NL MVP Race
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by Audino237
Hey, after a long layoff for me, I'm back writing here on ArmchairGM.com. I'm just getting acclimated to college life and I am comfortable enough now to get back into the game. My return post will be on a pretty hot topic: the race for the NL MVP. There are a number of candidates, but only two legitimate ones in my opinion. However, there are enough choices so that many will recieve first, second, and third place votes.
The players:
Jimmy Rollins, SS, Philadelphia Phillies
Matt Holliday, OF, Colorado Rockies
Jake Peavy, SP, San Diego Padres
Prince Fielder, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers
Ryan Howard, 1B, Philadelphia Phillies
Chipper Jones, 3B, Atlanta Braves
On the outside looking in:
Hanley Ramirez, SS, Florida Marlins
David Wright, 3B, New York Mets
Derrek Lee, 1B, Chicago Cubs
Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals
Eric Byrnes, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Brandon Webb, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
Ok, that list might be a little lengthy, but I have to give props to those guys who deserve it. Here is the argument for the guys who are really in contention.
Jake Peavy: Peavy will not win THIS award. He will win the Cy Young. In a fair world, though, he'd be right up there in the MVP voting. Peavy is the winner of the NL Triple Crown, as he led the league in K's (by 22), wins (he posted 19), and ERA (2.54, nearly half of a run better then Brandon Webb). Chris Young struggled with injury and consistency late in the season, and the Padres led the majors in almost every pitching category. The only thing Peavy couldn't do to help the Padres was bat cleanup in their anemic offense.
Prince Fielder: As of about 2 weeks ago, it looked like Prince was going to lead the Brew Crew to the promised land. Now that they are getting out their golf clubs, however, it is unlikely Fielder will take home the prize. His accomplishments should not go without notice. With a .288 batting average, he found other ways to get on base with a .395 OBP, which was good for 10th in the league. He led the National League with a .618 slugging percentage. The core numbers, homers and RBIs, were astonishing. His 50 dingers, many of them long enough to count as 2 home runs, led the NL. He tied for 3rd in the NL in RBIs, but that should be taken with a grain of salt because no one expected the Brewers to score many runs at all, but he put them on his shoulders (along with midseason call-up Ryan Braun) all year.
Chipper Jones: Chipper Jones is the definition of a "ballplayer". He flies under the radar and does not attract much attention. He definetly deserves some after one of the best years of his career, though. In a year where Andruw Jones was in a contract year and expected to put up MVP-type numbers, Jones picked up the slack and carried the young, over-achieving Braves (even after acquiring Texeira) as far as they could go. Jones batted .337 and was good for a .425 OBP, which is unbelievable considering he is only a good-but-not-great power threat (29). The face of the organization finished with a 1.029 on base plus slugging percentage, 4th best in the majors. If Atlanta had made the playoffs and not faded down the stretch (to no fault of Jones, he batted .375 in September), he would be in the running.
Ryan Howard: The big fella struggled early with injuries and production. Believe me, I gambled that he would carry my fantasy team and went heavy on pitchers and speed early in my draft. Even though Jimmy Rollins was the straw that stirred the drink in Philly, Howard teamed with Chase Utley and Pat Burrell and willed the Phils to the playoffs. In my opinion, their offense is the only one in the NL playoffs that can go tit for tat with the big boys in the American League. Howard may have been a rally killer because of his high K total (a major league record 199), but he did more then his fair share. He was 2nd in the NL with 47 home runs, and that comes with a trip to the DL early in the year and a terrible April. If not for his teammate and good friend Jimmy Rollins, Howard might be in line for his second straight MVP award.
Now here are the 2 heavyweights:
Matt Holliday: If you did not like the sight last night of the Rockies celebrating after making the playoffs, you are not a baseball fan. the way they finished the season gives me chills, and how they knocked around one of the best relief pitchers ever was electrifying and encouraging, considering the ripe young age of the team in general. Todd Helton takes up 30% of the team's payroll and must be the reason for any revenue the team brings in, but he has been relegated to 2nd fiddle in the Mile High City. He is only 27 years old and already a feared middle of the order slugger. He quietly won last year's NL OF Silver Slugger Award, but that meant nothing to him as he was on a mission from day 1. He played in 159 on his teams 163 games, and belted 36 home runs with 137 RBIs in the process. The RBI numbers are all the more impressive because at the beginning of the year, a lineup card beginning with the likes of Troy Tulowitzki, Kaz Matsui, and Willy Taveras seems less then appetizing. Holliday won the NL batting title, and found other ways to get on base at a .405 clip. Depending on your definition of the MVP award, there are 2 schools of thought on how many votes Holliday should recieve. If you are looking for the biggest numbers, most media attention, and an appealing name, the sexy picks would be Howard and Rollins. However, Holliday, Garret Atkins and the mainstay Helton brought this young and talented team that no one expected to compete from the ashes and into the playoffs. Holliday showed leadership in the one game playoff (whether or not he touched base is another debate) but the dazed and bloodied Holliday shows how much this young man has matured as a leader. Since Larry Walker left, Helton has maintained his status as a superstar, but Holliday is the missing piece. The L-R combo in the 3 and 4 spots is enough to strike fear into any pitchers heart, even the great Jake Peavy and Trevor Hoffman. Holliday will get his due recognition, but just not this year. Rockies fans should be extremely greatful that #5 is in Denver for many years to come.
Jimmy Rollins: In the last few weeks when my friends or dad would argue with me about AL and NL MVPs, Cy Youngs, and Rookies of the Year, Rollins almost never came up in the conversation. However, the Phils' recent surge to the NL East Crown and many online articles (the best one was a September 30th ESPN.com article by Jayson Stark) turned my head and made me realize that Rollins not only should win the MVP, but that he had one of the best years EVER. That's right. Philly's offense ranked right up there with the Yankees, Angels, Red Sox, Tigers, and Indians. Despite their pitching shortcomings, they came on like gangbusters to overtake the free-falling Mets. Rollins's stats boggle my mind. He set a major league record for at-bats in a single season, an INCREDIBLE 716. Despite his miniscule frame, the slick-fielding, big-talking Rollins belted 30 home runs and had 94 RBIs. It is amazing that he gathered that many ABs, collected that many RBIs, and had pitchers willing to throw strikes against him considering that he batted leadoff in the National League, where pitchers batted in front of him and weak hitters batted 7th and 8th. As pointed out by Stark, he absolutely obliterated the NL records for runs scored and extra base hits by a shortstop in the NL. The 88 extra base hits and 41 steals are products of his 70 speed(on the scouts scale of 0-80). He is only the 4th member of the 20-20-20-20 club (steals, homers, doubles, triples) in which Willie Mays is a member). The fact that Rollins backed up his claim of being the team to beat and shouldered much of the load when Utley was hurt and Burrell was not producing solidifes my claim that Rollins is the Most Valuable Player in the National League and that his play should not go unignored.
If you have any comments or suggestions pertaining to this post, add a comment or send me an e-mail to audinoa2@union.edu. Feel free to also give me advice for another post.
--Audino
