11/14: Our MVP Could Beat Up Your MVP!
Posted by: James
Update: Congrats to A-Rod on his 2nd MVP award! He definitely deserved it for his great year. (As a side note, Gary Sheffield (8th), Mariano Rivera (9th) and Derek Jeter (10th) rounded out the top 10.)
In my mind, there is no doubt that A-Rod is the MVP and for him to lose to a DH would be akin to a DH winning a Gold Glove without playing more 30 games at his position (see Palmiero, Rafael in 1999) or a SS winning an MVP award when another shortstop CLEARLY had the better year (see Tejeda, Miguel in 2002).
I grant that David Ortiz has had a great hitting season (though A-Rod's is still better since he played half his games in a pitcher's park, which also happens to favor left-handed batters!). Still, Ortiz had a great hitting season, too - I'll give you that. But baseball is played out on the field as well and that's where any Ortiz argument invariably breaks down. To replace Ortiz, you would need to find one thing: a great hitter. To replace A-Rod: you need a couple of things: a) a great hitter, b) a very good defensive third baseman and (this is often overlooked) c) a great baserunner. I like David Ortiz but he is not your AL MVP. A-Rod is.
Still, not convinced? Well, here are a few quick thoughts from the past couple of months on why A-Rod should be the winner:
-Tony DeMarco at NBC Sports
-Ken Rosenthanl from The Sporting News
-Elliot Kalb at Fox Sports
-Gary Peterson from the Contra Cost Times
Update: Even the folks at ESPN are pulling for A-Rod:
-The experts (God forbid Peter Gammons picks a Yankee... though to me the bigger travesty is that the experts showed Derrek Lee no love in the NL voting. Anyone who gives Andruw Jones votes over Derrek Lee didn't pay attention to his season.)
-The Daily Quickie
And finally, required reading from Larry Mahnken at The Hardball Times and Steve Lombardi over at WasWatching.com. Enough said.
If you want Ortiz support... well, this IS a Yankees site. ;)
In my mind, there is no doubt that A-Rod is the MVP and for him to lose to a DH would be akin to a DH winning a Gold Glove without playing more 30 games at his position (see Palmiero, Rafael in 1999) or a SS winning an MVP award when another shortstop CLEARLY had the better year (see Tejeda, Miguel in 2002).
I grant that David Ortiz has had a great hitting season (though A-Rod's is still better since he played half his games in a pitcher's park, which also happens to favor left-handed batters!). Still, Ortiz had a great hitting season, too - I'll give you that. But baseball is played out on the field as well and that's where any Ortiz argument invariably breaks down. To replace Ortiz, you would need to find one thing: a great hitter. To replace A-Rod: you need a couple of things: a) a great hitter, b) a very good defensive third baseman and (this is often overlooked) c) a great baserunner. I like David Ortiz but he is not your AL MVP. A-Rod is.
Still, not convinced? Well, here are a few quick thoughts from the past couple of months on why A-Rod should be the winner:
-Tony DeMarco at NBC Sports
-Ken Rosenthanl from The Sporting News
-Elliot Kalb at Fox Sports
-Gary Peterson from the Contra Cost Times
Update: Even the folks at ESPN are pulling for A-Rod:
-The experts (God forbid Peter Gammons picks a Yankee... though to me the bigger travesty is that the experts showed Derrek Lee no love in the NL voting. Anyone who gives Andruw Jones votes over Derrek Lee didn't pay attention to his season.)
-The Daily Quickie
And finally, required reading from Larry Mahnken at The Hardball Times and Steve Lombardi over at WasWatching.com. Enough said.
If you want Ortiz support... well, this IS a Yankees site. ;)
