2. David Ortiz. I know the Red Sox are fading, but how can you deny Big Papi his rightful place on this list? He leads the AL (by far) with 46 home runs and 120 RBI and could wind up with 60 jacks and 150 RBI, which would be numbers too good to deny. Throw in the fact that he comes through in the clutch time and time again and the fact that he Manny Ramirez are pretty much the only guys on Boston’s roster that can hit these days and you are looking at a pretty legit candidate. That said, in addition to the always-prevalent DH concerns, he’s going to have a really rough time overcoming his team’s awful skid.
1. Jermaine Dye. Konerko is a rock in the White Sox lineup and Thome got all the attention early in the season, but Dye has quietly had an absolutely monster season and you could argue that Chicago is only in the wild card race because of their rightfielder. Dye hitting .325 with 37 home runs and 99 RBI, leading his team and ranking in the top five in the American League in each of the Triple Crown categories. He’s also second in the league in slugging percentage and doing a terrific job manning right field every night for one of the top teams in the league. It seems crazy, but when you combine offense, defense, consistency, and team standing, Dye is my leader in the clubhouse.
National League.
Lets pretend for a minute that anyone cares about the NL and just rock this.
5. Lance Berkman. Normally you wouldn’t draw a candidate from a team with a record below .500, but the NL has so many mediocre teams there is really no choice. And Berkman’s numbers are spectacular: .310/34/103 with a 1.024 OPS. Put him on the list!
4. Miguel Cabrera. Here is another player from a sub-.500 team, but in this case you have to look beyond the numbers. Cabrera is literally the only good player to return to the Marlins offensive and he has no protection in that lineup, yet he is hitting .341 (second in the NL) and has driven in 93 runs while carrying the young Florida team on his back. Not only that, but the Marlins are actually only six games out of the wild card spot and rank ahead of both Houston and Atlanta. Granted, there are six teams ahead of the Fish, but considering the low expectations (a major understatement) going into the season, they are having a great year. Cabrera is quietly leading the way and just hammering the ball, day in and day out. All of that said, the NL race is between the next three guys.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Here I was trying to think of a guy better than Ortiz this year. And there it is. YermainGuy. Good case, but wow try walking into Boston and saying that.
2 - Kevin
What if the White Sox don't make the playoffs? Voters don't like to vote for a player on a team that's home in October, though I disagree with them. And Joe Mauer should be in this discussion as well, as he has better offensive stats across the board than Jeter, and plays great defense at the toughest defensive position.
And, personally, I think your blog would be easier to read if you used a smaller font.
3 - Adam Hoff
Well, if the Sox don't make it, that will probably hurt Dye's case, although I think that you will find that MVP's can come from teams that are in the race right until the end. Either way though, I sincerely doubt Dye will get enough love to even crack the top three, let alone win it. He just happens to be my pick at this moment.
As for Mauer, I think he has a tough time overcoming the fact that Morneau is going to get most of the Twins votes. It is the same reason I didn't put Manny Ramirez or Jason Giambi on the list - they have teammates that are going to eat up those votes.
The one guy I can't believe I left off the NL list (especially in light of the fact I had to put two players from sub-.500 teams on the list) is Jose Reyes. Beltran is the man if a Mets player wins it, but Reyes might be the most exciting player in baseball and certainly should have had Berkman's spot. He plays an important defensive position and his numbers are ridiculous. Hitting almost .300, leads the majors in steals (54), is second in runs (102), and has 15 triples and 15 home runs to go with 23 doubles. He even has more RBI than strikeouts, which speaks to his improved plate discipline.
Also, yesterday gave us a pretty thrilling showdown between Howard and Beltran as they combined to drive in six of the seven runs scored in the game and each hit big home runs. Great stuff.
4 - Matthew T. Sussman
And look at that ... Dye with a two-run home run off Joe Nathan to tie it in the ninth. They didn't win though.
5 - M.D. Sandwasher
Adam,
You made me laugh out loud when I read "As long as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (I don't even have a joke for this anymore)." That was funnier than writing the obligatory joke. And when you wrote, “In fact, the similarities between Ortiz and Howard are kind of astounding…The only problem? In my most important fantasy league I missed each of them by a single pick. I need to move on before I get upset.”
I too am very high on Morneau. I like the fact that you have Jermaine Dye listed as your number one. Every writer lists the Big Papi’s and Jeter, but I have seen very little written about Dye this year and undeservingly so.
Great Article!
6 - Adam Hoff
Thanks for the kind words. There really is nothing left to say about the LA/Anaheim debacle. The best take on it I've seen is from Michael Kun in "The Baseball Uncylopedia" (a great read). He broke down the fact that when translated, the new name of the team literally comes out to "The The Angels Angels of Anahiem." Classic.
It was too bad about Dye hitting the dramatic home run, only for the Sox to still lose. I personally don't care who wins the wild card (and probably prefer the Twins), but those are the kind of moments he nees to have any hope of winning the award.
Howard and Beltran matched home runs against today ... uncanny. Those guys are both so sick. I think Howard is going to finish with better numbers than Big Papi. He's already got him in average and today he passed him in RBI (by one) and tied him in home runs. He's going to wind up with those 55 and 140 numbers, I think. If that happens and the Phillies win the wild card, they almost have to give it to him, right? Should be interesting, because all three of those guys (Pujols, Beltran, and Howard) are having incredible years.
7 - judge roy beans
Jeter ...Most over-rated player ever .if he played on Royals ..No one would of ever heard his name ....Hoqw many scratch infield hits he has this year ..like 1/2 his hits .or little dinkers
8 - Matthew T. Sussman
Curse him for getting on base and manufacturing runs.