American League MVP

[Bored 0]

But he's not CLUTCH~!

 

1. Alex Rodriguez (16) 331

2. David Ortiz (11) 307

3. Vladimir Guerrero (1) 196

4. Manny Ramirez 156

5. Travis Hafner 151

6. Paul Konerko 128

7. Mark Teixeira 106

8. Gary Sheffield 84

9. Mariano Rivera 59

10. Derek Jeter 23

11. Michael Young 20

12. Scott Podsednik 15

13. Johnny Damon 12

14. Hideki Matsui 8

15t. Richie Sexson 7

15t. Miguel Tejada 7

17. Chone Figgins 6

18t. Victor Martinez 5

18t. Jason Giambi 5

20. Brian Roberts 4

21t. Huston Street 3

21t. Bartolo Colon 3

21t. Grady Sizemore 3

24. Bob Wickman 2

25t. Jorge Cantu 1

25t. Jose Contreras 1

[iggymcfly 0]

Good, I was going to be pissed if Ortiz won it for looking tough in the batters box the six minutes a game he actually plays.

 

I hate the Yankees, and I don't like A-Rod, but he's a much more deserving MVP than Ortiz is.

[Slayer 0]

You've got to be shitting me

[the max 0]

17. Chone Figgins 6

 

Kruk's votes must count more than anyone else's.

[Failed Bridge 0]

A-Rod wasn't even the MVP of the Yankees. Ortiz got screwed, since the Red Sox wouldn't have come close to the playoffs without him.

[Brett Favre 0]

Then who was the MVP of the Yankees? He had the best numbers, most game winning RBIs, and moved around the lineup for a shitload of Yankees, who needed to get hot.

[Failed Bridge 0]

Mariano Rivera

[2GOLD 0]

Then who was the MVP of the Yankees? He had the best numbers, most game winning RBIs, and moved around the lineup for a shitload of Yankees, who needed to get hot.

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The MVP of the Yankees for me was Kevin Brown and Carl Pavano. Thank you Carl and Kevin.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Better than the time he won it with the dead-last Rangers. wtf was that

[mike546 0]

How the hell did Mark Texiera get more votes than Mariano Rivera? Someone explain that logic?

[Vern Gagne 0]

Better than the time he won it with the dead-last Rangers. wtf was that

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Al's gonna ban your ass, for making comments like that.

[Brett Favre 0]

Mariano Rivera

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Well someone had to get Rivera those leads, and if he wasn't going to win the CY Young Award, he sure as hell ain't winning the MVP Award.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

A-Rod wasn't even the MVP of the Yankees. Ortiz got screwed, since the Red Sox wouldn't have come close to the playoffs without him.

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Why is it that people buy this logic for Ortiz, and not for Rodriguez? Without A-Rod, who would the Yankees have played at third instead? Russ Johnson? The Yankees had more hitting threats outside of A-Rod? The Red Sox led the league in runs scored, so they were not exactly lacking themselves. The Yankees' best bench bat was Rey Sanchez. Think about that for a moment.

 

In truth, none of this is really relevant to the issue. Coming up with arguments like what the team would be like without a certain player really clouds what should be a clear argument, and places more emphasis on teammates than on the player themselves. The purpose of the MVP is to identify the best player in the league. Anything else is either someone reading WAY too far into a literal translation of the word valuable itself, or (more commonly) is looking for ways to prop up their candidate when statistics have failed.

 

Hitting. Alex Rodriguez had a higher batting average, higher On Base Percentage, and higher slugging percentage. Moreover, A-Rod did this while playing his home games in Yankee Stadium, a considerably harder park to hit in than did David Ortiz.

 

Defense. Alex Rodriguez played 161 games at third base, and three at shortstop. Ortiz played ten games at first base. While at third base, Rodriguez helped his team win by turning balls in play into outs. This is not an argument that Ortiz had it easier by not playing defense. The point is that defense itself adds value to a ballclub.

 

Baserunning. Ortiz had one steal. Rodriguez had 21 steals in 27 tries. Also, Rodriguez grounded into eight double plays compared to 13 for Ortiz.

 

So you have a candidate who loses out on the three major categories. How do we close the gap. Clutch hitting of course! Ortiz had lots of clutch hits, since we all watch Sportscenter. One often repeated fact is that Ortiz had 20 home runs that either tied the game or put his team ahead. They never mention A-Rod's performance. He had a paltry 19 such home runs. But here is what really surprised me. Ortiz, Mr. Clutch, had nine intentional walks. A-Rod, the guy who's not clutch, had eight intentional walks. Ortiz gets pitches to hit in crucial situations because Manny Ramirez bats behind him.

 

I just don't see where Ortiz's clutch performance gives him the edge over everything else. People love to use clutch to prop up their candidates for lack of better evidence. It's not working here. Ortiz is a fine hitter, and a worthy number two. He's not A-Rod.

[tominator89 0]

Well, Al just proved what I was thinking.

 

I'm sure people will say Ortiz was screwed but I can't see how he was.

[Guest]

Travis Hafner at 5th is nice to see.

[Brett Favre 0]

Owned.

[Guest Leelee]

Owned.

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Mmm, I love A-Rod. And his wife even more.

 

Oh, and you're all haters.

[Slayer 0]

If they gave the MVP for glove slapping, Alex could have had the three-peat

[Guest]

Is there a gayer A-Rod picture?

[Slayer 0]

Any of them

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Step two. When the clutch hitting argument fails, resort to pathetic name calling and dredge to slander the winner. Look pathetic and petty in the meantime.

[Guest]

I think A-Rod deserved the MVP. I have zero problem with it.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Better than the time he won it with the dead-last Rangers. wtf was that

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Al's gonna ban your ass, for making comments like that.

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Well how was he valuable to the 2003 Rangers? They did fuck-all with him, and got better without him.

[Vern Gagne 0]

The voting criteria never says the player has to be on a playoff team, or a playoff contender.

[Guest]

The Rangers would have lost about 15 more games without A-Rod.

[Slayer 0]

The 2003 Rangers would have gone from being a moderate basement level team to a team competing with the 2003 Tigers for "Worst Team of All Time"

 

Somehow that's MVP worthy... I don't know how, but somehow. Al and I had a big argument about it at the time it occured, but I doubt we're gonna get anywhere rehashing that again.

[Guest]

Richie Sexson had 7 votes. That's notable.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Why didn't Santana get any votes? Fuckers screwed him out the Cy Young, and they can't give him the respect of one measley fucking vote. Fuck those idiots.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Santana was 22nd in win shares and pitched for a 3rd place team. You honestly expect him to get a vote?

 

As for A-Rod and the Rangers, I've gone over that many, many times. Let me just point out that the 2003 Rangers ranked eighth all time in runs allowed, behind only the 2000 Rangers, the '96 Tigers, two Rockies clubs, and three Phillies clubs from the Ruth era. No player could've dragged that team any higher.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Back on subject, the win shares system sees Bob Wickman as the least deserving vote getter, followed by Scott Podsednik.