Awarding Miguel Cabrera one first-place vote in the America League MVP voting was moronic, according to more than one blog.
But was that lone vote really that ridiculous?
Here are their 2009 stats:
Mauer – .365 BA, 28 HR, 96 RBI, .444 OBP, .587 SLG
Cabrera – .324 BA, 34 HR, 103 RBI, .396 OBP, .547 SLG
(Not too dissimilar, eh?)
From May until September, Joe Mauer (after missing the first month of the season) had Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer protecting him in the lineup, while speedster Denard Span got on base in front of him at a .392 clip.
Cabrera, meanwhile, had to endure the two-headed monster of like Clete Thomas and Magglio Ordonez in front of him, with Carlos Guillen making pitchers shake in their boots behind him. Yet he still managed to finish fourth in the AL in batting average, sixth in on-base percentage and sixth in slugging. All of this done when opposing teams’ pitching strategies basically revolved around #24.
I’m not discounting that Mauer had one hell of a season, but I’ve always thought that factoring in the performance of a team if said MVP candidate was removed from the lineup should play a role in the voting.
The Twins would have survived the 2009 season without Mauer, at least until Morneau (the 2006 American League MVP) went down with his season-ending injury.
The Tigers without Cabrera? I think it’s safe to say we would have turned our attention toward the Detroit Lions a lot sooner.
That’s got to be worth a few first-place votes.
The Spirit of Detroit 