The MVP award- hotly debated, religiously deliberated, an award that causes an argument from the corners of the local sports bar to a phone call to your father. It??s nearing the end of September and the MVP award split-screen opposition should be rearing its ugly head within the next few weeks. The Jeter-Ortiz-Dye disputes with Woody Paige could finally trigger Skip Bayless?? head to explode. And you know, that wouldn??t be such a bad thing.
Then the playoffs come around. The division series, the championship series, Tim McCarver, the World Series, more Tim McCarver, and all of a sudden the world champions are pouring champagne on their principle owner who seems a little disturbed his new suit just got ruined. Still the MVP has not been announced. Football season is in full swing, basketball just around the corner, even hockey is being talked about when the last pitch of the World Series is complete. The last thing on anybody??s mind is who will win a skewered award anyway. So why get so worked up about it?
Last year: David Ortiz vs. Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod had slightly better numbers, played defense and his team won the division. A-Rod won, and in truth, he deserved to win the award. Still, Red Sox fans were not happy, but the backlash wasn??t that overwhelming. If this would have been announced on October 3 when the Sox and Yanks were preparing for their playoff series and baseball was in high mode, there might have been riots in Kenmore Square. Instead, people just shrugged it off. MVP is just a stupid label.
Why am I telling you this? Because I recently got into a discussion about this years MVP award with a good friend of mine- he went with David Ortiz, I went with Travis Hafner (more on this later). I was feeling guilty arguing about the award because, basically, it??s just an accolade given by ignorant sportswriters who don??t know any stat but batting average, home runs and RBI??s, like Joe Morgan for example. But I felt like I needed to vent about something, and not much is going on in Sox Nation right now. I promise this is the last award article I??ll ever write.
The argument was less based on who should win the award, but what the criteria should be. My friend was on the boat with most MVP award voters, guys who believe the player should come from A) a team that makes the playoffs, B) is a good guy and C) hits for a high average. Derek Jeter??s team will probably finish with the best record in the AL, he??s the greatest human being to ever walk the face of the earth and is currently 2nd in the AL batting race. He fit??s the criteria, and Jeter will win.
I went the different route. I believe team success shouldn??t mean a damn thing. Travis Hafner leads the AL in VORP, SLG, EqA and OBP- valuable, quality statistics that ?
