AL MVP 2011: Voters Screw Up Awarding Tigers Ace Justin Verlander MVP

Rare is it that a starting pitcher wins an MVP award, but Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander has bucked tradition and taken the honor in an extraordinarily close vote over Jacoby Ellsbury and Jose Bautista. 

Verlander finished first on 13 ballots, Bautista had more first place votes (5) than Ellsbury (4), but the Red Sox centerfielder finished with a higher point total thanks to 13 second-place votes. 

This is the second award in four days that the BBWAA has gotten wrong just because the narrative made for a better story. 

Verlander was not the best or most valuable player in the American League.  He had a great season and was a worthy Cy Young recipient, but not this award.  This has nothing to do with him being a pitcher, either.  I am in favor of pitchers being eligible for the honor.

Bautista and Ellsbury were more valuable players than Verlander in 2011.  Bautista was the best offensive player in the league and it wasn't particularly close.  He led the league in home runs (43), slugging percentage (.608) and walks (132).  He also finished second to Miguel Cabrera in on-base percentage by one-thousandth of a point (.448 to .447). 

Digging deeper into the numbers, Bautista finished first in weighted on-base average (.441), which is a much more sophisticated version of OPS.  He played two different defensive positions and played them well. 

Bautista finished the season with 8.3 wins above replacement, according to Fangraphs.  By comparison, Verlander had a WAR of 7.0 this season, so he was more than a full win behind Joey Bats. 

Even Ellsbury was a stronger candidate than Verlander.  He had a great offensive season (.321/.376/.552) and did so playing an up-the-middle position extremely well.  Ellsbury led all of baseball with a 9.4 WAR. 

The only reason that Verlander won the award is because he won the pitching Triple Crown, which is a useless way to determine a winner.

Another aspect that seems to be a deciding factor (and shouldn't be) is whether an MVP candidate's team makes the playoffs.  Neither Ellsbury's Red Sox or Bautista's Blue Jays made the postseason, so they weren't rewarded. 

Apparently, a majority of voters think it's a sin to vote for a player who isn't valuable enough to will his entire team into the playoffs.

It is sad and pathetic, but that is the state of the BBWAA right now. The voters went for the best story instead of the best and most deserving player.