I had never heavily considered why pitchers don't win MVP awards until I tried to spin together some MVP buzz for Detroit Tigers ace Kenny Rogers, just 'cause. Then prolific BC commenter zingzing casually mentioned a counterargument, which was that pitchers do not win MVP awards.
Well, not lately.
It's been 13 years since a pitcher won an MVP award in baseball. Dennis Eckersley racked up a 7-1 record, 51 saves and a 1.91 ERA for the A's that year, and 15 of the 28 voters acknowledged his season with a first place vote.
Since then, here are the highest AL MVP vote receivers for pitchers in each year since '92:
1993: Jack McDowell, White Sox (22-10, 3.37 ERA), 9th place, 0 first place votesThere is a clear history of pitchers in the American League being considered for the MVP. In 1999, Martinez actually had one more first place vote than Ivan Rodriguez, who won it. However, not enough overall voters even put him among their list of ten, despite the fact that Martinez struck out 313 batters, which was not only the highest such mark in the AL since Nolan Ryan, but it was more K's than Rodriguez's combined hits and RBI in that year.
1994: Jimmy Key, Yankees (17-4, 3.27 ERA), 6th place, 0 FPV
1995: Jose Mesa, Indians (3-0, 1.12 ERA, 46 saves), 4th place, 1 FPV
1996: Mariano Rivera, Yankees (8-3, 2.09 ERA, 5 saves), 12th place, 0 FPV
1997: Randy Myers, Orioles (2-3, 1.51 ERA, 45 saves), 4th place, 0 FPV
1998: Roger Clemens, Blue Jays (20-6, 2.65 ERA), 11th place, 0 FPV
1999: Pedro Martinez, Red Sox (23-4, 2.07 ERA), 2nd place, 8 FPV
2000: Pedro Martinez, Red Sox (18-6, 1.74 ERA), 5th place, 0 FPV
2001: Roger Clemens, Yankees (20-3, 3.51 ERA), 8th place, 0 FPV
2002: Barry Zito, A's (23-5, 2.75 ERA), 13th place, 0 FPV
2003: Keith Foulke, A's (9-1, 2.08 ERA, 43 saves), 15th place, 0 FPV
2004: Johan Santana, Twins (20-6, 2.61 ERA), 6th place, 0 FPV
2005: Mariano Rivera, Yankees (7-4, 1.38 ERA, 43 saves), 9th place, 0 FPV
We are currently witnessing an extremely trippy season where, among five or six great candidates, not one man's stats and swagger rise above the rest. As I previously stated, the five most likely batting candidates are Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Justin Morneau, Jermaine Dye, and Frank Thomas. Out of these five, Ortiz and Dye are statistically wiping the floor with the other standouts, but their teams are fading, if not invisible, from the playoff picture. Last month when Adam Hoff handicapped each league's MVP race, his top five (which is essentially the above five, just swapping Thomas with Vladmir Guerrero) weren't separated by much.
Article comments
1 - sal m
you make the best argument for why pitchers shouldn't win the mvp when you noted that they only contribute every 5th (or so) day. you reinforce this point when you mention that santana averages less than 7 innings per start.
so not only does he play every 5th day but he participates in just a hair over 75% of the games in which he plays. this might be great for a pitcher in the current era of baseball, but it still pales in comparison to both the contributions to the team and the burdens assumed by the every day player.
and while the twins have a great record in the games santana starts, this record (which i think is 27-6) is not even in the top ten winning percentages posted in this category in at least the past 10 years.
santana for cy young, definitely. for mvp, not.
2 - Mark Saleski
when a pitcher is having a great year, his efforts have ripple effects that extend far beyond the "every 5th day" contribution...including indirect support of the bullpen.
it's not that simple.
3 - Matthew T. Sussman
Sal,
Every fifth day is only a good argument if on that day the pitcher and batter have equal workloads. Which is why I pointed out the comparative plate appearance stat.
Also keep in mind: Santana is 1/5 of the pitching staff, just as Dye is 1/9 of the lineup. Factor in bullpen and pinch hitters, and Santana still does more than Dye or Ortiz or Jeter.
4 - sal m
those stats don't have any relevance with regard to the fact that position players effect more games than pitchers. what part of the order an everyday player is of no importance in your above example and does nothing to diminish their accomplishment.
compare pitchers to pitchers and everyday players to everyday players.
especially when you consider that an everyday player's contribution goes well beyond at-bats, as fielding is a huge factor.
despite the stats provided, there's no evidence whatsoever that a pitcher like Santana "does more" than Jeter, Ortiz etc.
and the ripple effect of a good starter is overrated and minimum at best...ask robin roberts and bert blyleven.