The Five Dumbest NL MVP Votes

The 14 Ballots That Didn't Include Chase Utley
Jeremy Affeldt- 10th
Yunel Escobar- 5th
Todd Helton- 3rd
Derek Lee- 2nd or Brad Hawpe -10th

2 months ago royalsreview 28 comments 1 recs |

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actually

Lee had a monster year, just nowhere close to being the second best player in the NL

by royalsreview on Nov 24, 2009 9:32 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

i was just going to say something about

still bad, but nowhere near as egregious as the other selections (Affeldt!)

by marbotty on Nov 24, 2009 9:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Lee was most certainly...

…the Cubs MVP—-which some would define as NL MVP, at least in terms of TV exposure. :) – TL

by timlacy on Nov 25, 2009 1:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

the Cubs are the Notre Dame of MLB

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.

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by devil_fingers on Nov 25, 2009 2:02 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Sad but true.

But I’m glad Weis isn’t our coach. -TL

by timlacy on Nov 25, 2009 7:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Haha... You say that now, but ummm...

There’s a rumor he’s coming to KC after the season to be our O Coordinator.

by AxDxMx on Nov 26, 2009 10:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

NL voting would b e alot easier

if they would print them with Pujols as #1 and Utley #2 then let the voters sort out 3-10

Lee did have a great year, but, yeah, not #2

Hawpe is way, way worse

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 24, 2009 9:45 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

what did he post?

like a 1.5 WAR?

I love the NL voters

by royalsreview on Nov 24, 2009 10:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

1.3

he’s so bad at defense I feel sorry for him. I seems to be trying hard out there but, you know, he just finds himself in situations like this:

Colorado should show him some mercy and trade him to an AL team. Or at least to a team that can try him at 1B.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 24, 2009 10:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ok, I had to rec for that line

“NL voting would be a lot easier if they would print them with Pujols as #1 and Utley #2 then let the voters sort out 3-10”

by sterlingice on Nov 25, 2009 4:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Just noticed something

On the FanGraphs NL leaderboards for WAR, Utley is #2 in 2007, 2008, AND 2009

Behind Pujols in 2008 and 2009, and David Wright in 2007 (although they were virtually tied once you bring in baserunning)

always the bridesmaid.

Basically, Utley and Pujols do every year what Joe Mauer is getting crowned King of the World by JoPo for in 2009.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 24, 2009 9:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

MAUER PAUER

by royalsreview on Nov 24, 2009 10:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He's so proud of himself too. He doesn't even realize that Greinke was better.

I suppose a lot of MVP voters will want someone from a playoff team, so it probably wouldn’t matter. Though he did put Greinke 4th on his MVP ballot.

by AxDxMx on Nov 25, 2009 12:07 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Does that include an adjustment for Catcher D?

Which is only fair, because Utley especially derives serious value from his glove.

by kcbottom9th on Nov 25, 2009 8:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

yes

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 25, 2009 12:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Affeldt 2009 = Damon 2000

I’m sure they were equally valuable.

Both with one 10th place vote. Same year Sweeney finished 11th, and Pedro finished 5th (without a single 1st place vote and the 1.74 era).

Turning Kool-Aid to Jesus Juice since 2009.

by Discodave on Nov 24, 2009 10:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

you know that you can't give a pitcher the MVP award

you just can’t

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Nov 24, 2009 10:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Brad Hawpe is a non-tender candidate

And yet someone thought he might be the tenth most valuable player in the NL. Boggles the mind.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Nov 25, 2009 9:19 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Non-tender?

how much is he due in arb? enough to make him worth releasing?

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 25, 2009 12:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I must have him confused with Garret Atkins

Hawpe is signed through 2011. My apologies.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Nov 25, 2009 12:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Personally, I always get Garret Atkins and Clint Barmes mixed up

generic Colorado white guys

feel sorry for Barmes, because he can actually field, unlike Atkins, who has Barmes bat and Mark Teahen’s glove

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 25, 2009 1:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

generic white guys

The Rockies definitely lead the league in that category. It IS hard to keep track of them all. Do they have some secret government-sponsored cloning facility up in the mountains over there?

"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae

"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie

by Sweep_the_Leg on Nov 27, 2009 4:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't

I’d much rather draft Clint Barmes and play him at SS or 2nd Base for fantasy baseball than cut Garret Atkins after 2 months of a .118 BA and no power. What the hell happened to him?

by AxDxMx on Nov 27, 2009 9:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

An observation

As much progress as the Cy Young voters seemed to have made, the MVP voters still are capable of bizzare ballots.

One thing that is VERY different: Cy Young lists only top 3, while MVP lists top 10. (Why in the hell should the process be that different?).

Anyway, I think that might encourage some of the, ahem, “less enlightened” writers to reward a player they like with what they view as a meaningless 10th place vote.
Understand, I certainly do not condone this – just offering a possible explanation.

All that being said, 14 voters leaving Utley off their ballots is UTTERLY inexcusable. The Affeldt vote is just plain ignorant.

My top 3 would have been Pujols, Utley, H Ramirez. You could argue for various others after that – but Pujols was so dominant, and the other 2 were so good at SCARCE positions, they were no-brainers as well. I still think there are PLENTY of voters who either do not understand position scarcity, or simply choose to ignore it when voting.

Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!

by loyal2sdad on Nov 25, 2009 2:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs