2008 AL MVP to Be Announced Tuesday: Boston's Dustin Pedroia the Right Choice

Josh Nason

Columnist Written on November 17, 2008

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The Dark Horses

4. Josh Hamilton (OF—Texas Rangers)

The feel-good story of the season, Hamilton had an awesome year and arguably more impressive offensive numbers than Morneau at .302 with 32 homers and 130 RBI (first in AL).

But he went into cold stretches over the year, and it's tough to give the nod to a guy on a team that didn't make the postseason. In my opinion, that's important. Regardless, you hope this is the first notch in the bedpost of a great career and that he will compete for this title again.

5. Kevin Youkilis (1B/3B—Boston Red Sox)

One of the more disliked players in baseball, Youkilis came of age offensively and stepped up even more defensively. With Lowell out for long stretches this season, Youkilis was asked to move his Gold Glove defense to third base at times and didn't miss a beat.

Injured at times, Youk played in 145 games and had career-bests in batting average (.312), home runs (29), RBI (115), and slugging percentage.

He provided some lineup stability when Ortiz was out and batted cleanup when Manny Ramirez was traded. (You heard about the Manny trade, right?)

6. Carlos Quentin (OF—Chicago White Sox)

He has no chance, but before he got injured, Quentin was having a hell of a year. He found a home at U.S. Cellular Field and hit .288 with 36 homers and 100 RBI in just 130 games. Had he not got hurt, he'd likely be the favorite. By the way, his home run total was still good for second in the AL. Wow.

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written on November 17, 2008 Preview/Prediction

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