AL MVP

No.

Bautista had a pedestrian second half, but he still hit .257 to Dunn's .158. And 12 HR's to Dunn's 2.

 

"Not perfect" would be a very mild criticism of WAR. I don't want to get into the whole of sabermetrics, but I think generally speaking, that's the bridge too far for a lot of people who are otherwise inclined to appreciate advanced metrics.

 

I knew that didn't sound right. Thanks for doing the research.

Manky, could you at least ONCE do some research before you post? Or maybe put some genuine thought into it? Jeez.

 

Headline:

Verlander goes 14-1 against AL Central, 11-4 against good teams, to win MVP

 

Still the fact that we're even comparing Batista to a guy who had the worst season ever shows that he has no business being included in an MVP discussion.

 

Obviously, I knew you of all people were not going to take kindly to that answer.

But at least it's some attempt to compare value across species.

Even though Abner Doubleday didn't invent it, it's still probably useful for what it's worth.

 

I can't believe I'm going to post a serious thought following a Manky post, but you do realize you're the only one comparing him, right? The others were simply pointing out the absurdness of the comparison.

 

If we don't feed the troll he may actually go away.

 

How about: "Verlander posts 2.08 ERA against teams above .500, 2.86 against teams below"

So much easier not to consider run support and how those records were made and just spout off, huh?

 

Except that he won the MVP b/c of his W/L record.

 

Ellsbury had 32 homers, a .321 batting average, 105 RBI, 46 doubles, five triples, and 119 runs. He also led the major leagues with 364 total bases and 83 extra-base hits, stole 39 bases, and won a Gold Glove in center field, the toughest outfield position.

Bautista hit a lot of home runs, walked a bunch, and was an average defender. Ellsbury had 22 more doubles, three more triples, more RBIs, more runs, and 50-plus more hits. Bautista's season can't come close to Ellsbury's.

 

I disagree. The wins are just a byproduct of his dominance - a 2.40 ERA over 251 innings - for a division-winning team.

Verlander had 8.5 WAR, according to the Baseball Reference formula. Tied with Bautista. And 1.3 more than Ellsbury.