Who is the AL MVP?

[Kingdom]

This is such an awesome year for the award. And now Robinson Cano is proclaiming he's the MVP. Gotta love it.

Jose Bautista and his limited protection have churned out 127 walks. Granderson has spit out a quadruple double (10 or more 2B, 3B, HR, and SB) and leads the league in RBI. Adrian Gonzalez has the batting crown all but locked up and he's second to Granderson in RBI. Ellsbury is 2 home runs away from 30/30 as a lead off man. And Miguel Cabrera is having a great year, but is overshadowed by...

Justin Verlander.


And so we have a royal rumble of madness. May the best man win.

[Hammer]

i look at it this way for this one, since most of the candidates are on contenders [aside from bautista, who i dont believe his obp and thusly his ops would be nearly as high if he had a decent bat anywhere near him in that lineup]...

who is the biggest reason their team is a winner? i think boston is comparable to what they are with any of their candidates taken out of their lineup and replaced with somebody decent, i think the yankees are comparable to what they are in the same circumstances. there will always be someone else to pick up the slack.

im not so sure detroit is anywhere near as good without cabrera... and detroit is a 70 win team without verlander. if youre one of those guys who say the cy young is the pitchers mvp... then it should be cabrera [or bautista if youre a pure stat guy]. if you can get away from the pitcher stigma... its verlander. in my book at the very least. i voted for verlander.

[cjkalt]

Too early to call... I think we find a winner in the next 6 days

[love_that_reefer]

My vote goes to Miggy Cabrera. Everyone wants to talk about Verlander but Cabrera has played every game but one and leads the AL in total bases. His BB/K is amazing even if his HR totals have dipped. I just think he brings more value than Verlander who can only affect 35 games or so on his own. I do like the fact that he saves his bullpen and I see the greatness he has had this year but I view the word value differently. That Cabrera is out there everyday is much more valuable to me.

[Kingdom]

He's my vote too. I can't pick a pitcher regardless of how good he's been.

[HollywoodLeo]

I wouldn't vote for a pitcher even if he threw 36 perfect games. That's still only 36 of the 162 games that he's been of great value to his team.

[realmofotalk]

It's all about contribution. A pitcher holds a larger role in run prevention in a game than a single hitter does in run production.

[HollywoodLeo]

but he can only prevent those runs in about 22 percent of the games.

If a pitcher throws 36 perfect games the team still has to win another 50-60 games to make the playoffs.

[realmofotalk]

Just the fact that he almost singlehandedly won 36 games makes him the most valuable player on the team. A supporting cast of replacement level players could go 50-76 in the rest of the schedule and the team would still make the playoffs or come close.

[Porter]

but he can only prevent those runs in about 22 percent of the games.

If a pitcher throws 36 perfect games the team still has to win another 50-60 games to make the playoffs.

a single hitter only accounts for 11-18 of all plate appearances for all 162 days.

[HollywoodLeo]

a single hitter only accounts for 11-18 of all plate appearances for all 162 days.

Whenever he gets on base or advances runners he's impacting more than just his own plate appearances.

[Porter]

When a pitcher allows the baserunners and they score, it affects others as well.

[HollywoodLeo]

But it's still during only 36 games of the season. You tried to refute that by stating the percentage of plate appearances, but that's not the hitter's only impact on the game.

he also plays defense.

[HollywoodLeo]

i could be preoven wrong, though. With a pitcher holding the ball every pitch his impact for that game is certainly greater than any psotion player...but he only plays 20 percent of the games.

[Tobywan]

Well, I am also in the "Cy Young is the awards for pItchers and the MVP is for the most valuable (everyday position) player" category.

I think it should go to Cabrera.