Who's the Man?: Jacoby Ellsbury vs. Justin Verlander for AL MVP

In my mind the American League Most Valuable Player voting is going to boil down to a two-horse race.  Sure, arguments can and will be made for Robinson Cano and Jose Bautista.  I also feel like Michael Young, Asdrubal Cabrera and Curtis Granderson will receive some attention and rightfully so.

For sure, these five men have played exceptional baseball over the course of the last six months and all have been crucial to their teams' success.  Though success is a relative term.  Most people would agree that the Yankees were expected to compete for the AL East crown and be among the AL's elite teams.  However, most people did not anticipate the Indians playing first place ball for so long and finishing at, or near .500. 

However the two players that I believe to be the most valuable players in the American League are Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury and Detroit's Justin Verlander.  The fact that these two are running neck and neck, at this point in the season, is quite intriguing.

First and foremost their teams appear headed in complete opposite directions. 

During the month of September the Red Sox have gone a paltry 7-20 and have blown a nine-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays for the AL Wild Card.   

Despite this slide the Red Sox still have a chance to win the AL Wild Card and play baseball in October.  If one thinks back to their early-season struggles, the fact that Boston has a shot at the post season is pretty remarkable. 

The reason that this is even a possibility, that Boston with one game (maybe two) remaining has a shot at the post season is due to the fact that they played phenomenal baseball from May through August. 

The biggest component of that success is Jacoby Ellsbury.  Boston is a large market team with an enormous fanbase.  However, outside of Red Sox nation, not many people were aware of Jacoby Ellsbury. 

Ellsbury has only played three full seasons in the majors, his last being in 2009 when he hit .301 and stole 70 bases.

He managed to play in only 18 games last season while battling a string of injuries which kept him out of the lineup for the lion's share of the season. 

2011 has been a different story though. 

Healthy and confident, Ellsbury has burst on to the scene.  His .322 batting average, 32 homers and 105 RBI have been driving the Red Sox all season.  In addition to the sparkling power numbers, he has also swiped 38 bases.  His prowess is not just offensive though.  Ellsbury has played a flawless center field for the Red Sox this season.  And by flawless, I mean flawless.  Ellsbury has not committed a single error in 2011. 

Sure the Sox are swooning in September.  This month has not been kind to them and they have let the aforementioned nine-game lead turn into a tie, but it's not for a lack of production by Ellsbury. 

With the season on the line, Ellsbury, over the course of the last month is hitting .365 with eight homers and 11 doubles in 26 games.  He's compiled an outrageously high OPS (on base percentage + slugging percentage) of 1.095. 

When things have really gotten tight, over the last week, Ellsbury has picked it up, hitting .417 with four homers and seven RBI in five games.

Conversely, it's also true, that the Tigers are playing inspired baseball.  They have been beating up on everyone to the tune of a 19-6 record in the month of September, which cemented, early on in the month, their stronghold on the AL Central crown. 

However, Justin Verlander has not enjoyed the same amount of success that his team has been enjoying.  The reason being, of those 25 games in the month of September that the Tigers have played, Verlander has participated in just 5 of those games.  That means that during the stretch run, Verlander has made an impact on just 20 percent of his team's total games. 

I don't say this to discount what he has accomplished this season.  In fact, I hold Verlander in such high regard that I include him in the conversation for MVP.  He has had that good of a year.  He is 24-5 in 34 games started.  He has a 2.40 earned run average and has struck out 250 batters in 251 innings pitched—all the while pitching in the AL with designated hitters, meaning there aren't any breaks in the line up.

Verlander is, hands down, the unanimous winner for the AL Cy Young award.  He has been head and shoulders above every other pitcher in the American League this season.  His numbers indicate a dominance that isn't often seen on the pitcher's mound. 

I just can't bring myself to believe that a person who only actively participates in 20 percent of his team's games can be considered the most valuable player of the entire league. 

It stands to reason that these two will finish first and second in the MVP balloting, and for what it's worth, I don't see any way that Jacoby Ellsbury can be denied this award.