11/05/24
November 23, 2009
Joe Mauer Wins AL MVP: Mauer beat out Teixeira and Jeter getting all but one first-place vote.
posted by TheQatarian to baseball at 02:11 PM - 23 comments
And the one 1st place vote Mauer didn't get went to... Miguel Cabrera?
posted by ursus_comiter at 03:53 PM on November 23, 2009
Not sure how someone who doesn't get up to 100 RBIs should be the MVP, but what do I know.
Kidding aside, you have to believe the Miguel Cabrera voter is a Detroit-based writer. A Detroit-based writer who clearly voted before Cabrera showed up for his team's most important game drunk from the night before, after having been arrested for accosting his wife.
posted by holden at 04:01 PM on November 23, 2009
Not sure how someone who doesn't get up to 100 RBIs should be the MVP, but what do I know.
Mauer dragged a team without Justin Morneau into the playoffs; a team that made a heroic end-of-season comeback against all odds. Not to mention he hit .365. It's proof that slugging stats aren't the only category worth mentioning when it comes to most valuable.
posted by dfleming at 04:06 PM on November 23, 2009
dfleming -- I was kidding; Mauer was far and away the most deserving candidate, and his season was historical. I am frankly surprised that the voters got it as overwhelmingly right as they did.
I had expected more ballots that reflected this type of logic.
posted by holden at 04:09 PM on November 23, 2009
Seattle, strangely enough.
But before anyone starts with the whole "Keizo Konishi should lose his ballot" but, I gotta agree with this:
Why the Awards voting isn't fun anymore: People work themselves into a lather because 1 of 28 voters got it wrong. RELAX.
I know it's all part of the discussion, but it seems like people get the pitchforks out every time the deserved winner doesn't sweep the first-place ballots.
Anyway. Good for Mauer. Maybe the only catcher we'll ever see who can belt 28 home runs AND get on base nearly half the time.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 04:14 PM on November 23, 2009
I know it's all part of the discussion, but it seems like people get the pitchforks out every time the deserved winner doesn't sweep the first-place ballots.
I only really have a problem with it when it affects the ultimate outcome, although unanimous votes are kind of cool in an "inner circle of the Hall of Fame" kind of way. That said, I hold a different standard for Hall of Fame voting, where the fact that there has never been a unanimous entrant is a huge black mark on the electorate.
posted by holden at 04:20 PM on November 23, 2009
Nice! This is for sure the right call.
It's proof that slugging stats aren't the only category worth mentioning when it comes to most valuable.
Except that Mauer led the league in slugging percentage.
I never bought the Texeira arguments. I thought Jeter was better.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:41 PM on November 23, 2009
Not taking away from Mauer...he wholeheartedly deserved it...but why does Cabrera getting a 1st place vote raise such ire? He was top 10 in the AL in average, home runs, RBIs, and OBP...sounds like an MVP season to me, if Mauer didn't play...
posted by MeatSaber at 05:54 PM on November 23, 2009
but why does Cabrera getting a 1st place vote raise such ire?
Because he isn't nearly as deserving of the award as Mauer is. He was not more valuable to the Tigers than Mauer was to the Twins and he conveniently disappeared at the end of the season when the Tigers needed him most.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 06:14 PM on November 23, 2009
Mauer had a season for the ages. What he did... well, it hasn't been done since George Brett did it in 1980. I would say the best season by an individual player in 29 years beats Cabrera's admittedly excellent season.
Anyhow, by objective standards, Mauer was as valuable as player as MLB had this season. That said, voting is a subjective matter, so if unknown voter dude believed in his heart that Cabrera deserved it more, well, I suppose that's his business. He was wrong as wrong can be, but its still his business.
posted by Joey Michaels at 06:55 PM on November 23, 2009
I'm with holden on the H.O.F. voting, that so many obvious first round entrants haven't unanimous is crazy. Sports writers deciding to send some sort of cryptic message with their vote is silliness.
Should Mauer have been an unanimous MVP? In my mind yes, but since I can't prove that the writer in Seattle was being less than sincere with their vote, I'm good with it.
posted by dviking at 06:55 PM on November 23, 2009
In my mind yes, but since I can't prove that the writer in Seattle was being less than sincere with their vote, I'm good with it.
That was what I was trying to say, but dviking said it better.
posted by Joey Michaels at 07:52 PM on November 23, 2009
I didn't know bartenders in the Detroit area had a MVP vote. Seeing as how Cabrera apparently spent the last series of the season drunk and hungover, going hitless and basically costing his team their shot at getting into the playoffs, should mean he isn't allowed to be mentioned in the same conversation as the Most Valuable Player award. It also means the moron who voted for him should no longer have a vote.
posted by dyams at 07:59 PM on November 23, 2009
I can't be sure, dyams, but after that last series, I'd be surprised if even Detroit's bartenders would have voted for him.
posted by Joey Michaels at 08:28 PM on November 23, 2009
I never said he shouldn't be mentioned in the same conversation as the MVP award. Cabrera had an excellent season. But to imply that he is more deserving of the award than Mauer is just absurd.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 09:14 PM on November 23, 2009
Except that Mauer led the league in slugging percentage.
I know this is almost entirely absurd to say but slugging percentage isn't necessarily about slugging. A high average helps. Mauer isn't in the top 10 in extra base hits in the AL, a testament to his small-ball slugging percentage.
posted by dfleming at 10:01 PM on November 23, 2009
Realistically, when I say slugging stats, I mean power stats. Sorry for the confusion.
posted by dfleming at 10:04 PM on November 23, 2009
Mauer isn't in the top 10 in extra base hits in the AL, a testament to his small-ball slugging percentage.
It's a testament to him missing a portion of the season. This is why counting stats (HR, RBI, etc) aren't as useful as rate stats.
posted by yerfatma at 10:14 AM on November 24, 2009
I know this is almost entirely absurd to say but slugging percentage isn't necessarily about slugging. A high average helps. Mauer isn't in the top 10 in extra base hits in the AL, a testament to his small-ball slugging percentage.
Mauer also was not in the top 20 in his league in isolated power, which measures raw power in terms of extra bases per AB (so it basically adjusts for singles-driven batting average, among other things). Still, an historic season for Mauer and a well deserved MVP award.
posted by holden at 10:40 AM on November 24, 2009
And he was #2 in the AL in BABIP, so maybe talk of Mauer as a $30 million/year player is a bit overwrought. He could still play on my team though. Strange that his ISO was that low given how he was hitting home runs when he first came back.
posted by yerfatma at 11:53 AM on November 24, 2009
Ah, to think that during the draft for my main fantasy league, at around Round 13 I decided to take a gamble on my catcher. There were Mauer and Wieters, and I decided to go for Wieters' potential over Mauer's back.
Man, that was stupid.
posted by MKUltra at 03:02 PM on November 24, 2009
Man, that was stupid.
At the beginning of the season, Mauer seemed like a risky pick. I chose to wait (and picked Ricky Nolasco, yikes) to get Geovanny Soto, whose fat ass took three months to hit over .200. Live and learn!
posted by dfleming at 05:01 PM on November 24, 2009
Gotta love it!