By Jason Haupricht jasonh@monroenews.com
Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins has been voted American League MVP.
He’s not even the most valuable player on his own team, so how can he win the honor for the American League?
It can be argued that either starting pitcher Johan Santana (Cy Young award winner) or catcher Joe Maeur (who won the AL batting title) were more valuable to the Twins than Morneau.
Santana went 19-6 with a 2.77 earned-run average and 245 strikeouts, while Maeur hit .347 with 13 homers and 84 RBI and was one of the top defensive catchers in all of baseball.
Morneau stats were: .321, 34 HRs, 134 RBI, 53 walks and 97 runs. Those are solid numbers, but not jaw-dropping. And he plays first base, the easiest position to play in the field.
New York Yankees Derek Jeter should’ve won the award instead of Morneau. He hit .347 and was better than Morneau in every other offensive category except homers, RBI and slugging.
He had more hits (214), runs (118), walks (69), stolen bases (34), doubles (39) and triples (3). He also played shortstop, one of the most difficult positions to play on the field.
Jason,
I think your missing the true meaning of MVP.
Jeter did have outstanding numbers but was he
“most valuable” to his team compared to the value
that Morneau was to the twins?
On June 8th, the Twins took off and went on a 71-33
run. During that span Morneau had the best batting average
in the Major Leagues (.362). He also had the most hits (145)
in baseball and the and the most RBIs (92) in the American
League.
Morneau carried the Twins to a division title. His value to
the Twins was greater that Jeter’s value to the Yankees.
One of the great things about baseball is the endless
discussions that abound regarding players and teams.
Thanks for reading Jim, but I don’t agree with your reasoning.
Let’s not overlook Jeter’s defensive contributions to the Yankees’ success in comparison to Morneau’s defensive contributions to the Twins’ success.
Also, the lineup the Yankees used during the postseason was not the one they put out on the field for a majority of the regular season.
Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield each missed two-thirds of the season, and Jeter’s double-play combination, Robinson Cano, was hurt for about six weeks.
Yet the Yankees still won 97 games, and it wasn’t because of their pitching staff.
New York’s team earned-run averaged was 4.41, a half-run higher than Minnesota’s.
I think Jeter had the better year, but as you said, a great thing about baseball is the endless discussions about players and teams.
Thanks again for reading.
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