Who is going to take the AL MVP award? [poll]

[zod]

It should be a close race this year, who do you guys think will take the award?

I'm voting A-Rod (think Andre Dawson, 1987), but there are other good candidates.


Edit : I think I have all the candidates, let me know if I missed any.

 

[eplebnista]

Who is going to take the AL MVP award?

Nomar Garciaparra

 

[DogFromDuckhunt]

It would be one of the biggest rip-off's ever if Migue Tejada didn't get it.

IMO - For a player to be voted MVP it has to mean that if they were taken off of their team, the team would be doing considerably worse. If the A's didn't have Tejada they'd be 15 games back, easily. Yeah, A-Rod is putting up amazing numbers, but his team blows ass and there's nothing even he can do about it. They'd be doing marginally worse without him.

 

[Sandor]

If he keeps it up, I think it will be Tejada. His numbers aren't too far off from A-Rods, plus he's made the difference in quite a few of the A's wins- that's what a MVP should do. I personally think it should be Torii Hunter, but I doubt he's got the offensive numbers or the popularity to make it.

 

[dman]

Originally posted by: DogFromDuckhunt
It would be one of the biggest rip-off's ever if Migue Tejada didn't get it.

IMO - For a player to be voted MVP it has to mean that if they were taken off of their team, the team would be doing considerably worse. If the A's didn't have Tejada they'd be 15 games back, easily. Yeah, A-Rod is putting up amazing numbers, but his team blows ass and there's nothing even he can do about it. They'd be doing marginally worse without him.

I'm torn between Tejada and Soriano. I voted soriano, but if A's make it to WS then Tejada should be.

 

[zod]

but if A's make it to WS then Tejada should be.

I think the voting is done before the playoffs.

And from a pure statistical standpoint . . . A-Rod is 3rd in the league in OPS (1.036) and in a slump, Tejada is 19th (.868) and is red hot. Should a player be blamed for his teammates sucking?


That being said, I hope the A's win the WS, and I'm from NYC.

 

[manly]

Right now, ARod.

If Tejada stays hot through September and visibly powers the A's to the division title (as he has during the streak), then he's got a very legitimate shot. The writers really hate to vote MVP for a guy on a pathetic team.

Soriano is real good, but his defense is spotty (so is Tejada at times), and Soriano doesn't have plate discipline yet. Remember the voting is only through the end of the regular season, for better or worse.

 

[murphy55d]

1.ARod
2.Tejada
3.Hunter

 

[zod]

Soriano could be Juan Samuel or Sammy Sosa.
We'll see.
In any event, he isn't the MVP. Heck, he isn't the MVP of his own team.

 

[Red Dawn]

ARod is easily the best ball player in the AL, maybe even the Majors (Where's Griffey..hahaha) But the most valuable, well up to know, has been Tejada with Soriano a close second. Both Soriano and Tejada are going to just get better as they mature.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

For "Player of the Year" definitely A-Rod. But the V in MVP stands for valuable and A-Rod, despite his production, has been of no value to his team. They could just as easily be in last place without him and maybe without that insane contract they'd have some money to spend on a pitcher or two that might be able to get somebody out. A-Rod to the Rangers is what Herschel Walker was to the Vikings. A great player that's wound up costing far more than he's worth.

Toss out all the Yankees. Jeter is having an off year, Williams has been hot, but sucked in April and May and while both Soriano and Giambi have been having great years, neither is crucial to the Yankees success. They'd be in 1st place with a solid player at either position instead of an all-star. Same deal for the Red Sox. When a team has 4 MVP candidates, none of them is integral to the teams winning.

For me, reading the V as "Valuable" that leaves 3 possible votes: Ichiro, Torii Hunter and Tejada. If the season ended today, I'd vote for Tejada over the other 2.

 

[oboeguy]

Soriano can help a team in so many ways -- the guy is going to have ~100 RBI *as a leadoff hitter*, is leading the league in stolen bases, and is way up there in runs scored (first?). I think it's between him and Tejada. Tejada is getting all this press b/c he and his team are hot right now, how did he do earlier? (did he have a bad start like Bernie? don't know)

 

[Passner]

There are two differant questions here. Who will win, and who should win.

Who will win? the answer will likely be either soriano, and tejada, both good players, but not having spectacular years. Tejada is the 7th best hitter in the AL adjusting for position, and Soriano is 5th. Soriano is subpar defensively, while Tejada is good. This would bump Tejada up to 3rd on my ballot, and Soriano down to 8th.

