AL MVP Award 2010: Why Josh Hamilton and Robinson Cano Will Finish One-Two

After a long season, the race for the AL MVP Award has clearly come down to two players: Josh Hamilton and Robinson Cano. The votes are in, and the decisions will be announced soon. This year's vote should be one of the closest in recent memory. Each player merits the award, but it appears that one may have an edge.

The Sentimental Story

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ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 22: Josh Hamilton #32 (C) of the Texas Rangers is sprayed with soda by teammates as they celebrate on the field after defeating the New York Yankees 6-1 in Game Six of the ALCS to advance to the World Series during the 2010 MLB Pl

Yes, I know that the voters are not supposed to take any of their personal feelings into the vote for the MVP award, but it is hard to overlook Josh Hamilton's feel good story. As Tom Hanks' character Jimmy Dugan said in A League of Their Own, "There's no crying in baseball."

However, Hamilton's story may bring tears to the eyes of some. He was able to overcome his drug and alcohol addiction and get his life back on track.

Edge: Hamilton

The Positional Advantage

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NEW YORK - OCTOBER 19: Robinson Cano #24 of the New York Yankees throws the ball to first base against the Texas Rangers in Game Four of the ALCS during the 2010 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on October 19, 2010 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (

Josh Hamilton plays in the outfield while Robinson Cano is a second baseman. There is a lot more expected offensively from an outfielder than from a second baseman. Cano put up the best numbers of any second baseman in the AL.

Edge: Cano

Home Runs

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ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 01: Josh Hamilton #32 of the Texas Rangers bats against the San Francisco Giants in Game Five of the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on November 1, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. The Giants won 3-1. (Photo by Ro

Yes, many people believe that home runs are overvalued as a strong measure of a player's offensive success. However, many voters look to stats like this as a reason to vote for someone. Hamilton was fifth in the AL with 32 home runs, while Cano was ninth with 29 home runs.

Edge: Hamilton

Getting on Base

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ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 30: Josh Hamilton #32 of the Texas Rangers looks on during batting practice against the San Francisco Giants in Game Three of the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on October 30, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Ph

No one in the American League had a higher batting average than Josh Hamilton. Hamilton's .359 batting average was significantly better than Cano's .319 batting average. Hamilton also had the AL's second highest on-base percentage (.411).

Edge: Hamilton

Making the Most of Their Playing Time

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ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 22: Josh Hamilton #32 of the Texas Rangers celebrates with Mitch Moreland #18 after both scored on a double by Vladimir Guerrero #27 in the fifth inning of Game Six of the ALCS against the New York Yankees during the 2010 MLB Play

Robinson Cano was able to play in 160 of the New York Yankees' 162 games this year. Josh Hamilton's numbers are more impressive when you realize that he only appeared in 133 games this year as the result of an injury. Hamilton would have been able to break 200 hits and would have contended for the Triple Crown had he not been hurt.

Edge: Hamilton

Media Market

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ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 22: Robinson Cano #24 of the New York Yankees sits in the dugout prior to playing the Texas Rangers in Game Six of the ALCS during the 2010 MLB Playoffs at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on October 22, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (P

This has absolutely nothing to do with each of the player's abilities but it does influence the voting process. Cano plays in the massive New York media market. There also tends to be an East Coast bias towards voting for many awards. Hamilton plays in a fairly large market in Texas, but does not garner as much national attention as the Yankees do.

Edge: Cano

WAR

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NEW YORK - OCTOBER 18: Josh Hamilton #32 of the Texas Rangers bats against the New York Yankees in Game Three of the ALCS during the 2010 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium on October 18, 2010 in New York, New York. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

WAR is one of the favorite metrics for stat geeks. It is used as a way to put a number value on a player's performance so that he can be compared to the rest of the league. Some of the AL MVP voters follow this types of stats very closely. Cano had a 6.1 WAR which was good enough for fourth in the AL, while Hamilton's 6.0 WAR was sixth-best.

Edge: Cano

Leadership

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ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 31: Josh Hamilton #32 of the Texas Rangers makes a diving catch in the second inning against the San Francisco Giants in Game Four of the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on October 31, 2010 in Arlington, Tex

Cano was surrounded by great leaders in New York. He had Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte around him and in the clubhouse. Hamilton did not have as many good leaders in Arlington. Cliff Lee and Michael Young were good leaders, but Hamilton needed to take on a larger leadership role than Cano did.

Edge: Hamilton

Value To Their Team

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OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 08: Josh Hamilton #32 of the Texas Rangers sits in the dugout against the Oakland Athletics during an MLB game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on August 8, 2010 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Their is no doubt that both Josh Hamilton and Robinson Cano are very valuable to their respective teams. However, the Rangers would not have been significantly worse off this year had they not had Hamilton than the Yankees would have been without Cano. Hamilton was a huge reason why the Rangers won the AL West for the first time since 1999.

Edge: Hamilton

Defense

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ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 22: Robinson Cano #24 of the New York Yankees looks on during batting practice against the Texas Rangers in Game Six of the ALCS during the 2010 MLB Playoffs at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on October 22, 2010 in Arlington, Texas

Hamilton was fairly good this season. Both his range factor and fielding percentage were right around league average. Cano was very strong this year defensively. His range factor was well above league average and he had a .996 percent fielding percentage.

Edge: Cano

Overall Edge

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ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 30: Josh Hamilton #32 of the Texas Rangers reacts after he hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants in Game Three of the 2010 MLB World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Octob

This is a very close race and it wouldn't be surprising if it is decided by less than 20 points. Each have won awards already this offseason, and both should be proud of their production this year.

Winner: Josh Hamilton