s we get later and later into September, the question inevitably crops up: Who is the Most Valuable Player?
In the American League, Joe Mauer all but has the award sewed up. A .367/.435/.612 line out of the catcher position tends to do that. There’s also been the inevitable Yankee calls: Mark Teixeira is unquestionably the MVNP according to a Yankees beat writer. Derek Jeter is in the mix… of course. MLB Network’s Victor Rojas yesterday gave props to Miguel Cabrera.
I ask: Where’s the Youk love? (I asked this of Rojas, who said that we’ll probably start hearing Youkilis’ name bandied about. You are. Right here.)
Youkilis is the American League’s best hitter, non-Mauer division according to OPS. That OPS is .986 for a slash line of .312/.419/.568. Youk is second in OBP behind Mauer, third in SLG behind Mauer and Cabrera, and 11th in batting average (Cabrera fourth, Jeter fifth).
The Greek God of Walks finished third in the MVP voting last year, behind winner Dustin Pedroia and Justin Morneau. That apparently was enough for pundits to forget about him.
This might be Youkilis’ finest season, better than last year. Offensively, the only difference between this year and last year is that Youk has grabbed two more walks, enough for a .29 point difference in OBP (he is projected to reach 511 at-bats, after garnering 538 last year, which helps account for that .29 point spike).
And did I mention that if Youkilis had stuck at first all year, he’d be pushing Mauer to be the best batter? His numbers playing first: .330/.455/.602.
Just like he shuttles between two positions in the field, he’s shuttled between two spots in the order; Youk has had equal playing time at both third and fourth in the order — doing the most damage out of the cleanup spot with a .361/.468/.615 line.
Defensively, Youkilis has made massive contributions. Already a Gold Glover (2007), Youk has posted a 10.7 UZR/150 thus far on the year at first which is .5 points better than 2007. And of course, he’s seen ample time at third with 382.1 innings — the most since his rookie year of 2004.
UZR/150 is not kind to him here, as he has a -8.9 rating there. However, there have been complaints about UR/150’s ability to hold up via small sample size, and that’s manifested in 2008’s 22.9 UZR/150 rating in 252 innings. So we’ll split the difference and call him average with a high probability of being above-average (career 7.9 UZR/150 at third).
Youkilis even has two other claims to fame: playing two games in left field when the Sox needed a body, and one bases-claring brawl.
All of this sums up to the very real fact that in the non-Mauer division, you’d be hard pressed to call another player more valuable. He’s on pace to match his career-high in home runs set last year with 29 and drive in 99 while scoring 104 runs.
The moral of the story? Joe Mauer unquestionably deserves to win the MVP, but you have got to be kidding me if you believe Youkilis shouldn’t finish in second or third.
Youkilis has been a rock in what has otherwise been a very rocky season for the Sox.
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A couple notes on UZR/150.
Yes it is prone to problems with small sample sizes and I consider it more like ERA. It has flaws that get covered up by more and more data.
I still think Youk has been poor at third base defense as he has gained some size and strength to become a better power hitter and fill the first baseman type body. This has slowed him a step and more range is need at third, which he no longer has.
Youk does deserve to be top 10 with a WAR currently of 4.9 ranking 6 in the AL.
This is a meaningless debate: Mauer is the MVP without question. He plays the most difficult position to play in professional sports. He plays it better than anyone in the game today. And he can hit for both average and power.
Most folks are — and should be — happy when a catcher can merely play adequate defense and call a decent game. Mauer is superb at both.
But the thing is, he’s not just a little better than average offensively than his peers, he’s A LOT better. Try 1.046 OPS vs .754 for catchers that have made more than 250PA. That’s 39% more offense than the average catcher – not even Albert Pujols is 39% better than his offensive peers at the same defensive position (just a lousy 31%).
He’s missed too much time.
Nothing wrong with Youk getting some Recognition in having an excellent season, but anyone who doesn’t vote to give Mauer the award needs to lose his vote.
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=6&season=2009&month=0
He’s missed 3 weeks and has generated more batting runs above replacement than all MLB players.. except for Sir Albert of course.
If anything, Mauer’s missed time make his season even more ridiculous and worthy.
Who wants to bet Jon Heyman doesn’t vote for him?
We all know it’s Mauer’s to win. But Youk should be in the top five. In my opinion Youk should have won it last year. Yes Pedroia had a great year, but without Youk’s bat AND constant movement across the diamond and lineup the Sox would have been in really bad shape.
He missed to much time? Who are you? Joe Morgan.