Win or Lose Mauer Deserves MVP
By Mike Silva ~ October 4th, 2009. Filed under: Mike Silva.
On August 16th I said Mark Teixeira would get my vote for the MVP. The outcry and scorn that followed has become legendary here at NYBD. I noted back then that I reserved the right to change my mind. After watching the AL Central come down to the final day I believe, win or lose, Joe Mauer deserves the 2009 AL MVP.
Mauer has hit .359 with 2 HR and 15 RBI the month of September. It hasn’t been his best month (August was), but there is no denying he is the Twins “straw that stirs the drink”. Remember, they are hanging around with Justin Morneau sidelined. What Mauer is doing now may be more impressive than anything this season: still hitting in a lineup barren his complementary bat. Teixeira was ahead of him on September 1st, but things changed drastically for me this month.
Advanced statistics claim Mauer is worth 8 wins for Minnesota. I imagine it probably is a lot more. I still think Mark Teixeira is a close second, but Mauer kept a flawed team, albeit in a flawed division, in the pennant race. Win or lose he deserves the vote. Unfortunately the prize for winning the Central is a date at the slaughter house with the Yankees.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Mauer, since August 17: .946 OPS
Teixeira, since August 17: .978 OPS
So they’ve been equal or maybe Tex a little better since that date, but Mauer all of a sudden pulls ahead in your book. This is odd. And it’s not as if you thought it was a close race on August 16 – Rob Neyer was “way off base”.
The only thing that’s changed is circumstances totally out of individual players’ control – the Tigers collapsing and the Twins getting into the playoff hunt with a mediocre team. MVP is an individual award, not a team award – it’s been Mauer’s August 16, September 16, July 16 and today.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I think you would have to admit that Mauer still putting up those numbers sans Morneau in the lineup is equally impressive.
The “off base” comment was more that Mauer was clear cut – I still don’t believe he is clear cut as Neyer, Perry, etc. seemed to indicate in their columns.
October 4th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
The idea of lineup protection is way overblown. It exists to some degree but not to the extent that most in MSM would have us believe. Also, Michael Cuddyer has a 1.086 OPS since Morneau went down, much better than pre Morneau injury. Delmon Young has upped his game as well, a .916 OPS since Morneau’s injury. Mauer hasn’t been going at it alone the last few weeks.
Factoring defense, Mauer is likely a ~9 WAR performer, an historic season. It’s Mauer by a mile. If they make the playoffs today that’s a nice added bonus.
October 4th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Hate to restate the completely obvious, since James K said it so well… but if anything has happened in September, it’s that Teixeira has actually closed the gap between himself and the frontrunner — Mauer. Perhaps those who were blind to reality due to a Yankee bias didn’t realize it before, but Mauer’s production has been there since the first AB back from surgery this season. And since his return, he has been the hands-down MVP of the AL. All that Morneau’s absence does is strip those same deluded writers of their false excuse to diminish his historic accomplishments this season. Same goes for the Twins’ run to force a 1-game playoff. Maybe now it’s visible to the unbelieving eyes, but it was there from the start.
October 4th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
By the way, this post is a blatant CYA moment…
October 4th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Tex has an enormous amount of talent around him. The only ones who think a Yankee deserves it over Mauer are delusional Yankee fans. That whole team is an all star team. Tex better hit well in a lineup like that. Lets not even talk about the great pitching the Yankees have….
October 4th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
The MVP award recognizes the best player in the league, and his name is Joe Mauer.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
“Mauer, since August 17: .946 OPS
Teixeira, since August 17: .978 OPS”
I’ll take a catcher with a .946 OPS ahead of a first baseman with a .978 OPS any day. Position is context.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:33 am
“I’ll take a catcher with a .946 OPS ahead of a first baseman with a .978 OPS any day. Position is context.”
Well, yeah. But I don’t thing that was James’ point. In August, when Silva wrote that Tex should be MVP over Mauer, Mauer was still a catcher and Tex was still a first baseman. Any weight given to difficulty of position should have already been accounted for.
Since then, you could make an argument that Tex has been slightly better offensively. But now Silva says Mauer should be MVP. So what’s changed?
Nothing, other than the Twins catching the collapsing Tigers.
Silva’s giving Mauer the credit for keeping a “flawed team…in the pennant race.” Which is dumb for several reasons – Mauer isn’t doing anything different, no one player can really do anything alone, if the Tigers hadn’t taken a dump over the couple weeks, they easily would have won the division, etc, etc.
So Silva finally came around to the right choice but with horrendously flawed logic. Which is almost worse.
October 5th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Yeah, to paraphrase Mike’s entire thesis here:
Mauer is somehow more valuable because the Twins pitching staff has managed not to f*$k up as bad in the last 30 games, and because Kubel and Cuddyer have swung their bats like Ruthian gods lately.
Mauer is Mauer, has been Mauer, and will be Mauer. And Mauer > Teixeira… at least the 2009 version of both players.