So much has been said about the MVP race in the American League this year. Names have been thrown around left and right: Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, Joe Mauer, Mark Texeira, and so on. And while it looks like Albert Pujols and his 47 homeruns have pretty much locked up the National League MVP, the American League race seems much more wide open. There are so many players having outstanding years in the American League that it is hard to choose just one. However, that is what I am here to do.
Many people will tell you that the 2009 MVP award should go to the face of baseball's most prestigious franchise, the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter. Jeter would not be a bad choice either. His numbers this season warrant him to be in consideration: .332 BA, 17 HR 64 RBI .400 OBP 26 SB. He's done everything that the New York Yankees have needed him to do this year. He's a winner, the leader of the best team in baseball. And this should be his year because the 35 year old has never won the MVP before.
All of these things are very valid points. His numbers are very impressive. He always seems to come through when the Yankees need him. And it is true--he has never won the MVP award. The problem is, the MVP award is not a life time achievement award--that is what the Hall of Fame is for. There is no doubt that we will be seeing you in Cooperstown when you are done playing baseball Derek, but giving you the MVP award this year because you have never won one and are therefore somehow entitled to one is flat out wrong.
Remember Jeter's current 2009 numbers: .332 BA 17 HR 64 RBI .400 OBP 26 SB (warning: you will see these numbers again). They look very good, and the Yankees have the best record in the league. But are they MVP worthy? Compare those numbers with these numbers: .349 BA 24 HR 102 RBI .438 OBP 19 SB. That second set of numbers looks better than Jeter's of 2009, doesn' t it?
I can hear the arguments already: "Yeah but the 2009 season isn't over yet." And "yeah but Jeter is going to lead the Yankees to the World Series this year." And to that I tell you this: Derek Jeter will come nowhere close to that second set of numbers by the time the season ends this year, even if he has a monster last couple of weeks. And do you know who that second set of numbers belongs to? Derek Jeter, the 1999 version, in what was probably his best statistical year of his career, a year in which the Yankees swept the Atlanta Braves to win the World Series. Jeter did not win the MVP that year, Ivan Rodriguez did for the Texas Rangers. In fact, Jeter finished 6th in MVP voting that year. So if Jeter couldn't win the MVP in 1999 with better numbers and a World Series championship, exactly how is he going to win the award this year?
It can be argued that Jeter isn't even the MVP of his own team this year, much less the league. What about the addition of Mark Texeira to the middle of the lineup? What about the dominating performance we've seen from C.C. Sabathia virtually all season? What about the always consistent and never hittable Mariano Rivera at the end of games? Strong arguments can be made for any of those guys to be the MVP instead of Jeter.
The real of MVP of the American League this year has to Joe Mauer without question. His 2009 numbers as of today are: .374 BA 27 HR 87 RBI .441 OBP and a whopping 1.051 OPS (on base + slugging percentage). When you stack Jeter's .332 BA 17 HR 64 RBI .400 OBP up against Mauer's it is pretty much no contest. Mauer's numbers are better than Jeter's across the board. And let us not forget that he missed the entire month of April with an injury. Think about what kind of numbers he would have if he played all six months of the season and not just five. Mauer has always been a tremendous hitter but this year he has added power to his arsenal. Making Mauer's season even more remarkable is the fact that he plays the tolling position on the body: catcher.
I know that the Twins do not look like they will make the playoffs this year, while the Yankees appear to have their best shot at winning the World Series since their last title in 2000. I know that in the last 25 years there have only been 2 MVP winners from losing teams (Andre Dawson for the 1987 Cubs, Alex Rodriguez for the 2001 Rangers) but the red hot Twins do not look like they are out of the playoff race yet and Joe Mauer has just flat out outplayed everyone else, hands down.
MVP stands for Most Valuable Player and if you look at it from that standpoint, Mauer is the only choice here. If you take Derek Jeter out of the Yankees lineup they might lose a few more games, but with all the weapons in that lineup and in that pitching staff, the Yankees still make the playoffs without much trouble. If Joe Mauer is removed from the Twins lineup, the Twins are nowhere close to where they are today. I am sorry Derek Jeter, but 2009 has been Joe Mauer's year.
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