July 2009
The Top Five Reasons the MLB Most Valuable Player Award is a Farce
Many fans, writers, players, and analysts argue what being the “Most Valuable Player” truly means. Some argue it requires being the “best player on the best team,” while others suggest it belongs to “the season’s best player.”
I personally fall somewhere in between–choosing to fully recognize the “valuable” component, while not disqualifying a player who fell just short in a pennant race.
In many seasons, such as the 1998 Yankees, the best team is just that–a “team.” They are a unit comprised of multiple high quality players that represent something far greater than the simple sum of its parts.
A “Most Valuable Player” many times cannot be chosen from the game’s best team, as no player distinguishes himself as more important than the men standing next to him.
In other cases, a player has a season immortalized in baseball lore, and his accomplishments can/should sometimes outweigh a great season by a pennant winner–so long as they occur as part of a competitive ball club.
As a result of my slightly modified criteria, I have created a list of five controversial MVP decisions that particularly irritated me. Each personifies my frustration and disappointment with the MVP voting process, and shows why things need to change.
5. Andre Dawson (1987)
The 1987 vote represents most people’s underlying issue and concern with the MVP process–being “most valuable” on one of the league’s worst teams. Everyone loves “The Hawk,” but 1987 in no way represented an MVP-caliber season.
Not only did his Cubs finish dead last in the National League East (a staggering 18.5 games back of first place St. Louis), but Dawson’s stats were one-dimensional.
Dawson sported just a .287 BA and .328 OBP–just the 6th best batting average and 8th best on-base percentage of his career. As a result of his anemic OBP, Dawson scored just 90 runs that season even though he nearly hit 50 home runs.
To put an icing on the “undeserving cake,” Dawson’s strikeout-to-walk ratio was worse than at any point of his career from 1980 to his final year as a starter in 1993.
4. Alex Rodriguez (2003)
Another prime example of an MVP rising from the ashes of a last place team, Alex Rodriguez undeservedly won the award in 2003 with the Texas Rangers.
A-Rod’s Rangers finished 71-91, and were so far in Oakland’s rearview mirror that they stopped keeping track by the All-Star break. The eventual deficit stood at 25 games on the season’s final day.
Exactly how “valuable” can a player be for a last place team? Texas was nearly closer to capturing the worst record in MLB history than they were to catching the AL West Champion Athletics.
Though A-Rod’s numbers were very impressive, they left much to be desired for an eventual MVP winner. He produced 47 HR, 118 RBI, 124 R, and a .298 BA, but the bottom-line stats don’t tell the whole story.
Aside from being buried in last place, A-Rod hit just .276 with runners in scoring position, .260 in late-and-close situations (though I dislike the stat), and drove in just 47 of his 118 runs (39.8 percent) on the road.
A-Rod was no more than a product of a little league park in Arlington on a last place team. The Rangers finished last with him, and they would have finished last without him. There is nothing inherently “valuable” about a season like A-Rod’s in 2003.
3. Dennis Eckersley (1992)
Though this vote may be the one that raises my blood pressure to the most alarming of heights, it cannot possibly rise higher than No. 3 on the list.
This voting process does credit a solid season on a division-winning team, but it opens up a whole new can of worms. There have been players ignored in MVP discussions who had far better seasons than those Eckersley beat out, but this vote makes as little sense as any other.
The 1992 season didn’t represent Eckersley’s best season as a pitcher. It didn’t even represent his best season as a relief pitcher.
Yet this is the year a reliever wins the league’s Most Valuable Player Award?!
Eckersley was 7-1 with a 1.91 ERA while pitching 80 innings, recording 51 saves, and sporting a WHIP of 0.913. A very solid season, but nothing out of the ordinary for any season’s best closer.
To put things into perspective, “Eck” was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA and 0.614 WHIP in 73.1 IP in 1990. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was an absurd 73:4, and he added an equally impressive 48 saves.
Not only did Eck not win the Cy Young in 1990 (finishing 5th), but he finished just 6th in the AL MVP voting process. His numbers were drastically better in 1990 than 1992, and help to illustrate how unimpressive his 1992 MVP season truly was in comparison.
2. Lou Gehrig (1934)
Lou Gehrig was a player underrated and underappreciated from the day he replaced Wally Pipp as the New York Yankees first baseman. He was overshadowed for much of his career by Babe Ruth–though he may have been just as responsible for Ruth’s breath-taking offensive performances.
Gehrig’s greatness was never ignored more starkly than during the 1934 major league season.
“The Iron Horse” captured the Triple Crown during that campaign–hitting .363 with 49 HR and 165 RBI. He also added 128 R and a .465 OBP–all without the benefit of a dangerous and productive Ruth.
Not only did Gehrig lose the MVP voting in 1934, but he finished fifth. Fifth? How can a Triple Crown winner be determined to have the fifth best season in the American League?
