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2009 MVP roundup: Joe Mauer’s power convinces the BBWAA

I was thinking about the 2009 MVP awards and getting all cynical about how the BBWAA only recognizes players when they finally start hitting the long ball. After all, Joe Mauer’s 28 homeruns was twice his previous high three years ago. Mauer had all (ok, most) of the tools necessary to garner the award already but the boost in power clinched it.

But then I thought back to last year. Oh yeah, Dustin Pedroia. As much as a surprise as it was to me, Pedroia came through with the 2008 MVP award with a measly 17 homeruns for the Boston Red Sox (yeah, yeah, go ahead… scream East Coast bias all you want. Yankee writers vote on this too).

A little bit of related MVP trivia… who was the last National League player with less than 20 homers to win the MVP? It’s been a few years. Answer at the end.

It was more than the power in of itself though. An intriguing statistic… Joe Mauer led the league in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. No big deal? Except it hasn’t been done since George Brett did it in 1980.

Cocky sports show host Sam Panayotovich, who guest posted the MVP predictions on TBZ in September, shot me an email. Referring to his article, he wrote, “Man, this guy was right on the money. ;).”

Sure enough, Sam correctly picked Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols to win the big one. But let’s be fair. Albert Pujols was a gimme. :) The entire BBWAA thought the same way.

Seriously, it was a nice call, Sam. Out of all of our analysts who predicted the awards, I think he was the only one to get them both right.

Mauer wasn’t unanimous and that’s not too surprising. What is strange is that the lone dissenting vote didn’t go to second place Mark Teixeira or even third place Derek Jeter. Fourth place Miguel Cabrera was the recipient of the gratuitous #1 vote.

Oh back to the trivia question, who was the last NL MVP player with under 20 homers???

It was Barry Larkin in 1995. Larkin hit .319 with 15 homers with 98 runs and 66 rbis. He also stole 51 bases and won the Gold Glove that year.

1961- Jim Gentile’s career year

A few posts I posted a trivia question of sorts. Who came in third in the 1961 MVP voting after Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. My only hint was that this player had superior BA/OBP/SLG than Maris, the winner of the award.

The answer, easily looked up of course, is Jim Gentile.

Kudos to DonS who texted me the answer the next morning. It took him two tries (his first was Norm Cash, a good guess).

In some ways, Gentile was a one-year wonder. His 1961 season was phenomenal. He had more runs, doubles, homers, rbis, walks than any other season in his career. The same goes for his batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

Jim Gentile’s career stats

Year	Tm	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG
1957	BRO	4	6	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	.167	.286	.667
1958	LAD	12	30	0	4	1	0	0	4	0	4	6	.133	.235	.167

1960	BAL	138	384	67	112	17	0	21	98	0	68	72	.292	.403	.500
1961	BAL	148	486	96	147	25	2	46	141	1	96	106	.302	.423	.646
1962	BAL	152	545	80	137	21	1	33	87	1	77	100	.251	.346	.475
1963	BAL	145	496	65	123	16	1	24	72	1	76	101	.248	.353	.429
1964	KCA	136	439	71	110	10	0	28	71	0	84	122	.251	.372	.465
1965	TOT	119	345	36	84	16	1	17	53	0	43	98	.243	.337	.443
1965	KCA	38	118	14	29	5	0	10	22	0	9	26	.246	.305	.542
1965	HOU	81	227	22	55	11	1	7	31	0	34	72	.242	.352	.392
1966	TOT	82	191	18	41	7	1	9	22	0	26	57	.215	.321	.403
1966	HOU	49	144	16	35	6	1	7	18	0	21	39	.243	.355	.444
1966	CLE	33	47	2	6	1	0	2	4	0	5	18	.128	.212	.277
9 Seasons		936	2922	434	759	113	6	179	549	3	475	663	.260	.368	.486

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/18/2009.

He certainly was no slouch in the couple seasons surrounding his 1961 campaign. But anyone expecting the production they got out of him in that year was surely disappointed.

48 years ago: Roger Maris 1961 MVP

This week 48 years ago, Roger Maris got his second consecutive MVP award. The year was 1961 and was, of course, when he hit 61 homeruns.

Yankee teammate Mickey Mantle came in second place in the voting. He almost overcame Maris in the voting (202-198). The stats WERE close. Maris (.269, 61 HR, 142 rbis. Mantle .317, 54 HR, 128 rbi)

For the $64,000 question, who came in 3rd in voting? Try not to use your Google-fu before answering. He wasn’t TOO far behind Maris and Mantle in votes and actually had a higher batting average, on-base percentage AND slugging percentage than Maris.

