Purple Row Awards: AL Most Valuable Player

Three of the six Purple Row Awards garnered a unanimous winner, and this - the AL MVP - is the second. Good thing too, because after the season this fellow had, I would ban the entire staff if the votes turned up any differently.

I always figured a Triple Crown winner would yield a unanimous MVP.  And so it makes sense...what, there was no Triple Crown winner? Okay, so Yaz is still the latest to win the traditional Triple Crown.  However...winning the slash stat Triple Crown is more impressive to me anyway, and our winner not only did so, but he trounced the American League competition in all three categories.

Below is a table of those slash stats showing Purple Row's chosen MVP against his three closest followers (who should be noted are embodied by different hitters in all three stats).  To appease the SABR crowd as well, I have included Runs Above Replacement and wOBA, in which our golden boy proves to be a god among men.

It is abundantly clear one slugger outclassed the rest of the league, leaving other incredible talents in the dust.  He hit .417 in the playoffs and was involved in arguably the most talked about play in the ALDS.  He was one of five AL hitters to walk more than he struck out.  Seriously, is there any way our choice for MVP could be any more impressive?

....

Well...he could be a catcher...

1.  Joe Mauer

#7 / Catcher / Minnesota Twins

Height: 6-5

Weight: 225

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Apr 19, 1983

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Joe Mauer	138	523	94	191	30	1	28	96	76	63	4	1	.365	.444	.587

The three-time batting champion really should be (though he might not be) the unanimous choice for the actual award.  Check his Baseball-Reference page and marvel at all the stats he finished first.  For a 26-year-old catcher (coming off a Gold Glove year) to accomplish that in a league with a DH while calling a strong pitcher's park home...I'm speechless.  Even though he missed all of April, his fantastic year led Dave Cameron to write "This very well could go down as the best season any catcher has ever had."  I can't argue with that.

****

The staff made up for their consensus number one by submitting very different ballots 2 though 5, including six different second place votes.  As a staff, we gave in so much to the East Coast Bias that we managed to fit five AL East hitters into the final four slots:

2.  Mark Teixeira

#25 / First Base / New York Yankees

Height: 6-3

Weight: 220

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Apr 11, 1980

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Mark Teixeira	156	609	103	178	43	3	39	122	81	114	2	0	.292	.383	.565

Teixeira was the only other player who appeared on all six ballots.  He actually managed to finish with 0.1 more runs  created (wRC on Fangraphs) than Mauer for first in the American League, though Mauer still leads in B-R's calculations.  He is clearly the best hitter on MLB's best team, as he led the American League in both home runs and RBI.

t-3.  Kevin Youkilis

#20 / Third Base / Boston Red Sox

Height: 6-1

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Mar 15, 1979

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Kevin Youkilis	136	491	99	150	36	1	27	94	77	125	7	2	.305	.413	.548

Youk was second in the AL in OBP, fifth in slugging and second in wOBA, trailing only Mauer.  He gave Terry Francona flexibility by providing plus defense at both first and third combined with much needed production in the middle of the order to counteract the MIA bat of Big Papi.

t-3.  Evan Longoria

#3 / Third Base / Tampa Bay Rays

Height: 6-2

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Oct 07, 1985

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Evan Longoria	157	584	100	164	44	0	33	113	72	140	9	0	.281	.364	.526

I personally don't think Longoria was the best hitter on his own team, though he certainly is an elite hitter.  He finished fourth in the AL in RBI, eighth in HR and first in GIDP.  The former Dirtbag did manage to finish 4th in the league in WAR, greatly due to his defense:  he saved more runs (RAR) than any full-time infielder in the majors.

t-5.  Ben Zobrist

#18 / Second Base / Tampa Bay Rays

Height: 6-3

Weight: 200

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: May 26, 1981

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Ben Zobrist	152	501	91	149	28	7	27	91	91	104	17	6	.297	.405	.543

Zobrist really?  Don't laugh.  Unless it's about his name or mug shot.  Zobrist finished the season with 8.5 WAR - more than Mauer, more than Utley, more than even Pujols, more than any MLB player in 2009.  How?  He played seven defensive positions and was above average at nearly all.  UZR loved Zobrist more than it hated Dexter Fowler, but given his small sample sizes all over the place, the legitimacy of those numbers (and thusly his WAR) could certainly be questioned.  But you can't question his .405 wOBA, which was good for third in the AL.  Hitting at that level while fielding well at seven positions spells value to me.

t-5.  Derek Jeter

#2 / Short Stop / New York Yankees

Height: 6-3

Weight: 195

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jun 26, 1974

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Derek Jeter	153	634	107	212	27	1	18	66	72	90	30	5	.334	.406	.465

Derek Jeter has graded out as a below average defensive shortstop for years, yet this season he has a very solid UZR, helping him to the third best WAR in the AL.  He also finished fourth in runs created, third in OBP and ninth in wOBA and is the captain of the best regular season team in the majors.

Here's your ammunition to personally refute any individual writer:

The ballots were weighted on a 50-40-30-20-10 scale, yielding the following total rankings:

1 - Joe Mauer (300)
2 - Mark Teixeira (170)
3 - Kevin Youkilis (80)
3 - Evan Longoria (80)
5 - Ben Zobrist (60)
5 - Derek Jeter (60)
7 - Kendry Morales (40)
7 - Zach Greinke (40)
9 - Miguel Cabrera (30)
9 - Ichiro (30)
11 - Justin Verlander (10)

Tomorrow, Silverblood will wrap up the Purple Row Awards series by revealing our controversial choice for the National League MVP.