Jose Alberto Pujols is your 2008 National League Most Valuable Player.
Took long enough for him to get number 2, didn't it? And I don't mean that as a slight to Pujols. Far from it. I mean it as a slight to the BBWAA (Baseball Writers' Association of America - the people who vote on the award). It was getting to the point where the award was nearing comedy. It was almost meaningless. Take 2006, for example. Howard shouldn't have won, and that's not even using the argument that the Cardinals made the playoffs and the Phillies didn't. No, that's using the argument that Howard's slash stats were:
.313/.425/.659/1.084, 167 OPS+
Compared to Pujols:
.331/.431/.671/1.102, 178 OPS+
Anyone else see the difference? Not only did we make the playoffs that year, but still Pujols was better. At least this year you could use the playoff argument against Pujols, but even then he was so much better this year than Howard (think ADD 13 points to Pujols' 2006 OPS and SUBTRACT 202 points from Howard's) that there was no need to really debate.
Or, how about Jimmy Rollins winning it last year with his 118 OPS+. Seriously? I understand SS is a "value" position, but he was so much worse than Pujols and Holliday last year that it was comical.
But here's some more sad news. Check out the voting breakdown for the award this year.
| Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
| Pujols | 18 | 10 | 2 | 1 | | |
| Howard | 12 | 8 | 6 | | 1 | 1 |
| 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Total |
| 1 | | | | 369 |
| 2 | | | 1 | 308 |
That's right. It was actually somewhat close. 12 of the 32 first place votes (37.5%) went to Howard (the remaining 2 votes went to Brad Lidge). And some moron actually gave Pujols a 7th place vote. 7th Place! Can you believe the injustice? At least Howard got a 10th place vote, which is where he belongs considering he wasn't even the most valuable player on his own team (would anyone not take Chase Utley - who not only rakes but plays spectacular defense - or Brad Lidge - who didn't blow a save all year and is a bigger part of the reason the Phillies made the playoffs - over Howard?). Even though they got things right, they still never cease to amaze me. "Sexy statistics" like homeruns and RBI are the ones that many people look at, along with teams that make the playoffs. RBI is a tainted statistic (i.e. can't truly be controlled by the player because it means he has to have players on base in the first place to drive in any runs) and getting into the playoffs is overrated because one player can only do so much to influence a team.
Congratulations Albert. You proved that you can be fantastic and be rewarded even when the odds are against you.
Now, let's just hope that one of these days the BBWAA takes their heads out and actually gets this thing right entirely.
-kotheb
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6 comments:
Thanks for the link on Lidge!
Also, I added a link to Busch Birds on CNG... I don't know why I hadn't done that already.
No problem. I just found this whole situation funny and a bit irritating, but at least El Hombre got the award.
Looking forward to working with you for UCB. Thanks for the link!
I liked your point on OPS differential, and I'm not ordinarilly a bottom-line stats man. The point, however, is valid.
Also, I side with AP as MVP because "valuable" in this case, to me, means for the 2008 "season," not just the last month.
Make sure you're in tune with the UCB radio installment on 12/3. I'll be wanting some current opinions from all you guys on whatever the current state of the hot stove talks are at that time.
Thanks chet.
OPS to me (and especially OPS+) is a pretty defining statistic when it comes to the value of a hitter. HRs are a "sexy" statistic, but what about doubles, triples, hits overall, and on base percentage? That seems more valuable to me.
Plus, the definition of valuable is a tough one to make. I personally see it as having nothing to do with the playoffs since this is an individual award and the playoffs are a team acheivement. I look at it this way - would the Phillies have been worse, the same, or better with Pujols in the lineup instead of Howard? And vice versa for the Cardinals? Then, if you had a fantasy draft today and you were choosing first baseman based on their 2008 statistics, which of these two would you choose? There really is no case for Howard in any of those arguments when compared to Pujols.
And I will do my best to tune in on 12/3 and give the show a ring.
Thanks for the link! Love your blog, btw.
That's the problem with awards. They can either be based on objective figures like the batting title, or they can be subjective and totally dependent on people's perceptions. I don't think it would be nearly as interesting if everything came down to pure statistics, but when you give this much weight to people's opinions then you leave room for argument and perceived injustice.
I'm just glad that sanity prevailed over lunacy this year.
I agree sarah. And the really sad part about this is that the people who we are letting vote with this so called "objectivity" are often much stupider than they make themselves out to be. I've read columns from many a sports writer and just thought to myself "how in the world is this guy a sports writer?" Many of them don't use statistics or don't believe in the new era of baseball. They like things like "grit" and the "sexy" statistics like HRs and RBI and they think that the new stuff proves nothing. They believe in using their own eye to judge things - and when that's the case, who can really say that their opinion is better than yours or mine?
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