Clutch, Thy Name is "Papi"
| 16
|
by user The shark
The 2006 American League MVP Award has yet to be awarded for this year. But you know as well as I do (no matter where your allegiance lies) where that particular award will land this year: squarely upon the mantle in Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz's trophy room.
He came in second in the voting last year and very well could have won the award, but Alex Rodriguez, who had similar stats (see chart below) played defense and actually played it pretty well.
| 2004 | AVG | HR | RBI | SLG % | HITS | RUNS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Ortiz | .300 | 47 | 148 | .604 | 180 | 119 |
| A-Rod | .321 | 48 | 130 | .610 | 194 | 124 |
Based on those numbers, A-Rod deserved to win the award last year and you'll get no argument here. But that was back when A-Rod knew how to field and throw a baseball. And in Papi's defense, what those numbers do not demonstrate is that Ortiz has been MLB's most clutch hitter in recent history. Take the 2004 post-season, for example. His walk-off homer in extra innings clinched an ALDS sweep against the Los Angeles Angels. And then, down three games to none against the New York Yankees, he hit a walk-off home run off Mariano Rivera in Game 4 of the ALCS to stave off elimination, and a walk-off single the next night to force a Game 6. That's three walk-offs in a span of ten days on the biggest stage imaginable. The Sox would most certainly not have ended the Curse of the Bambino in 2004 had it not been for Big Papi.
To get more specific, including tonight's walk-off against the Indians, Ortiz has fifteen walk-off hits since the beginning of the 2003 season. FIFTEEN! No one else is even close to that number. This year, alone, he has five. That's more than twice as many as the next closest (Pujols, Zimmerman).
"But the MVP?" you ask. What? You want stats? How's this: Papi leads MLB this year with 37 home runs and 105 RBI and we're just into August! Besides that, he leades the AL in total bases (248) and he's second in the AL in runs scored (80/ Grady Sizemore-84). And his 3 for 5 performance today raised his season average to a very respectable .289.
For all those reasons, and for what he has yet to accomplish this year, I say "Hey Papi, make room on your trophy mantle, the 2006 MVP Award is coming your way!" And, yeah, before you ask, I know he's a designated hitter. I just don't think that matters anymore. Put simply, he's the most clutch and dangerous hitter in baseball. Period.
And you know it's true.
Date
Sat 07/29/06, 5:10 pm EST
