2006 MVP Awards — Better Late Than Never
December 12, 2006 by Geoff Young
Filed under Awards
Yeah, I’m on top of this one. Other hot topics we’ll be covering this week include leg warmers, Debbie Gibson, and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The first thing I need to make clear is that — as I’ve mentioned before — I’m not fond of awards because usually the folks voting don’t know what they’re doing. This year’s MVP awards are no exception.
In the American League, there were two legitimate candidates: Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer. Interestingly, neither won the award. Even more interestingly, voters failed to recognize Mauer as the best player on his own team, giving the award instead to first baseman Justin Morneau.
Morneau’s a good enough player who had a real nice season. If it weren’t for the presence of Jeter and Mauer in the same league, you could make a real strong case for Morneau. This isn’t like 2001, when Ichiro Suzuki won the award over several more deserving players. Morneau was a legitimate contender; he just wasn’t the right choice. Voters love the RBI, though, and so he wins over Jeter and Mauer.
The National League also was a two-man race that neither man won. Either the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols or the Mets’ Carlos Beltran would have been an excellent choice for the NL MVP. You could even make a case for Florida’s Miguel Cabrera or Houston’s Lance Berkman.
The Phillies’ Ryan Howard, of course, won the award. Oddly, I have less of a problem with this pick than I do with the selection of Morneau in the AL even though Howard arguably was less deserving. Hitting 58 home runs in a season when steroid use presumably is on the decline is pretty darned impressive. Enough to win the MVP? Eh, maybe not, but still.
The other great thing about Howard’s winning the award is that it led to Pujols saying some pretty silly things. This aspect of Pujols continually fascinates me — you’d think that being the best player in baseball would be its own reward, but I guess not. As Bobbi Fleckman would say, “You, don’t talk so much; just smile and look smart.”
My cynicism aside, congratulations to Morneau and Howard. They both had fine seasons, and it’s not their fault the voters have no clue.
