November 21, 201114 yr jaysonst Jayson Stark Before Verlander, you know how many starting pitchers had gotten a 1st-place MVP vote in the 2000s? Exactly one (Johan in '06). That's crazy ESPNStatsInfo ESPN Stats & Info Justin Verlander is the 1st pitcher to win MVP since Dennis Eckersley in 1992 & the 1st SP to win since Roger Clemens in 1986. Ken_Rosenthal Ken Rosenthal Verlander won despite not being named at all on one ballot.
November 21, 201114 yr Good call. The right guy won, but I hate that somebody didn't even give him a 10th place vote. If they just changed the rule, and made it an offense-only award, I wouldn't mind. but under the current rules, I think Verlander earned it.
November 21, 201114 yr DKnobler DKnobler Six players received first-place votes, including 1 for Michael Young DKnobler DKnobler Verlander had 13 of 28 first-place votes. No one else had more than 5 (Bautista) jaysonst Jayson Stark Amazing that Ellsburgy, Bautista, Granderson & Cabrera appeared on every MVP ballot -- & the guy who won (Verlander) was only on 27 of 28 DKnobler DKnobler Verlander was on 27 of 28 ballots. 26 of 28 had him 6th or higher.
November 21, 201114 yr I have no doubt that the Tigers would have gone that far without Verlander. Simply put, he was their MVP. Good call.
November 21, 201114 yr I don't agree with this. While Verlander is probably the most worthy pitcher in a long time to deserve to be in the running, there is a reason that there is a Cy Young award. I want a hitter to get the Cy Young once. Edited November 21, 201114 yr by Milkman delivers
November 21, 201114 yr QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 21, 2011 -> 01:06 PM) jaysonst Jayson Stark Before Verlander, you know how many starting pitchers had gotten a 1st-place MVP vote in the 2000s? Exactly one (Johan in '06). That's crazy ESPNStatsInfo ESPN Stats & Info Justin Verlander is the 1st pitcher to win MVP since Dennis Eckersley in 1992 & the 1st SP to win since Roger Clemens in 1986. Ken_Rosenthal Ken Rosenthal Verlander won despite not being named at all on one ballot. Well, that's pretty cool.
November 21, 201114 yr DKnobler DKnobler Jim Ingraham from Cleveland was the only voter to leave Verlander off the ballot. Sheldon Ocker of Cleveland had him 8th I'll be honest, when I first heard someone left him off completely was to wonder if Cowardly was voting again.
November 21, 201114 yr QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Nov 21, 2011 -> 01:23 PM) I don't agree with this. While Verlander is probably the most worthy pitcher in a long time to deserve to be in the running, there is a reason that there is a Cy Young award. I want a hitter to get the Cy Young once. False equivalency. Its not like Verlander won the Hitter of the Year award.
November 21, 201114 yr QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 21, 2011 -> 01:31 PM) False equivalency. Its not like Verlander won the Hitter of the Year award. Yeah, but I think those two awards are the oldest traditional ones. The two main awards anybody cares about are Cy Young and MVP, and most view them as being for pitchers and hitters, respectively. They just need to change the rules slightly to make MVP only for hitters. Oh, and shut your face.
November 21, 201114 yr QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Nov 21, 2011 -> 01:12 PM) Dumb. Pitchers should not win MVPs. Bautista should've won. Bautista had a .730 OPS in the second half. Ellsbury should have ran away with the thing.
November 21, 201114 yr I'm kinda surprised they actually gave it to a pitcher...but from watching the season it was the right move.
November 21, 201114 yr QUOTE (Whitewashed in '05 @ Nov 21, 2011 -> 02:14 PM) Wow, a pitcher shouldn't be MVP. I'm of the stance that a pitcher could be the MVP, but only if there are no worthy position players that year or if the pitcher is just THAT good. Verlander was awesome this year, but I think people might have overrated him by thinking Detroit had an absolute s*** pitching staff outside of him and that he had no other support. Which is obviously wrong. The Tigers had one of the best offenses in baseball and the Yankees' staff was probably worse outside of Sabathia. Even though Verlander was awesome, I don't think he was more valuable than Ellsbury or Bautista. So I don't agree with this decision at all. Edited November 21, 201114 yr by chw42
November 21, 201114 yr We just need a Babe Ruth Award already for the leagues best hitter, then MVP won't be an issue and can go to THE best player in each league without ignoring hitters for the entire year if a pitcher wins (like this).
November 21, 201114 yr QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Nov 21, 2011 -> 02:29 PM) We just need a Babe Ruth Award already for the leagues best hitter, then MVP won't be an issue and can go to THE best player in each league without ignoring hitters for the entire year if a pitcher wins (like this). But Babe Ruth was a pitcher too
November 21, 201114 yr QUOTE (Felix @ Nov 21, 2011 -> 03:32 PM) But Babe Ruth was a pitcher too So does the Babe Ruth award go to the best hitting pitcher or best pitching hitter? I'm so confused...
November 21, 201114 yr QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Nov 21, 2011 -> 02:34 PM) So does the Babe Ruth award go to the best hitting pitcher or best pitching hitter? I'm so confused... Just call it the Ted Williams award then.
November 21, 201114 yr Under the current qualifications, Verlander earned it. There needs to be a Best Hitter Award though.
November 21, 201114 yr I wonder why nobody made a case for Zack Greinke to win the 2009 MVP when he was even better than 2011 Verlander that season.
November 21, 201114 yr QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 21, 2011 -> 02:43 PM) I wonder why nobody made a case for Zack Greinke to win the 2009 MVP when he was even better than 2011 Verlander that season. Because Kansas City didn't win anything.
November 21, 201114 yr QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 21, 2011 -> 02:45 PM) Because Kansas City didn't win anything. And there lies the problem... This decision was a result of the Boston collapse, even though Ellsbury hit like an MVP during it.
November 21, 201114 yr @BMcCarthy32 Just so we're clear, I will never think someone should win or lose an MVP or other award, based on team success/failure. NEVER.
November 21, 201114 yr QUOTE (chw42 @ Nov 21, 2011 -> 02:48 PM) And there lies the problem... This decision was a result of the Boston collapse, even though Ellsbury hit like an MVP during it. Like it or not, with a couple of exceptions, this is how it has always been done. The pitcher thing is a much bigger exception though.
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