How the MLB MVPs SHOULD Be Decided
Now this will NOT eliminate all of the meaningless conversations about it on TV, radio and in bars and hallways; people will still try and predict the winner, offering all of the reasons why they made that prediction: Carlos Beltran leads the best team in the NL (National League); Albert Pujols leads the front-running Cardinals, and Ryan Howard is single-handedly keeping the Phillies in the playoff chase. These are the names I keep hearing about, things like “take Pujols out of the lineup and the Cardinals don’t make the playoffs,” or “take Ryan Howard out of the lineup and the Phillies are nowhere near the playoffs.” Both are probably true. Beltran has too many other weapons on that team to have a legitimate chance. The AL (American League) has similar issues. I won’t get into them. This isn’t the point.
The point is that there should be other criteria besides batting average, runs batted in and homeruns that constitute the MVP. And I don’t mean stolen bases, on base percentage and runs scored. Nor do I mean even defensive or clubhouse contributions. There are things like salary; Ryan Howard makes one tenth of what the other two leading candidates make, which allows the team to employee other important players. That’s value in itself; it has to be included. I’m not making a case for Howard-I don’t think he’s the MVP. I think Pujols is. I think he will win and deserves to. I think his team is entirely mediocre without him-the offense not a big threat, the pitching very hittable, almost a pleasure to hit against. But I would not be able to cast that vote or any vote with confidence. I don’t know enough. I don’t know what other things factor in. Maybe he is a liability in some places-on the base path, in the field, in the clubhouse. I’m not talking about Pujols specifically, but in general. Other things should be considered, like media attention or no media attention (Beltran is considerably better with Carlos Delgado in NY this year; Delgado contributes to Betran’s success), game-winning hits. There should be a formula that helps determine how many actual wins a player accounted for.
Those casting votes, of course, know more than I do. But what I’m getting at is, let the employees decide-the players, coaches, and executives. That’s the way it was done everywhere else, even in Little League, for the All-Star game etc; and after all, that’s the way the game should be played and operated; the way it was in Little League. Of course, it isn’t pure there either-but it’s purer. There is politics even in Little League: the coach’s kid pitches and plays shortstop, the new kid in town, unless he’s unbelievably good, plays right field and doesn’t talk to anyone. He is overlooked throughout his playing career and never develops his skills because he doesn’t have the support or confidence. There’s more to it than that even; but that’s not my point. The players know best what another player means to a team, which players offer the most, are the hardest to defend, the most menacing, the most dominating, and the most valuable. The players and the coaches and sometimes the executives know this better than anyone, and they should decide. It should be done internally, like other American corporations. The email will be sent out and people will read it briefly and go on with their lives, as they should. People might say something in the hallway, like “Congratulations” or “Good job.” And that’s it, and it’s just right. Those who deserve the award already have the respect of the people-they know, after all, better than anyone. And those who might not deserve the award as much as somehow else, well, he probably knows that, and if he doesn’t everyone else does, and, anyway, it’s just an award.
I’ve never spoken to a MLB player about how much the MVP award matters. In fact, I’ve never spoken to a MLB player period. Maybe it’s like the Holy Grail. I know David Oritz in the American Leage is campaigning for himself. He clearly cares. But he isn’t even the MVP; Justin Morneau is. Why? He has as many runs batted in, and more game-winning hits. He has less to back him up in his lineup; Ortiz has Manny Ramirez, one of the game’s best hitters, behind him. His life is easier in that regard. Derek Jeter is a candidate. So should Carlos Guillen in Detroit and Johan Santana (a pitcher!) in Minnesota. Nobody talks of those two. They are all having great years. None of them are a clear “most valuable player,” though. They should all know that. I’m sure it’s an honor to receive the award, but it shouldn’t be that important; it’s just a result of doing what they are paid to do. It’s good for those who want to make it to the Hall of Fame-which is another thing I’m sick of hearing about. But it shouldn’t be the focus of so much attention. The games should be. Each player should be. The intricacies should be; things you can’t measure with statistics, that don’t show up in MVP criteria. I remember voting for players in Little League; I still remember some of the names of other players. I’d never spoken to them, but I knew what they could do on the field. One year I was even voted to the All-Star game. I was proud because I was voted in by the people I played with and against, those who knew what I brought to the table. That was great. That was enough. That was better than an award. Respect. There shouldn’t be so much emphasis on the award. There are too many variables; too many things, players, situations are involved.
Realistically, all three players deserve the award for the NL, along with ten, twenty, who knows how many other players. Same thing in the AL. They all had great years. Life isn’t fair, but it’s not fair that Howard isn’t considered because his pitching staff is horrible, or that Morneau isn’t well known, or that every player in Jeter’s lineup is an all-star; it doesn’t change what they did. But for the award it does, which is a shame. The Cardinals’ staff is nearly as bad. Maybe the Cardinals win more games because of the way they play the game-their coaching, their strategy. Maybe the Cardinals have a weaker division, the pitching isn’t as tough for Pujols-that should all be a factor. The ERA (earned run average) of opposing pitchers should factor into each player’s offensive statistics and it should be averaged out accordingly.
There is no clear winner; there are too many variables, and a case can therefore be made for everyone. I’m tired of hearing about all of the cases. Yes, this is America! Everyone has a say. But we don’t need to all say it when it doesn’t matter. The media wants us to care so that we buy players’ jerseys. The players (and the employees) already know. We already know in our own minds. We won’t convince someone else who already knows it in their mind. The baseball card industry deteriorated when each brand started making thirty subsets, special sets for third basemen who hit a triple or players with no errors on Sundays. It became too much. They lost touch of the simplicity, the purity of baseball cards, a little piece of paper with a picture and a name. Most kids didn’t need a guide to know which cards were the best and I don’t need a radio show to tell me how great Ryan Howard is this year. The purity of the game has been ruined. We all know that. But can we at least keep it simple? It’s beginning to hurt my head. Baseball cards are worth nothing now. Baseball is headed in that direction, if we keep polluting it with nonsense and ignoring its purest aspects; the fact that it is a TEAM game, that it comes down to the most valuable team. That’s what matters. And having fun. Nothing else.
David Ortiz clearly isn’t having fun; he wouldn’t be campaigning for himself otherwise. The award has ruined his joy for the game, at least for now. The MVP is just another publicity stunt. It’s a media event. It’s something to talk about. And it will be decided. It will be announced. And there will be those who say he deserves it, and those who argue against it, some passionately. And I’ll have to hear all of the reasons again. And then most of us will forget about it forever, or at least until next year. Can you imagine if people acted like this over employee of the month? The MVP doesn’t matter. There are lots of great players, and even more bad ones. They all deserve recognition. Those who have great seasons know just how great they are, and so do their teammates. We have to keep things in perspective. So does Ortiz. The minute we turn our backs to all of the media’s nonsense is the minute teams like the Yankees don’t have four MVP candidates every year-even though this year two of them are hurt and one of them is A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez; i.e., the man formerly known as an “MVP;” he makes more than Howard, Pujols and Beltran combined-but he is in the AL). Anyway, it’s only my two cents.
