Most Valuable Debate: Figuring Out the AL MVP

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

As the Major League Baseball regular season winds down and the playoffs are in sight, an annual off-field discussion has already begun to grow. 

The Baseball Writers of America pick the Most Valuable Player in both the American and National Leagues at the end of each season.

The National League MVP looks to be an obvious choice, as Albert Pujols has established himself as the best player in the senior circuit with another Ruthian (or at this point, Pujolsian) type of season. Sure Hanley Ramirez will receive attention for a remarkable offensive year—.353 batting average, 23 HR, 26 SB, 100 RBI, and 95 Runs scored—but with the Cardinals streaking towards the playoffs and Pujols approaching 50 homers, it would be a safe bet that the St. Louis first baseman should clear some room on his mantle.

In the American League, however, the choice isn’t nearly as cut and dry. There’s a slew of Yankees that have catapulted the Bronx nine to another AL East crown after putting together incredible 2009 campaigns, a pair of Twins who have become usual suspects in the MVP race, and several Red Sox who have the Boston fans gearing up for another October filled with baseball.

As a Red Sox fan, I wish I could sit back and announce that my prediction of Jason Bay stepping right in as Boston’s next great left fielder, while winning the MVP was going to be a correct one. Despite being perhaps the most productive player in the hub this year (he’s leading the team in homers and RBI) a midseason funk that helped his average plummet for an entire month will ultimately cost him this honor. If Bay then doesn’t have much chance at winning the award, it would be hard to make any kind of serious argument for the other players on the roster, even if Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis put together years similar to 2008 (when Pedroia did win the honor).

Having eliminated anyone from Beantown for consideration, we’re left with some pinstripers and the duo that play their home games in the Metrodome. There is a member of each group that has claimed the award in the past and regularly are among the leading vote getters.  Both players have set the bar a lot higher for their own production than the numbers of this year though, and Alex Rodriguez and Justin Morneau will have to sit back as someone else collects the award.

Realistically, we’re left with three candidates that could have a legitimate case for winning the award in the league that features the designated hitter. Mark Teixiera and Derek Jeter have led the way for the Bombers all year, while Joe Mauer stormed onto the season in May following an injury and hasn’t slowed down one bit.

Teixiera has been the Yankees' biggest run producer all season. His 37 homers (10 more than anyone else in New York) and 118 RBI (31 more) clearly establish him as a candidate for the award. What will cost him votes though is that he is a 1B, a position where top end production is expected. Also, compare his line to Jason Bay’s and its eerily similar. In fact the only reason Teixiera is receiving more consideration than the British Colombia native is that his batting average sits about 20 points higher. Even with the severe discrepancy in average though, the players are within five points of each other in OPS (on base plus slugging, a stat that measures the overall productivity of any hitter).

The final two candidates are enjoying career years and will likely each garner a number of first place votes.

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