Monday, November 20, 2006

Ryan Howard Wins NL MVP

He deserved it. As I said in an earlier post, he's the new Face of Baseball.

20 comments:

TBender said...

"He deserved it."

Ugh. Everytime I hear that said about Howard, it makes me sick.

How did he exactly deserve it? Not by average, not by xBH, not by any RISP stat, not by fielding or baserunning.

Big D said...

Because he hit the ball really, really far. Clearly, he didn't "deserve it" based upon the win/loss record of his team, or on his ability to take the team into the postseason, or win anything meaningful.

Nothing against Howard - he's a great talent, and a monster at the plate. But Pujols lead the Cardinals to the postseason and eventually the WS. Berkman almost single-handedly willed the Astros to the playoffs. Howard just hit the ball really, really far.

Gerard L. Callan said...

im a phillies fan and i dont think he 'deserved' it. read Neyer's column about it on ESPN and you'll understand - he explains it all pretty clearly. at least i think so

TBender said...

@pathatts

Less crack. More fresh air. Pujols and Berkman had more support than Howard??? At best it's a push with Pujols and Berkman had nothing to help him. If Houston makes the playoffs, Berkman would have deserved the award.

@nyc-steelersfan:
Last year Jones hit all those homers and drove in all those runs and Pujols won it based on his AVG and RISP stats. A little consistency year-to-year please...

CMFost said...

Not that it is that important but it does have to do with Sports

FOX CANCELLED THE OJ SIMPSON INTERVIEW AND PULLED HIS BOOK FROM BEING PUBLISHED.

Good for Fox finally doing something right.

Anonymous said...

homeruns are the only stats that matter, obviously. You think McGwire is going into the Hall for anything else? He was a pile of juiced muscles next to first base.

Hit a few dingers, you get all the cred.

(Yes...ok...I"m a fan of small ball and defense in baseball, so I'm bitter)

Brien said...

As Will Munny said in "Unforgiven":

"Deserve's got nothin' to do with it ..."

How quickly people forget George Foster's 1977 MVP. That year, the Big Red Machine finished second, way behind the Dodgers.

Yet, because Foster had 52 homers and 150-some RBI, he won the MVP, not the Phils' Greg Luzinski, who had a monster year that year as the Phils won a second straight NL East crown.

The award should not be for the "most valuable", it should be for the player of the year. Because, clearly, Ryan was *the* man this year, but Pujols was the difference between the Cards and the Astros winning the Central.

Congratulations, Ryan. It's about time we had a slugger everyone is talking about ...

Brien

Anonymous said...

Actually if the Astros had made the playoffs, the Cardinals should have been the MVP, because it would mean they choked away the division. We'd also have different champs.

Matt T said...

Andruw had 51 HR's and 128 last year, but had an average of .263.

TBender said...

Who wouldn't be impressed with 58 and 149? But that's not the be-all and end-all.

181 K (Pujols 50, Berkman 108)

Runners On:
.287 BA (P - .343, B - .361)
120 RBI (P - 115, B - 116)
275 AB (P - 236, B - 252)

RISP Stats:
.256 BA (P - .397, B - .382)
83 RBI (P - 88, B - 90)
164 AB (P - 126, B - 131)

RISP, 2out:
.247 BA (P - .435, B - .405)
33 RBI (P - 34, B - 23)
77 AB (P - 46, B - 42)


Comparing HR, RBI, and Games Played...
2005 - Jones = 51 HR, 128 RBI and 160 GP; +10, +11, and -1 over Pujols
2006 - Howard = 58, 149 and 159; +9, +12, and +16 over Pujols


I think I'm approaching Manningham obsession with this thing, but at least I'm using stats...

ToddTheJackass said...

Howard deserved it, sure. But Pujols deserved it too. They just should have given each of them an MVP award, and not given one at all to the AL...

NYC-Steelers fan:

[T]he fact is, you lead the league in homers and rbi's, i.e. the power categories, you are going to get the votes.

So you're saying David Ortiz deserved the award too? I'd be fine with that, at least better than Jeter. For the record, I'd vote for Johan.

-Todd (Boston)

TBender said...

Deleted my comment about the HR/RBI/GP stat.

Pujols had the same distance between Jones and Howard both years in HR and RBI...even with missing 3 weeks this year vs Howard.

ToddTheJackass said...

Huh, according to the Harball Times, here's the top 6 in terms of Win Shares for the NL...

1. Pujols (39 win shares)
2. Beltran (38)
3. M. Cabrera (34)
4. Berkman (34)
5. D. Wright (32)
6. Howard (31 win shares)

For those that believe in Win Shares, that certainly would indicate that Pujols deserved it more than Howard.

-Todd (Boston)

Mega said...

I have no problem with Jeter winning the AL MVP over Ortiz. And this is coming from a White Sox fan who hates the Yanks and Red Sox.

Would Ryan Howard have won the MVP aware if he didn't play in Philly (or any team near the East Coast for that matter)?

Dave Jackson said...

I can see the logic for Pujols, as his percentage stats are better than Howard's counting stats (which benefit from Pujols' injury).

But let's be clear about one thing: Howard's team had a better regular season record than Pujols' did.

I would have had no argument with Albert winning, and I'm sure his World Series ring makes a good consolation prize. But I'm sick of people saying Pujols deserved it on the basis of his team making the playoffs.

DJ

ToddTheJackass said...

NYC... true, you didn't use the word "deserved" in reference to Howard. My mistake, I apologize.

Still, if Ortiz doesn't get it, because he doesn't play defense, then there's no way Howard (who arguably doesn't play defense either) should have gotten it over Pujols, since Pujols was probably the best defensive 1B in all of baseball.

I guess I'm just more mad at the system for being so inconsistent about it all. I just don't see how people can say so dogmatically that a DH can't get it for not playing defense, but a poor defensive player can get it over a good one with similar numbers. Similarly, I hate it when people say the team needs to be in the playoffs to win the MVP, and then someone like Howard gets in (but Ortiz wouldn't for the same reason).

Also I disagree about a Cy Young winner being automatically ineligible for the MVP. The fact of the matter is that there wasn't a clear cut winner among hitters, but among pitchers, Johan was far and away the best (leading the AL in Ks, ERA, WHIP, tied for Ws, and led in IP). That happens so infrequently it's definitely worthy in a year where there aren't any 'runaway' hitters deserving it.

Okay, so basically I realize I might be slightly contradicting myself in championing Ortiz (homer alert), and then making the case for Johan. Forgive me, I'm still contemplating what $51.11 million actually means. All I know is that it'd take me about 1700 years to earn that much money.

-Todd (Boston)

TBender said...

Pujols couldn't control the Cards' lack of pitching either. Or the fact that every important member of the offense spent time on the DL. (Versus Howard coming to the park everyday knowing Rollins and Utley would bat and be on base ahead of him.)

ToddTheJackass said...

To Howard NL MVP:

Yeah... okay buddy. I think Chase Utley had a pretty awesome streak going for awhile, and Jimmy Rollins had a monster 2nd half... I'd take either of those guys over anyone that Pujols had as a teammate. You definitely can't say Howard did it alone.

-Todd (Boston)

marcomarco said...

Howard struck out 4x as much as Pujols.

The National League MVP has more strikeouts (181) than the CY YOUNG WINNER (178)?!?

Nuff said.

Jon said...

How about Jeter and Morneau tying for AL MVP rumor? Was Morneau even the MVP of the Twins?