This brings me to the real point. Who should win. The answer is really clear: Alex Rodriguez. When you adjust for the fact that he is a SS, he is far and away the best hitter in the AL, and his defense is superb, pushing him into territory no other AL player is near this year ( Kent is though in the NL, and Bonds is otherworldly.) If Soriano and Tejada did what they did with another 50 walks instead of outs, they would be within a few runs of value of A-Rod. Remember its MVP, not MVP for a team that makes the playoffs, and has an offense carried by said player, and the team just makes it in, or participated in a long win streak.

 

[zod]

I'll agree with Pasner... A-rod might never win an MVP because his GM is unable to evaluate pitching talent. What does having bad pitchers have to do with A-Rods other wordly performance?

 

[PlatinumGold]

tejada probably is the MVP, too bad baseball doesn't have a BEST player of the year award as well. ARod CLEARLY is the Best player in baseball right now. Mb not the MVP but untill they have a best player award, i'm votin arod.

 

[Mist3rMischi3f]

Soriano. End.

Then A-Rod, and Tejada.

 

[MrDingleDangle]

i think either tejada or hunter should get it...

arod is the best, and soriano is also a good possibility, but i think tejada and hunter are the most valued by their team...if their teams didnt have them they wouldnt be making the playoffs

i think there should be 2 awards given...i think it was joe morgan who said this last night...make a willie mays award for the best position player...then MVP can go to the MVP...

like shilling should get it in the NL, but they rarely give it to pitchers because pitchers have the cy young award

 

[Passner]

Value is value though, plain and simple. The person who puts up the best numbers has the most value. If a player is good to the point where he turns a 65 win team into a 74 win team, he is inherently MORE valuable than a player who turns a 93 win team into a 95 win team, even if his performance supposedly pushes his team over the top. We are talking about the most valuable player, and not the most IMPACTFUL player.

If a player has an amazing season for a team that wins 110 games and finishes 20 games above its competitor, should he be out of the running as well? By basing the award on team success, you essentially move it from that which a player has control (his performance once you neutralize for park, era and strength of opposition pitching) to something over which he has little to no control (the performance of the other 24 players on the roster.)

 

[DogFromDuckhunt]

RBI's are one of the most worthless stats in all of baseball. They show nothing about that player, or how well he does. All an RBI means, is that there happened to be a player in scoring position when that particular player got a hit.

OBP and Slugging% are about the only stats that mean much of anything.

GagHalfrunt also conveyed my thoughts on the MVP award to the T. A-Rod is the best player, but he's not an MVP ... same for Soriano. Take Soriano off of the Yank's and they're still in playoff contention, take A-Rod off the Rangers and they're are still in last, but take Tejada off of the A's and the A's probably wouldn't even be in WC contention.

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: DogFromDuckhunt
RBI's are one of the most worthless stats in all of baseball. They show nothing about that player, or how well he does. All an RBI means, is that there happened to be a player in scoring position when that particular player got a hit.

OBP and Slugging% are about the only stats that mean much of anything.

GagHalfrunt also conveyed my thoughts on the MVP award to the T. A-Rod is the best player, but he's not an MVP ... same for Soriano. Take Soriano off of the Yank's and they're still in playoff contention, take A-Rod off the Rangers and they're are still in last, but take Tejada off of the A's and the A's probably wouldn't even be in WC contention.

LOL @ your name.

 

[joeryu]

i dunno why garret anderson never gets any consideration...angels are just as hot as the a's, and their numbers are VERY similar.

Garret Anderson
STATS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS AVG
2002 145 591 85 184 54 3 26 114 27 75 6 3 .336 .545 .881 .311

Miguel Tejada
STATS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS AVG
2002 146 604 102 188 29 0 31 120 35 72 5 2 .358 .513 .871 .311


i think anderson is a worthy candidate too

 

[Aceman]

Torii Hunter, without a doubt. While Tejada is putting up good offensive numbers and is an above average defensive player, Hunter blows the league away in his defensive performance and through the season has put up the offensive number the Twins need in clutch situations. Baseball has not seen an outfielder of his high caliber in offense and defense since at least Kirby Puckett. Only problem I see with Torii is that he has been in a slump somewhat lately.

 

[BDawg]

Originally posted by: zod
It should be a close race this year, who do you guys think will take the award?

I'm voting A-Rod (think Andre Dawson, 1987), but there are other good candidates.


Edit : I think I have all the candidates, let me know if I missed any.

How the hell does A Rod even qualify? MVP means the player is so great and instrumental to your team that you would be nowhere near your current record without him. Aren't the Rangers in last? Where would they be without Alex? Still in last, I'm betting. That really makes him valuable.

 

[JSSheridan]

Alfonso Soriano by a landslide dude. He's going to have 40 stolen bases, 40 home runs and 40 doubles. He's a solid defensive player. Being a lead off hitter, he's contributed to their succuss again this year. No doubt about it, it's Alfonso Soriano.