Try to remember an MVP race that was this wide open going into the final weekend.
Two or three leading contenders? Sure, happens all the time.
But take a look around the American League at the list of deserving candidates this year: Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis. It’s awfully difficult to choose between them.
And don’t forget Carlos Quentin. Does he get eliminated because he missed nearly all of September with a broken wrist? His numbers still rank among the league leaders and he remains a big reason the Chicago White Sox could win the AL Central.
So while Albert Pujols is a clear MVP pick in the National League – despite Ryan Howard’s recent power surge – the AL award requires closer inspection.
Put aside the presidential campaign for a minute. It’s time to compare RBIs and OPS.
age – good for second in the AL. All that while providing sound defense and playing more than 130 games at baseball’s most demanding position.
Remember, Mauer has spent the season handling a kiddie-corps pitching staff, yet the surprising Twins entered Friday atop the AL Central. Without him, Minnesota wouldn’t even be close.
The same is true for Morneau, the 2006 AL MVP. He’s having another big year, leading the league in RBIs (129) and hitting .306 with 23 homers. He was tied for 12th in OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage), trailing Quentin (tied for second) and Youkilis (fourth).
Without much power in the lineup (the Twins were last in the league with 111 homers), Morneau shoulders a heavy burden. The big first baseman has delivered all season, with at least 20 RBIs each month.
Pedroia has done a bit of everything for Boston, driving the Red Sox to their fifth playoff berth in six years. A gritty spark plug generously listed at 5-foot-9, he’s a natural fan favorite. But Pedroia’s size isn’t the story. It’s his bat and glove that make him so valuable.
extensive time with injuries, but Pedroia picked up the slack for Boston.
“What he’s been able to do with that team after trading Manny, and the defensive play he shows, I think he’s probably my front-runner,” Johnny Damon of the New York Yankees said.
It seems Youkilis has been overlooked a bit when it comes to MVP talk, but he shouldn’t be. Leading the Red Sox in homers (28) and RBIs (113), he was batting .314 with a .960 OPS. Steady glove at first base, too.
Interestingly, the Angels and Rays don’t have a topflight candidate between them, though they owned the two best records in the league. Sure, Francisco Rodriguez broke the major league saves mark for Los Angeles, but he had pitched 67 1-3 innings. That’s not enough for an MVP.
Grady Sizemore, Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera are among those having huge seasons for teams long out of the pennant race. But none have separated themselves from the pack the way Pujols did in the NL, so this award goes to a playoff contender.
That leaves Quentin, probably the leading candidate before he broke his right wrist Sept. 1 by banging his hand against a bat in frustration. He hopes to return for the postseason.
he MVP?
“I’m sure he can, but it’ll hurt him,” Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina said. “There’s tons of names. There’s not one particular player, and it’ll be interesting who ultimately gets it. I probably couldn’t say.”
After much debate, the pick here is Pedroia – by a small margin.
Mauer is short on extra-base power, while Morneau and Youkilis lack speed. Pedroia is the total package, winning ballgames every way possible. Give him an MVP trophy to follow up last season’s Rookie of the Year honor, a trick Howard turned in 2005-06.
A look at other awards:
NL MVP: Pujols, and it’s not really that close.
OK, so his team missed the playoffs, but that’s hardly his fault. He’s definitely been the best player in the league, so why should he be bypassed just because St. Louis had a wretched bullpen and an injury-depleted rotation? That would be unfair.
Besides, Pujols helped the Cardinals stay in contention most of the season after little was expected of them. They came up short in the end, but his fantastic performance was still valuable.
The 2005 NL MVP was batting .353 with 35 homers and 112 RBIs through Thursday, and his 1.099 OPS was .055 higher than anyone else in the National League.
Ramirez swung the NL West race after joining the Dodgers, who won on the strength of his prodigious production. He didn’t arrive in Los Angeles until August, though. Sorry, too late.
It would have been tough to do it without him, personality-wise,” manager Joe Torre said. “Whatever he did offensively is one thing, but he certainly helped this club relax a little bit.”
Some think Howard has made a push with his huge September, putting Philadelphia in position to win its second consecutive NL East title. But the rest of the season counts, too, and in this case it counts against him.
Howard leads the majors with 47 homers and 142 RBIs, but he also has a .248 batting average and .337 on-base percentage. He’s made 18 errors at first base and is threatening to surpass 200 strikeouts.
Pujols had whiffed 53 times and drawn 101 walks. Case closed.
AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee all the way. With a 22-3 record and league-best 2.54 ERA, he’s on his way to becoming the second straight Cleveland Indians lefty to win this award after CC Sabathia last season. Quite a story after Lee was demoted to the minors last season. Toronto’s Roy Halladay (20-11, 2.78) is the runner-up.
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum takes it, in a closer race than many realize. But it’s not Arizona sinkerballer Brandon Webb (22-7, 3.24) finishing second, it’s Johan Santana of the New York Mets.
ninth inning.
What sets Lincecum (17-5, 2.66 ERA) apart are his strikeouts. The San Francisco Giants’ second-year phenom had a major league-high 252 to Santana’s 197. That’s taken a lot of pressure off his defense. And his numbers are even more impressive when you consider how bad Lincecum’s team is.
AL Rookie of the Year: Evan Longoria, third base, Tampa Bay Rays.
NL Rookie of the Year: Geovany Soto, catcher, Chicago Cubs.
AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon, Rays.
NL Manager of the Year: Lou Piniella, Cubs.
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