Here’s the answer

Guest Blogger: Sam Panayotovich tags Pujols and Mauer for MVP

Each day this week, The Baseball Zealot will be featuring special guest bloggers who will be giving their predictions on the 2009 MLB end-of year-awards and postseason matchups. Today, Sam Panayotovich predicts the MVP awards.

Like me, Sam Panayotovich is a University of Illinois alum. While he was a student on campus, he and I kept saying we should get together for a game or something. Well, that never happened and Sam has gone on to bigger and better things now.

I first heard Sam back when he was on Outsider Radio with Brandon Rosage. Considered an expert in NBA draft coverage, Sam made his mark with the Most Valuable Network. You can now see him covering sports for the Huffington Post and hosting a radio show at Columbia College’s WCRX.

2009 Most Valuable Player Predictions

This season, I believe each league has a hands-down favorite for the highly-regarded MVP Award. I’ve pegged a familiar face in the National League top spot and a newcomer at the front of the pack in the American League. Below you will find my projected Top 3 finishers in each league with analysis on why they finished where they did. Without further ado…

**Statistics as of Sep. 15, 2009**

National League

Albert Pujols (.329 AVG, 47 HR, 125 RBI)

It should be no surprise that baseball’s most dangerous hitter will claim his third Most Valuable Player Award. Pujols is one of the most disciplined hitters I’ve ever seen and his ability to balance power, contact, and situational hitting is unparalleled. What’s even more disgusting is that he looked to have the first Triple Crown since Carl Yaz locked up before our second-place finisher went on a tear as the season heated up. King Albert has the Cards well on their way to another NL Central title and St. Louis has a serious shot at clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Pujols leads the NL in dingers and is currently second in both batting average and runs batted in. And it’s scary to think how much better those numbers might have been if Matt Holliday was protecting him all season long.

Hanley Ramirez (.360 AVG, 23 HR, 99 RBI)

The former Red Sox prospect and current Marlins’ shortstop has pieced together quite a season to remember in southern Florida. Ramirez is such a special talent and he possesses the perfect mix of all five tools. He’s developed into one of the best contact hitters in baseball and when he puts the ball in play, you always have to account for his blazing speed. Realistically, Hanley could bat anywhere from first to fifth in the Marlins’ lineup, but he’s been holding it down in the three hole. He’s played one hell of a defensive shortstop as well to round everything out. One of the major reasons for the Marlins’ push for the NL Wild Card, Hanley leads the National League in batting average and is currently tied for fourth in RBIs.

Prince Fielder (.299 AVG, 39 HR, 126 RBI)

Usually I’m not an advocate of touting players that don’t play for contenders, although you can’t ignore what the Prince is doing to National League pitching. Fielder has tremendous power to all fields and this season, he’s on pace to set career highs in RBIs and batting average as his .299 average is 11 points higher than his next best season. The son of Cecil, young Prince has been much more selective at the dish and his walks are up while his usually alarming strikeout total is down. He was a definite top candidate before the Brewers faded during the dog days of summer and you’ve got to give the Prince credit for one hell of a season.

American League

Joe Mauer (.371 AVG, 27 HR, 84 RBI)

We knew when Mauer was drafted No. 1 overall in 2001 that he was going to be a special player. However, his play this season has trumped all expectations and the 26-year-old catcher has put together the best campaign of his young career. Mauer is on pace to shatter his career highs in batting average, homers and RBIs and his leadership on and off the field is second to none. The way he has handled such a young Twins’ pitching staff and continues to lead the Majors in hitting just baffles me. Sure, Justin Morneau is a monster as well, but the Twins would not be in the AL Central race if it wasn’t for Mauer. He’s their heart. He’s their soul. He’s their captain.

Mark Teixeira (.285 AVG, 35 HR, 111 RBI)

Finally… a player that lived up to the billing (and the price tag) in the Bronx. Teixeira has been all that the Steinbrenners could have expected and then some. After missing the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, New York signed Tex hoping he would be the new “savior” and double as a pair of broad shoulders that the Yankees could rely on as they opened up their new stadium and planned a trip back to the postseason. The switch-hitting first baseman answered the call right from the start and has been on an absolute tear all season long. Teixeira leads the American League in RBIs and is currently second in taters, and pending a late season collapse, he’s the main reason for the Yankees resurgence and positioning atop the AL East.

