Does Joe Mauer's Uniqueness Hurt His MVP Chances?

(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Albert Pujols is a machine: See ball, hit ball.

That he's also the best player in the NL is pretty much a given. His name is often the one mentioned in terms of "Possible Triple Crown Winners" and "Players I'll Tell My Kids About," so there's almost no noise made when Pujols' name is already getting etched on the MVP plaque for the second year in a row and the third time in his career; he is, after all, The Machine.

Albert's march to MVP status lacks nothing: He's in the top five in the National League for all three slash stat categories—batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage—while also leading in HR and ranking second in RBI.

Stepping out of the realm of the traditional stats, he also boasts the highest Value over Replacement Player, the best Equivalent Average, and (among position players) the most Wins above Replacement Player in all of baseball. No one bests Fat Albert, no matter what the metric.

Add in that he plays Gold Glove defense for a team that is headed for the postseason and you've got a basically bulletproof case for the 2009 NL MVP.

Joe Mauer is a machine: See ball, hit ball.

Like Pujols, he's mentioned as potential achiever of the rare accomplishment (Mauer's would be hitting .400) and being a player whose legacy will live on well past his playing days.

Where Pujols is a top five NL player for the slash stats, Mauer is in the top two for the whole of baseball for all three categories, the same is true for the expanded stats used above. While I'm not about to say that I'd rather have Joe Mauer on my team than Albert Pujols, you can make that case and find good backing for it.

In fact, the only substantive difference in terms of their resume is that little tailing phrase "for a team that is headed for the postseason."

But if you listen to the rhetoric, it sounds like the two players are worlds apart. You never hear, for example, "Assuming the Cardinals continue their hot play and win the NL Central, Albert Pujols will win the MVP award."

Similarly, while you might hear that line about Joe Mauer, it's usually phrased as "If the Twins were a serious contender in the AL Central, the MVP would probably go Joe Mauer."

That key word probably indicates that, even if Mauer had what seems to be the missing piece to his resume, he still wouldn't have the certainty of winning the award that Pujols does, and that's odd.

Is it because the quality of competition in the AL is better?

Far from it, in fact.

Pujols and Mauer are 1-2 in the VORP rankings at 75.1 and 72.6 respectively. Four of the next five players come from the NL with Jason Bartlett's 52.4 mark the only fly in the NL's ointment.

Add in defense and the AL improves a bit, but the story stays largely the same. Pujols and Mauer secure the top, then two NL players a tick behind, followed by two AL members almost a full run behind them.

Pujols is being chased by a pack of extremely top-shelf players. He's almost a win better than his closest competitor, Hanley Ramirez, in terms of VORP, 8.1 points to be exact. By contrast, Joe Mauer leads Jason Bartlett, his closest pursuer and former teammate, by 20.2 points, a full two wins with a little left over.

By all rights, there should be a discussion about the NL MVP race that just isn't occuring. I don't at all mean to say that he shouldn't win it, he clearly should, but Han-Ram and others deserve at least a cursory glance for the seasons they've put in.

Meanwhile, the man who ought to be clearing space on his mantle is actually fading from the lead, despite hitting .483/.545/.931 over the last week, a critical stretch for his team. Simply remarkable.

The question itself is interesting enough, and I hope to hear alternate theories in the comments, but I've got an answer of my own.

Simply put: Joe Mauer is a paradigm shift the average fan doesn't fully comprehend.

First base, in either division, is a stocked position; the NL is almost unfair.

Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman, Derek Lee, Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Howard, and others form a formidable barrier to any player who wants to be considered great at the position. The top five NL first basemen in terms of VORP are: Pujols (75.1), Fielder (54.3), Gonzalez (45.5), Berkman (30.7), and Lee (30.6).

Two things stand out right away: first, the central division is stocked at first base. Second, none of those guys is bad. Every one of them is making a positive impact for their team, yet Pujols is the best of the bunch and it isn't really all that close.

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