To make matters worse, the 1934 MVP vote went to the Detroit Tigers’ Mickey Cochrane. Gehrig lost out to a man who hit .320 with just 2 HR, 76 RBI, and 74 runs scored.
Cochrane only played in 129 games that season (Gehrig played all 154), and collected just 140 hits in comparison to Gehrig’s 210. Gehrig even stole more bases than Cochrane in 1934 (nine vs. eight).
A player who hit .43 points lower, scored 54 fewer runs, drove in 89 fewer runs, hit 47 fewer home runs, and collected 70 fewer hits was more valuable than Gehrig?
For those of you assuming the Yankees had a poor season, New York was 94-60 in 1934–winning 61 percent of their games.
* Mickey Cochrane was a player-manager and played a more important defensive position at catcher, but this alone cannot overshadow Gehrig’s godlike offensive season.
1. Ted Williams (1941, 1947)
The only thing that could possibly upstage Gehrig’s disappointment is a Hall of Fame player who was robbed of the MVP twice by division rival Joe DiMaggio.
Remember when I explained that some seasons are immortalized in baseball lore, and that these efforts should sometimes overcome a solid season by a pennant winner?
Ted Williams was ignored for epic achievements in both 1941 and 1947.
In 1941, Williams generated one of the most magical numbers in major league history when he hit .406. Never duplicated and rarely even approached since 1941, Williams’ “.406″ is still recognized as one of the few statistical anomalies that may never be broken.
Unfortunately for Williams, he was put up against an equally immortalized baseball feat by a man on a pennant-winning club–DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak.
Even if voters chose to deem the two epic accomplishments as “equal,” Williams lead the league in walks, runs scored, home runs, slugging, on-base percentage (.553), and OPS.
Although a strong DiMaggio proponent, it is impossible for me to justify his MVP selection over a season like Williams’.
To further prolong the “head-scratching” phenomenon, Williams joined Gehrig in “Triple Crown but no MVP” purgatory in 1947.
Again losing the vote to “Joltin’ Joe,” Williams hit .343 with 32 HR, and 114 RBI–also leading the league in runs, walks, OBP, OPS, slugging, and total bases.
DiMaggio received the award even though he did not lead the league is any offensive category. He also played in 15 fewer games than Williams, hitting just .315 with 20 HR 97 RBI, and 97 R.
It can be argued that 1947 represented the worst full season of DiMaggio’s career, and it is rather difficult to argue against that notion. To hand him the MVP award is rather laughable, and an indictment on the voting process in general.
Mariano Rivera and the Tale of the Wandering Remote Control
Yankees closer Mariano Rivera has been deservedly credited with being the greatest relief pitcher of his generation.
On Tuesday night, I believe he also became the first pitcher to ever throw out the ceremonial first pitch and throw the final pitch of a game. The honor of course stemmed from the achievement of Rivera’s 500th career save.
During last night’s contest against the Seattle Mariners, however, I was reminded of yet another luxury of employing Rivera for ninth inning duties.
It is a phenomenon that cannot be utilized when following the New York Giants, New York Knicks, Michigan Wolverines, or any other of my beloved sports franchises.
Normally a man whose day is constructed around the three-to-four hours of baseball sanctuary that the Yankees provide, it is not uncommon that I will watch every single pitch or batted ball.
As Alex Rodriguez’s “Ruthian” blast held up until the end of the eighth inning, I found myself flipping channels with a normally quarantined remote control. It seemed like a good time to catch up on other entertainment I might have been neglecting on weeknights from 7-10 PM.
My mind was calm, secure, and untroubled, as “Enter Sandman” was inevitably blasting through the stadium’s many speakers.
Rivera had arrived to perform the task he’d completed 535 times before (including postseason) to that point, and the night’s victory had become as certain as the sun rising the next morning.
Distracted by the nonsensical conflicts of The Real World and a few cheap laughs courtesy of Family Guy, I had actually forgotten about my YES Network obsession.
By the time I had retrieved the remote to return from my digital excursion, the inning and game had already ended. Fifteen pitches of effortlessness, and the Yankee win streak had stretched to seven.
Dissenters annually claim that Rivera has “lost it” after a few poor performances–crying out for an immediate replacement. One such “solution” included Rivera sliding into the seventh inning role while Brian Bruney and Joba Chamberlain manned the eighth and ninth respectively.
Rivera has not “lost” much of anything, and in fact continues to gain more as years go on. He adds milestones, accolades, saves, victories, and birthday candles–all while continuing to dominate the rest of the league at age 39.
In the last season and a half, Rivera has 103.1 IP while giving up just 69 hits. His ERA over this period stands at 1.83, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is a laughable 117:9–video games cannot produce numbers like this.
When taking into account a 97 percent save conversion percentage over this span (59-for-61), it is difficult to argue that Rivera has suddenly disappeared into the shadows of closer royalty.
