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All good picks. The AL MVP could be a tie a la Keith Hernandez/Willie Stargell in the '79 NL.
Love your breakdown of the AL MVP and I completely agree. No wrong answer, but Trout gets the nod in my book as well.
Solid Article. Great analysis of the AL MVP Award (see what I did there?) race.
great discussion on trout/cabrera. for me, if trout was the MVP..... he would have taken the angels to the playoffs. playoffs matter a ton to me, and all you have to do to have a chance to win a world series is get in. like jack morris' greatness, the tigers played to what they needed to do to get in. trout may lead in the new age of boutique stats....... but a triple crown is a triple crown. massive. while you can't knock people in and accumulate rbi if nobody is getting on base in front of you..... the pressure to get them and knock them in is a special talent that most can't achieve. trout can build his rep and continue his stat assault (or not) and take his team to the promised land and then win an MVP. his end of the season slump, when he should peak and follow through until the end..... seals the deal for me. that and cabrera's triple crown. that is a massive accomplishment for a player and for baseball.
as for the "low quality teams" that cabrera got to play more.... interesting that they could only fare as well as he/they did against the much trashed central, but yet march through the rest of the division's best on the way to the american league pennant. (a prediction up 3-0... is it safe yet?)
For Trout, no player -- any age, any tenure -- has ever combined at least 45 steals with 125 runs and 30 homers in one season. '
And then look at his OBP, SLG%, OPS and OPS+ along with his BA over .320...all from a leadoff CF.
Cabrera was #1 in BA, Trout #2. Trout #3 in OBP, Cabrera #4. Cabrera #1 in SLG%, Trout #3. Cabrera #1 in OPS, Trout #2. Trout #1 in OPS+, Cabrera #2. Pretty darn close there, no? Really close to each other in every one of those categories...Trout getting him in OBP and OPS+, Cabrera getting him in BA, SLG% and OPS. Those are widely accepted stats, no WAR mentioned.
Then add in the base running and defense comparisons in which Trout blows Cabrera away. Then there's the fact that one is a leadoff hitting CF and one is a corner IF. Trout should be MVP.
Angels had a better record than the Tigers. Tigers were geographically better situated. Angels were 6-14 when Trout was inserted into the lineup, 83-59 after (95 win pace which would tie Yanks for best in AL). Not knocking Cabrera. I would vote for him too. Just sayin'...Quote:
Originally Posted by h2oface
it will be an interesting vote. both are more deserving than others in other seasons that have won the award. i would bet on cabrera, because of the history involved, but trout would not be a surprise, and is certainly worthy.Quote:
Originally Posted by ThePuck