2008 MLB Awards

Regardless of how you feel about OPS as a stat, an MVP candidate at a corner infield position should at least rank in the Top 10. Period.

Assuming that Mauer does not put up an 0-for-the day if a one-game playoff does occur later this week, he is, quite incredibly, going to win his second batting title. With one possible game remaining, he is hitting .330/.415/.454, with 44 extra-base hits and 85 RBIs. When you consider that he also ranks among the premier defensive catchers in the game and has received plus scores on how he has helped handle and worked with a young group of Minnesota pitchers, it makes it all the more impressive. And, he is still only 25 years old. At such a defense-first position, his offensive output is outstanding, though he still has room to continue to hit for more power.

To put into simple terms: finding 20-homer, 120-RBI, sub-.900 OPS production from a first baseman like Morneau is much easier to find than a catcher who fields his position well and can post a .400-plus on-base percentage and .869 OPS like Mauer.

Without Mauer having played in so many games behind the dish, the Twins would be not be in such a good spot right now. Even still, he does not get my vote—like my opinion matters—in MLB awards article 23,421 entering the sports blogosphere today.

Cleveland Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore put together a fine season as well, but will be hurt by the weak underperformance of his teammates. Sizemore, playing an excellent center field, hit .268/.374/.502, with 33 home runs and 90 RBIs. Although he will not get many votes because his team finished so far out of contention, he added as much value to the Indians as any of the aforementioned players did for their teams. Is it his fault that Trafis Hafner got hurt? Or Victor Martinez? Did he make Fausta Carmona regress so severely? No, all he did was perform, providing top-notch defense and an .876 OPS and 101 runs scored. The young star places fourth on my make-believe ballot, and perhaps deserves to be ranked higher.

Which means that I am choosing a member of the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox as the junior circuit’s most valuable baseball player. But, no, it is not Dustin Pedroia, the diminutive second sacker who accumulates extra-base hits like it is his job. Well, I guess it is, quite literally, his profession, but you get the point. Pedroia is certainly a fine choice here, though. Although he is generously listed at 5’9—he is closer to 5’6—he has performed like a 6’4, 220-pound slugger, posting a line of .326/.376/.493 and bashing 20 home runs.

Pedroia has also made tremendous improvements in his defense at a keystone position in every defensive metric out there. And when the injury bug bit the Boston lineup, he picked up the slack to help the Red Sox hold their strong lock on the AL Wild Card, delivering several huge hits down the stretch while playing his consistent, excellent defense at second base. Like Mauer, he has an .869 OPS, an impressive number considering his defensive position. And, as of right now, I would bet with confidence that the writers end up selecting him, as the story

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