and a case for each.
Third place: Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins. Stats: .300 BA, 23 HR, 129 RBI, 187 hits, 47 doubles, 76 walks, and a .997 fielding percentage with four errors. Those numbers are above average and way better than Pedroia’s. This 2006 MVP had nine less homers and hit 21 points lower then he did in ’06, but the rest of his numbers are the same, if not slightly better. That alone is why he placed second in voting this year with 257 votes to Pedroia’s 317.
Second place: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers. Stats: .292 BA, 37 HR, 127 RBI, 180 hits, 36 doubles. This is purely an offensive vote for me. The average is just a hair under what I would like for an MVP candidate, but it’ll do. It’s the 37 home runs and 180 hits that show me something. That means he’s strictly not a deep threat. Every time he’s up to the plate he is dangerous. Besides, do you know where he plays? Comerica Park is a cathedral. To play half of your games in that stadium and still end up with the most home runs in the AL is pretty darn good.
And without further ado, I present to you the real 2008 American League MVP:
Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers. Stats: .304 BA, 32 HR, 130 RBI, 190 hits, 35 doubles, 5 triples. Hamilton ranked in the top 10 in every major offensive category this year and he was first in RBI. He played for a sub-par team with no pitching, but Hamilton is a really good story. He’s turned his life around after struggling with drug addiction, and after being drafted first overall by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2001, he bounced around before he made his debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2007.
This debate is what I love about baseball, and sports in general.
There’s no way to quantify how one guy is more valuable than another. To their own team, they’re definitely priceless. So I’ll just keep on debating that until the first day when pitchers and catchers report for spring training in February.
BEN SCHORZMAN
[email protected]
Who should have won MVP in the AL
Daily Emerald
November 19, 2008
0
More to Discover