Ian Kinsler For MVP

Each year, the debate continues on what constitutes an MVP season. In my view, it should always be the player most valuable to the team, not who puts up the best numbers.

On the Texas Rangers, and across baseball, everyone is talking about Josh Hamilton. That is a fair choice, but one needs to look deeper to really find the MVP for the Texas Rangers this year. That player is, without a doubt, Ian Kinsler.

The first thing to look at must always be numbers.

Kinsler currently leads the American League in batting average by more than 10 points at .338. Hamilton, who is considered by many to be the MVP, is currently batting .308 after a terrible June.

Kinsler is leading the league in runs scored, no doubt because of the help of Young, Hamilton, and Bradley batting right below him. Ian Kinsler helps himself in this category because he has 23 stolen bases, good enough for a tie for fifth place in the league.

The Texas Rangers haven’t had that many stolen bases at this point in the season in a very long time, if ever. Kinsler’s success rate is crazy, too. He has only been thrown out once in 24 attempts.  

Kinsler creates runs for himself just as much as scoring on a home run. Combine Hamilton and Bradley’s home-run totals and they only equal 36. Kinsler has 80 runs scored, more than double the home runs between the two power-hitters.

Kinsler leads the league in hits, by a healthy margin, and is near the top in terms of doubles and extra-base hits. Kinsler is even in the top-five for triples.

So what about RBI?

Kinsler only has 53, but factor in that he hits leadoff. He has some help, no doubt, from a good bottom of the lineup, with hitters like Ramon Vazquez. It still isn’t easy for a leadoff hitter to get high RBI totals.

Kinsler’s only major weakness, in terms of numbers, is home runs. He sits at 14 home runs right now, good enough for a tie for 18th place. Hamilton currently has 19, though which earns him a tie for second. That’s not a major difference in number of home runs.

Kinsler's slugging percentage is actually better than Hamilton's because home runs aren’t the only thing put into the equation.

If you want to make a case for putting fielding into the equation, then I would say that has never been a factor in determining MVP. Kinsler is not the greatest fielder, but he does touch the ball a lot and is part of the team that turns the most double plays. His numbers will naturally be off because of more chances here as well.

You still think Hamilton is having the best season on the Rangers?

Factor in that if Kinsler wasn’t on base as much and having such a good season, would Hamilton be having such a good season? Kinsler is in the top 10 with an on-base percentage of .396.

There is no doubt that Kinsler’s success is inflating Hamilton’s numbers some. I’m not trying to make Hamilton’s season sound bad, but to merely put it in scope compared to some other hitters.

Kinsler is in the top 10 in every statistic you can measure, and in several he is in the top five. It is time to start giving Ian Kinsler some attention for his great season.

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