MLB: Why Jacoby Ellsbury Should Win The American League MVP Award

Last night, with the Red Sox playing their most important game of the season, Jacoby Ellsbury put a 1-0 pitch from Scott Proctor into the Yankees bullpen to give Boston a 7-4 lead in the 14th inning. Not that he needed that big blast to sway my vote, but I believe Jacoby Ellsbury should be the winner of the American League MVP this season.

Let's begin by taking a look at Jacoby's stats for the 2011 season. Through 155 games, the Red Sox center fielder is batting .322 with 31 home runs and 103 RBI. You may look at these numbers and think they are not strong enough to contend with Curtis Granderson and Adrian Gonzalez (maybe Justin Verlander), but when you factor in 38 stolen bases and the fact that he is a leadoff hitter, it is pretty impressive.

Up until a few days ago, I thought Justin Verlander deserved the Most Valuable Player award, until he got a no decision this weekend. Had Verlander picked up his 25th win, he would have likely won the award, but he didn't.

Curtis Granderson and Adrian Gonzalez are both very worthy candidates for the award too, but neither has been as consistent as Ellsbury (not to mention Granderson is batting .266). Not only has Ellsbury been consistently good, coming off a season where he only played 19 games, he is also consistent against the New York Yankees, unlike Adrian Gonzalez.

Jacoby Ellsbury has become a five-tool player. He has the speed, the glove, the batting average, the arm and now the power. Jacoby's career total for home runs was 19 entering the 2011 season; he has 31 this year. With Verlander not picking up the win this past weekend, and Granderson and Gonzalez performing inconsistently, I believe Jacoby Ellsbury will win the AL Comeback Player Of The Year, as well as AL Most Valuable Player.