Justin Verlander Busts Through Voter Bias to Win MLB's Best Award

For once, the Baseball Writers Association of America got it right this time by naming Detroit Tigers ace and Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander the 2011 American League MVP.

Verlander became the first pitcher to win the honor since Dennis Eckersley of the Oakland A's in 1992, and the first starter since Roger Clemens led the Boston Red Sox to the World Series in 1986.

This, despite one of the most crowded MVP fields in recent memory, filled with worthy vote-getters like Jacoby Ellsbury, Curtis Granderson, Jose Bautista, Adrian Gonzalez and Robinson Cano. Verlander received 13 of the 28 first-place votes and totaled 280 points overall, finished ahead of Ellsbury, who had 242, and Bautista, who garnered 231.

Certainly, every one of those points was well deserved. Verlander's season was one for the ages, at least in this current era of big bullpens and strict pitch counts. Verlander captured the AL's pitching Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (24), earned-run average (2.40) and strikeouts (250). More importantly, Verlander was a (if not the) key cog in transforming the AL Central race from a competitive, three-team struggle—between the Tigers, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox—into a laugher, with Detroit crossing the finish line with a 15-game lead.

What makes Verlander's victory most remarkable, though, is the fact that it happened at all. Baseball writers and "purists" have long had a reputation for doing their darndest to keep pitchers out of the MVP running, with some arguing "that's what the Cy Young is for."

When, in fact, the Cy Young is awarded to the most outstanding pitcher (not the most valuable one), and the MVP is meant to be available to any and every Major Leaguer.

The BBWAA has certainly exercised its hitters-for-MVP bias before, most notably in 1999, when Pedro Martinez, then pitching for the Red Sox, posted one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory (23-4, 2.07 ERA, 313 strikeouts, 0.923 WHIP) but was denied the honor when two writers left him off their ballots entirely.

Two writers tried a similar maneuver this time around, but ultimately "failed" in their tactics:

Baseball is not a sport known for being "with the times" or making the right call in a timely manner, but this time, the establishment and the old curmudgeons of which it is comprised, deserve credit for granting the honor to Justin Verlander, the one player who deserved it above all others.