MVP Debate - AL

The MVP debate, especially in AL, has been been going on for the past couple of months. Here's the breakdown:
(being the last week of regular season, this is where facts stand strong & speculations go down)

MVP candidates should contribute to their respective teams' success, that is WINS. Pitchers should be excluded from the MVP discussion, in most cases, unless they put up unprecedented stats.


NYY, DET, MIN, and OAK will be making the playoff. It makes it easi(er) to pick out the worthy MVP runners.

NYY: Jeter
2nd in AVG, tied-2nd in R, 96RBI, 32SB, 37 2Bs

Strength: being 2nd in AVG, possibly winning it (probably not, with Mauer being a catcher and leading with 9pts) & putting up almost 100RBI, Jeter definately contributed to a oft-injured NYY lineup and winning AL East.

Weakness: only 14HR & middle-of-the-pack 96 RBI. He will finish with ~100RBI & ~120R, however, the MVP voters ususally favor power hitters who drive in runs & have strong X-base hits. Jeter is a #2 hitter for a reason, he doesn't bat #1, #3 or #4. Ever heard of the DET team that has won 94gms & AL Central & they got a SS named, Carlos Guillén? They have very similar #s & play the same position. (more on Mr.Guillén below)

MIN: Morneau / Mauer

Justin Morneau turned into the best hitter in the 2nd half of the season & contributed to MIN making the playoff. MIN started the season ~.500 and didn't seem to be playoff-bound with CHW & DET in its division. Morneau put up out-of-this-world RBI & HR #s with batting title-like AVG after a slow start in Apr.

		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
April		21	77	8	16	1	0	5	15	6	22	0	0	.208	.274	.416	.689
May		26	95	15	26	7	0	5	21	8	15	1	0	.274	.333	.505	.839
June		26	99	17	36	7	0	10	29	8	19	0	1	.364	.400	.737	1.137
July		26	100	22	41	5	0	8	23	5	8	0	1	.410	.430	.700	1.130
August		28	102	12	30	8	0	4	22	15	10	1	1	.294	.388	.490	.879
September		24	95	21	35	8	1	2	19	11	16	1	0	.368	.430	.537	.967

Strength: Can't say more about his offense production. 129RBI, currently 2nd in AL, 5th in SLG, tied-5th in AVG!! (someone mentioned that Morneau turned into Lou Gehrig at some point this season, that statement isn't far off)

Weakness: Morneau is Canadian & plays for MIN. Also, probable batting champ (no jinx intended) Mauer is on the same team.

Mauer knows how to grow his sideburns and dates a hot girl. Besides that, he is a professional hitter. Yeah, he is a catcher, too, which making him winning the batting title even more of an achievement.

Strength: league-leading .349 AVG, 82RBI (in only 136gm), starting catcher, 34RBI, 8SB(do you know he is a catcher?!)

Weakness: no eye-popping power #s & doesn't play every gm (b/c he is a catcher & DH at times, 19gms not catching). Not clear-cut best hitter on his own team (Morneau has good backings to be considered for that).

DET: just pick any one...
Despite DET's success & fast start to lead AL Central this season, not many have mentioned any Tigers as a serious MVP winner. Understandbly, DET's success is largely contributed by strong starting pitching & solid bullpen. Yet, DET didn't win 94gms thusfar with shutouts & 2:1 gms all season. DET has a balanced offense with solid hitters throughout the lineup. Best Tiger hitter in its lineup is Magglio Ordóñez, certainly (Carlos Guillén is a MVP-worthy player, as well, just not the best DET hitter).

Ordóñez, the free agent DET picked up a season ago is proving his worth this season. He may be not the most-feared hitter in the league, but his consistency prior to his injury and solid hitting can't be ignored.

Strength: .296AVG, 24HR, 102RBI, he's DET's 4th hitter. DET is making the playoff!

Weakness: No impressive #s. He plays for DET...

Guillén has similar #s to Jeter (it's funny, really)

		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total		147	518	94	164	41	5	19	80	69	81	19	9	.317	.398	.525	.923

Jeter's

		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Total		149	603	113	205	37	3	14	96	67	99	32	5	.340	.414	.481	.895

Strength: an everyday SS & has good #s by standard at the position. .900OPS, best among MLB SS's!

Weakness: He's a Tiger & plays in DET, not in New York. Injury caused him to miss some gms & has slightly worse total #s than Jeter. 27Es... Not sure how the voters care about his fielding mishaps.

OAK: Frank Thomas, Big Hurt
Best $500K, OAK has ever spent on a player, argubly (Big Hurt does have a $2.5mil performance bonus packge in addition). OAK has surprised everyone again, winning 90gms already & winning AL West. Thomas' offense has contributed largely to OAK's inconsistent lineup.

Strength: .380OBP, 38HR & 108RBI. Best hitter in OAK, certainly.

Weakness: He's a DH... David "Big Papi" Ortiz didn't win in '05 partly due to his DH status. It could be a hard sell for Big Hurt to win MVP. RBI is good, but another DH, Ortiz is leading AL with 134RBI, thus, Thomas isn't even the best AL DH.

BOS: Ortiz
Big Papi has AL-leading 53HR & 134RBI!! He even missed sometime dur to a heart problem. No one is a better clutch-hitter than Ortiz this season (and for the last 3+ years). David is the guy you want in any key game situations.

Strength: His league-leading HR & RBI put critics to rest, period. Who else carries his team more than Ortiz in critical at-bat's??

Weakness: BOS is NOT making the playoff after losing 5 in a row to NYY at home. He's a DH, you '05 voters already know that.

CHW: Dye / Konerko / Thome
3 All-Star calibre hitters with 35+HR & 100+RBI. You could pick any one of them to win MVP (Thome is a DH, though). The bottom line is simple -- CHW is not making the playoff. The likelihood of Dye to win the AL MVP slowly faded away with his team gradully losing the playoff berth to MIN in the 2nd half. The yes-cases for these 3 studs are obvious with their #'s, but the fact that none of the three is the straight-out best hitter on CHW hurts their individual case for MVP, too.

COWBOY UP's AL MVP PICK:
OH CANADA!
Justin Morneau, MIN

the 1st Canadian to have the honor if voters are smart and logical to pick him. Especially if MIN could actually wins AL Central. Morneau has the RBI & AVG to win the MVP & his team is making the playoff. Jeter will still have his 5th Ave. penthouse & $20+mil paycheck next year. Big Hurt will get a nice pay raise & make his path to HOF. Ortiz will just need to put up a 60HR & 160RBI season to win a MVP trophy.