Miguel Cabrera (.332 AVG, 29 HR, 89 RBI)

Cabrera won’t be a popular choice for MVP this season because of how much his power numbers have dropped off from last season, but he’s become a much better player overall and is the main reason for the Tigers’ current grasp on the AL Central lead. Miggy’s batting average is up 40 points from last season, his walks are up and his strikeouts are way down. He worked all offseason with his hitting coach to become a more selective hitter and all his hard work has paid off. The reigning AL Home Run King leads first place Detroit in batting average, hits, runs, homers, RBIs, on-base percentage and slugging. The power numbers might not be as impressive, but this kid deserves some serious credit for how much he has improved across the board.

A big thanks to Sam P for this write-up. The next couple days, we’ll look at the postseason matchups for both leagues. So far, the articles by our guest bloggers this week have been fantastic. I encourage you to check them out.

The Bartlett Vote

There’s already been plenty of discussion all around why Evan Grant left Red Sox secondbaseman Dustin Pedroia off his ballot. He’s been getting plenty of flak for that already.

But another ballot move that’s been deemed questionable (perhaps more so at least in my opinion), is the Tampa Bay chapter of the BBWAA giving Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett a fifth place vote on the MVP ballot.

Bartlett, who hardly played a full season at 128 games and 454 at-bats, didn’t wow anyone at the plate. He batted .286 with a .329 OBP and .361 slugging percentage. He had no power (1 homerun) and little production (48 runs and 37 rbis).

Opinions are mixed on Rays blogs but they range from “too much is being made of the Bartlett vote” to “what was he thinking?”

I don’t live and die with the Rays and I couldn’t tell you what got them to the World Series. And I won’t bore you by comparing teammates Evan Longoria’s or Carlos Pena’s stats.

But that said, Jason Bartlett for MVP?? Really?

Witch hunt begins for Pedroia non-voter

As you heard, Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox won the 2008 AL MVP vote comfortably.

Fortunately, he won the vote comfortably enough that he didn’t need the vote of Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News who left Dustin Pedroia’s name off the ballot altogether.

Here was his ballot:

Kevin Youkilis
Francisco Rodriguez
Justin Morneau
Josh Hamilton
Carlos Quentin
Alex Rodriguez
Cliff Lee
Joe Mauer
Grady Sizemore
Carlos Pena

Grant is pretty red-faced about the whole thing. In between answering emails and phone calls, he’s posted his explanation/apology on his blog.

Did I perhaps get too “cute” at the bottom of the ballot? Yeah, probably. Was that a mistake? Yeah, probably. Was it a mistake to leave him out of the top five; in retrospect, yeah, it was. My colleagues all thought he belonged in the top five. My opinion on this one was obviously wrong. What I’m happiest about is that if my analysis was so wrong, at least it did not cost Pedroia the MVP award. I can assure you I give the MVP vote an awful lot of time. In this case, perhaps I gave it too much time and overanalyzed, particularly at the bottom of the ballot. In retrospect, it’s hard to argue that Pedroia wasn’t one of the 10 best players in the league.

He over analyzed… putting too much weight on stats like BA in scoring position etc.

Despite all that, while some Red Sox fans are understanding that it was just a stupid mistake, others are calling for Grant’s head. I’ve seen commenters calling Grant an idiot, a moron and yes, the prerequisite requesting that his voting privileges be taken away.

Meh, it’s just the American League.

Update: Grant goes on The Big Show to explain his non-vote.

The interview can be heard here. (thanks College Baseball Blog)

Captain Obvious here but maybe it would have been better if had just not gone on the air. Just my opinion.

All-time worst MVPs list? I don’t think so.

In light of the upcoming MVP awards to be announced this week, Scott McCoy who covers the Texas Rangers for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, has come out with his list of Baseball’s Top 5 worst MVPs.

In typical Texas Ranger fashion, the author seems to focus on hitting (particularly power) for his baseline and doesn’t consider context when making his choices.

Seven of his ten choices (he had five honorable mentions) were middle infielders and in most cases (1944 Marty Marion, 1959 Nellie Fox, 1995 Barry Larkin) were excellent with the glove.

Some while not exhibiting great stats by today’s measures, were playing in hitting-depressed eras (again Fox and Marion). Others yet displayed leadership beyond the statistics (1931 Frankie Frisch, 1925 Roger Peckinpaugh) or played a good part in leading their team to championships (Fox once more, Frisch).

Would I have made those same MVP choices given the chance? I’m not sure. But “Worst MVPs” seems a bit harsh.

I couldn’t let that one go.