Armed with just one major league pitch, and one that has decreased in velocity over the years, Rivera continues to allow channel surfing during most ninth innings.
It has been proven rather simple to embarrass professional hitters so long as your control is as pristine as Whitney Houston’s vocal tones–before being introduced to the lovely world of cocaine addiction.
Rivera admittedly does not have many years of automatic success left in his career, but all discussions of a deterioration need to be rapidly dissolved.
The Yankees already have their “closer of the future,” because as we all know, the future is now in the Bronx.
He may be nearing the end of the road, but I am not looking forward to a time when I will be consuming as many nitrates for chest pain as chips and salsa during ninth innings of Yankee games.
Also seen at: Heartbeat of the Bronx
He’s Baaaaaaacccck: The Five Reasons A-Rod is Turning a Corner
1. Rest Will Do a Body Good
Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees brass continued to ignore Dr. Mark Philippon’s post-surgical rehabilitation guidelines through the first six weeks of his faster-than-anticipated return.
Though initially instructed to rest once a week during this time period, A-Rod instead played on a daily basis–barely permitting Joe Girardi to put him at designated hitter for a “half day of rest.”
In order to avoid the inevitable fatigue A-Rod experienced in his hip, the team will adhere to Dr. Philippon’s regimen for at least the next month.
This will allow him to continue pool rehabilitation that may in fact prevent an expected offseason procedure, according to his surgeon.
2. The Numbers Speak For Themselves
Since the first of the aforementioned “rest periods,” A-Rod is 9-for-27 (.333) with 3 HR and 13 RBI in just eight games played.
This trio of home runs included a 400-plus foot opposite field blast in Citi Field–a place where long balls are usually sent to die like former NFL stars in Oakland. Mets announcer Keith Hernandez admitted he “had never seen anyone hit a ball that far” in the ballpark.
Similar to the gradual turnaround of David Ortiz in Boston, A-Rod has put together a humble six-game hitting streak. Not coincidentally, New York has won all six of these games–again sprinting within striking distance of their biggest divisional rival.
3. Confidence, Confidence, Confidence
Any struggling hitter will tell you that self-assurance makes up half the battle in the trenches of a major league batter’s box. The confidence in knowing that the pitcher has no chance against you makes all the difference in a 3-for-5 night as opposed to a 0-for-5.
Philosophers and theorists feel that “the failure to plan is planning to fail,” and confidence allows hitters to formulate and execute a plan at the plate–as opposed to hoping and wishing for positive results.
Listening to A-Rod answer media questions following Tuesday night’s game spoke volumes about how he is currently feeling. He stated that he feels refreshed, has heightened agility, and can reach pitches he couldn’t in past weeks.
Whether or not all of these things will continue to hold true is anyone’s guess, but he believes it, and that’s all that matters.
4. Pitchers Believe That He Is
Opposing pitchers believing that A-Rod is a dangerous hitter is almost more important than him believing it about himself.
Rodriguez has collected 10 walks in the last six games alone, which helps to portray the level of respect he has regained from a handful of hard hit balls. The combination of careful pitching and better pitch recognition has given A-Rod a .620 OBP over the last six games, as well as a .514 OBP since his rest period in Miami.
A-Rod is once again receiving sliders and changeups on 2-0 counts, and is proving to be enough of a threat to alter a pitcher’s game plan. He is soon to become an automatic intentional walk in big spots, as his successes coupled with Robinson Cano’s repeated failures will force a manager’s hand.
5. Up & In: The Black Hole of a Compromised Slugger
From David Ortiz to Ken Griffey Jr. to Hideki Matsui, the first pitch to expose an injured or deteriorating slugger is the high and inside fastball.
It requires the most hand and bat speed of any pitch in baseball, and causes embarrassing swings on outside off-speed pitches for those who need to cheat to catch up inside. This results in a hitter’s hip opening far too soon, and this “bailout” makes it virtually impossible to protect the outside corner.
A-Rod was particularly affected by this as a result of preseason hip surgery–causing him to compensate inside more than the average case. Pitchers were able to toy with him for the early part of June, and it stripped him of most of his confidence.
Last night, however, A-Rod took a fastball up and in and launched it into the night sky. It was a warning sign to anyone who planned on challenging him in the weeks to come, and will help to restore the fear he once put in the minds of anyone standing on a mound.
6. Bonus: Did You Know?
Regardless of A-Rod’s stint on the disabled list and embarrassing start to June, he is still on pace for 34 HR, 110 RBI, and a nearly .400 OBP.
When putting these numbers in the context of a 162-game average, A-Rod would be able to produce 41 HR and 134 RBI. Though his batting average stands at just .233, his power numbers are rather remarkable considering the 2009 circumstances.
He may not be the A-Rod Yankee fans know and try not to love, but all they need is for him to be a legitimate threat–something he is steadily transforming back into.
Also seen at: Heartbeat of the Bronx
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