The BBWAA awards the American League Most Valuable Player award at 2 PM EST today. Joe Mauer stands as the favorite, and Bugs and Cranks looks at the historical significance of the Twins’ catcher. My IBWAA ballot is here, and Joe did take home that award. I’m curious to see how well Zack Greinke and Bobby Abreu finish. Despite Greinke adding a ton of value to the Royals, no one out side of a few on-line writers talks about him as an MVP candidate. The idea that the MVP has to play for a winner is still pretty strong. I ranked him second.
Abreu had a good year, although his power remains down from his peak. I voted him fourth based on the influence he had on the entire Angels offense. He got them to move from a hacking team to a more selective team, and they produced their highest run total ever. I usually don’t go for intangibles when voting for MVP, but Abreu’s contribution to his team was well documented. This wasn’t just him being a good clubhouse presence. Abreu was more of a coach.
Posted by David Pinto at 9:10 am | Awards | Permalink | 3 Comments
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November 23rd, 2009 @ 11:43 am
Some might say Abreu had more of an effect on the Angels’ success than Scioscia did.
November 24th, 2009 @ 12:52 am
Isn’t it true that only Figgins’ OBP was higher than last year amongst the Angels?
November 24th, 2009 @ 11:14 am
Torii Hunter’s OBP was up from last year and 36 points higher than his career average. Erick Aybar was up 39 points from last year. Maicer Izturis was up 30 points from last year. Kendrick was up just one point. Juan Rivera was up 50 points from 2008, but just one point above his career average. Guerrero was way down. Napoli was down, but he was already good. Gary Matthews, Jr., was up 17 points. The team as a whole was up 20 points from the previous year.