I would like to use my imagination and envision myself as a sports writer covering the major league baseball beat. I get a ballot in my mailbox for the Most Valuable Player award for the American League. It is a great privilege to pick the winner since he will be in great company with many players that have gone on to the hall of fame such as Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.
My pick for the American League MVP award goes to Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista.
I like to call myself a firm believer that the pitchers have their own award ib the Cy Young award. Yes, it is possible for a pitcher to win the MVP, which has not been done since 1992 with Dennis Eckersley of the Oakland A’s.
Detroit’s Justin Verlander has more than stated his case for the MVP. He definitely fits into part of the criteria that goes into such a prestigious award. He gives his team a chance to win a ball game every time he starts on the mound. Some stats to help back him up might be the 24 wins, 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts.
New York Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson makes a good argument as to why he should win the MVP award. He has hit 41 home runs and was able to drive in 119 runs, which is the American League best for RBI. But his .262 batting average is probably what scares me away from giving the award to him.
Jose Bautista, I think, has come a long way throughout his major-league career. He bounced around Baltimore, Kansas City, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. He played for Pittsburgh from 2004 to 2008 when he was traded to Toronto in the middle of the 2008 season.
In 2010, Bautista started tearing the cover off the baseball with 54 home runs and 124 RBI while playing in 161 games to finish fourth in the AL MVP voting. The award went to Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton that year.
In 2011, Bautista hit an American League record 43 home runs and 103 RBI.
Although 2011 was not as spectacular as the previous year, it showed how valuable Bautista was to Toronto and how he gave the Blue Jays a chance, game in and game out, with him in the lineup. He is the type of player that can be put anywhere on the field and still give his team a good chance at winning the game.
Ben Fleming, a junior at Eastern Michigan University, said it is a tight race for the MVP award.
“There are so many good candidates out there,” Fleming said. “But at the end of the day I think one of the position players should get it.”
It has been a while since a player from a small market team won the MVP award. The last to do so was Alex Rodriguez in 2003 when he played for the Texas Rangers. Rodriguez did it with 118 RBI and 47 home runs. We will see today at 2 p.m. who will win the most valuable player award and be in great company.
