Pujols Beats Out Howard for NL MVP
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Albert Pujols, 1st baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals was awarded the 2008 NL MVP Award over his closest competitor, Phillies 1st baseman Ryan Howard, in balloting which was much closer than it should have been.
Although this blog is partial to the Phils, 2008 World Series champs, the obvious truth is that the comparative 2008 performance numbers between Pujols and Howard, not withstanding Howard’s fine September finish, are not even close.
True, Howard led all of baseball with 48 homers and 146 RBIs, but he batted a a woeful (for an MVP candidate) .251 and struck out an unsightly 199 times in roughly 690 plate appearances. That’s a strikeout every 3.47 plate appearances.
Also true, Pujols’ Cardinals finished in 4th place, 11 1/2 games off of the Cubs’ pace in the NL Central Division, but check out his numbers compared with Howard’s above; League-leading .357 batting average to go along with 37 homers and 116 RBIs. His 54 strikeouts in 624 plate appearances puts him at an astounding strikeout every 11.5 plate appearances. Add to that his .462 OBP and .653 SLG % as compared with .339 and .543 for Howard.
Despite Pujols’ dissing of Howard’s receiving of the MVP in 2006 (they’re close friends) claiming that “Someone who doesn’t take his team to the playoffs doesn’t deserve to win the MVP,” Howard, despite his MLB-leading 48 homers and 146 RBIs just didn’t deserve the award in light of his appalling strikeout numbers.
PhilliesNation’s Tim Malcolm provides additional interesting stats and background to back up the fact that Pujols clearly deserved the award.
AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker notes the other award contenders for Yahoo sports;
Los Angeles outfielder Manny Ramirez and Milwaukee pitcher CC Sabathia, who both led postseason pushes after being traded by AL teams in July, also drew strong support.
Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun was third with 139 points, and Ramirez fourth at 138. Houston’s Lance Berkman was fifth and Sabathia sixth.
Personally, I don’t think that players who split leagues in a season should qualify off of their 2nd half performances. It just somehow doesnt seem right or accurate. Sabathia, while excellent at 11-2 since coming into the NL with 7 complete games, I view as problematic because of his “rented property status” with the Brewers. Plus I hold that Manny, also “rented,” is extremely shabby and non-hustle on defense and has base-running issues and foibles which severely detract from his stick prowess.
Another Phil, closer Brad Lidge finished 8th in the MVP voting on the strength of his 41 saves in 41 opportunites in the regular season. He finished going 48 for 48 including the playoffs and the World Series.
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