How do you define an MVP?

by user Kpwee1

All year long, I've been hearing on talk radio that Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees should be the AL MVP. And I wonder what he's done offensively to justify that kind of recognition by sports writers and the media? Sure, Jeter is on a team that is in first place in its division, but if you look at someone like David Ortiz, who was leading the American League in home runs and RBIs, and what has happened to the Boston Red Sox since he has been out of the lineup, it's a no-brainer that he has more impact on his team than Jeter has on the Yankees. You take Jeter out of the NY lineup, and you still have Johnny Damon, Alex Rodriguez, and Bobby Abreu.

And this MVP voting is all a popularity contest anyway. The media likes to say now that the MVP should come from a winning team. Think back to 1991, when Cal Ripken won it with a 6th-place team. The media didn't make a big fuss about that idiotic selection, but now they have a problem giving the MVP to someone like Ortiz who's on a second-place team.

Date

Sun 09/03/06, 9:42 am EST

Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

1200 days ago

Score 1

Giambi is the real Yankees MVP... Guy with the best stats wins Sporting News Player of the Year Award, MVP is for the guy who comes up biggest right before the voters vote...I agree, it's stupid, but then again, so are MOST sportswriters.

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I am a cpcpMajor Leaguer

1200 days ago

Score 1

I deleted your first posting of this article when you weren't signed in. In the future, you can just hit the "edit" button and replace your IP address with your user name and the article will be attributed to you. Just FYI.

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Bball3345Draft Pick

1200 days ago

Score 2

Manny Ramirez has had a better offensive season than Ortiz. A .440+ OBP and .600+ SLG! The fact teams won't walk Ortiz to get to Manny has allowed Ortiz to have so many clutch situations.

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Bball3345Draft Pick

1200 days ago

Score 0

No one would claim Jeter is a better offensive player, but Jeter has been a heck of an offensive player in a middle-infield spot. The dropoff from Jeter to a replacement SS is much more than the dropoff from Ortiz to a replacement DH. Not to mention Jeter plays, and contributes, in the field, while Ortiz does not.

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Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

1199 days ago

Score 0

you and your man-crushes on middle infielders.... It's not 1950 anymore! Everybody is expected to hit... blame Cal Ripken and Ryne Sandberg.

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Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

1200 days ago

Score 0

I think Ortiz should get it. It seems MVP voting is like the All-Star Game in that New York/Boston, big cities like that will always win. Perhaps it should be renamed MPP - Most Popular Player.

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Bball3345Draft Pick

1200 days ago

Score 3

Outside of ARod last year, the Yankees have not had an MVP since '85 and Boston since '95.

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Bleeding GreenVarsity

1198 days ago

Score 0

And they shouldn't. If your team is literally stocked with an all star at every position in the field and in the pen... How can any one guy be the most valuable player in the whole leauge? If you take Jeter out of the Yanks lineup are they a .500 team all of a sudden? No way. No team with a lineup of Damon, Giambi, Abreu, A-Rod, Cano, Matsui/Shef(when they are there, Posada... and with Wang, Johnson, Mussina, & Rivera pitching is going to be .500. Even without Jeter they'd still probably win the AL East relatively easily, especially when you consider the team would probably go get a decent SS.

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ChristofMVP

1199 days ago

Score 2

Define it - Just look at Ryan Howard stats. 'Nuff said.

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Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

1199 days ago

Score 0

weren't you saying a week ago that he didn't deserve it???

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ChristofMVP

1199 days ago

Score 1

No, I have been saying for months that Howard is the NL MVP (check my previously written columns - I wrote on a few months ago on it). You are confusing me with B-Ball.

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Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

1198 days ago

Score 0

my bad... sincerest apologies - I know Philly fans need ever crumb of hope that falls off the table

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Bobbyjim45Draft Pick

1199 days ago

Score 1

The Red Sox entire pitching staff should earn MVP honors for the Yankees.

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Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

1199 days ago

Score 0

or the Devil Rays, Royals or Mariners it seems...

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Ron Sen, MDRed-Shirting

1199 days ago

Score 0

It seems that the definition is the player on a winning team who has contributed most to his team's success...and isn't a DH...and usually isn't a pitcher...and preferably is from a big market.

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

1198 days ago

Score 0

First and foremost, a player on a LOSING team should never be eligible for MVP. By the mere definition of the term he can't be. Simple question, where would his team be if he had a lousy year? They'd STILL be LOSERS. Now, as for what qualifies as an MVP? Clearly would the team be as good as they are without that player? So, would the Yankees be where they are if Jeter weren't on the team this year? As for Ortiz, he likely qualifies. The Red Sox would be LOSERS of he weren't on the team this year. Just because a team isn't in first doesn't eliminate their players from MVP consideration. If a team is in the hunt most of the season, like Boston has been, then they definitely have MVP candidates. But, if Ortiz was on the Mariners or the Royals and was having the same year? Sorry, you don't qualify to be on the ballot.

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Bball3345Draft Pick

1198 days ago

Score 1

So, most valuable PLAYER is actually a team award?

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Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

1198 days ago

Score 0

Anon's type of thinking is exactly why the award turned stupid... sorry - 1987 Hawk Dawson WAS the National League's Most Valuable Player... ahnds down, winning team or not.

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DennisODellTee-Baller

1198 days ago

Score 0

How can a player be valuable to a league? What did Dawson do to make the League valuable? I don't understand the concept of how a player with HUGE stats on a bad team really helped their team or the league any more than the worst player on the team did. Did he make them suck LESS? Hell, the National League team lost the World Series that year, so how valuable was Dawson's play in that aspect? So, essentially the MVP is the player with the best stats? Talk about stupid. Let's see, Dawson led the Cubs to a 76-87 season that year, result in a Cubs 6 place finish. Oh, yeah. He was REAL valuable to his team and the league. Please, giving the MVP to the player with the best stats regardless of how that impacted the preformance of his team is what is stupd.

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FriskysmanVarsity Captain

1198 days ago

Score 0

Advocating for Ortiz as MVP and at the same time complaining about the vote being a popularity contest just doesn't work. Oritz is as popular as any player in MLB and still has a shot at winning the award. Indians fans, on the other hand, have a legitimate beef. Travis Hafner has had a better season than anyone mentioned here, yet his name has not come up once. Not even in a SportsNation poll I saw on ESPN.com the other day that mentioned pretty much everyone BUT Hafner.

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DennisODellTee-Baller

1197 days ago

Score 0

Cleveland is 18 games out of first and 14 games out of the Wild Card race. So, how valuable has Hafner really been?

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