Ortiz will DEFINITELY win the MVP now
On the night that the Sox lost a game and the Yankees clinched their 9th consecutive AL East title and 12 post season in a row, David Ortiz tied Jimmie Foxx’s Red Sox single season HR record of 50. With his league leading home run and RBI total, David Ortiz, by his own criteria, all but locked up the AL MVP award. They might even create a new category, MLB MVP, to give to him. As we all know, David Ortiz feels that only two things should count in the MVP voting, home runs and runs batted in. Nothing else matters, at least, to him. Which is maybe why the Red Sox are 11 games out and have no chance of making the post season.
Look, I like David Ortiz, or should say LIKED him. I never had an issue with him until he put down Derek Jeter and lobbied for himself to win the MVP award. While his own team was going through injuries, some life threatening, some faked, and were dropping faster than a republican running for senate in Massachusetts, he was mouthing off in the press making a case why HE should be the MVP. Maybe if he was more concerned with team numbers, like WINS, they maybe his team would not be out of it by Sept 7.
Lets get back to his premise that only RBIs and HRs count. I did a little research.
1995. Albert Belle had the most RBIs and home runs, but did he win the MVP. No, Mo Vaughn did.
1996. Belle had the most RBIs, Mark McGwire had the most home runs. Juan Gonzalez won the MVP.
1997. This season Ken Griffey had the most RBIs, home runs and won the MVP. I guess David Ortiz has something to base his argument on. It was actually the case once in the past 12 years.
1998. Gonzalez won the MVP again and had the most RBIs, but Griffey had the most home runs.
1999. Pudge Rodriquez won the MVP, Manny Ramirez won the RBI race and Griffey won the HR race.
2000. RBI goes to Edgar Martinez. Home runs go to Troy Glaus. MVP to Jason Giambi.
2001. Ichiro Suzuki, NOT a power guy, won the MVP. Brett Boone (huh??) had the most RBIs and Alex Rodriquez had the most home runs.
2002. A Rod had the most home runs AND rbis but the MVP went to Miguel Tejada.
2003. ARod had the most home runs and won the MVP, most RBIs went to Carlos Delgado.
2004. Vladimir Guerrero won the MVP but Tejada had the most RBIs and Manny had the most home runs.
2005. As well all know A Rod won the MVP with the most home runs while Ortiz had the most RBIs.
So according to history, what Ortiz thinks isn’t necessarily so. But this is big Papi so what he says is golden. Forget little things like saving games with great defense, or stealing second and third and scoring a run in a close game, or aggressive base running, or hitting for high average, or being at the top of the dugout when triple A players are in the game and you are cheering like it’s game 7 of the World Series. Throw all those things out and look at two numbers, HRs and RBIs, and give the MVP award to that person. After all, it was done once in the last 12 years, so why not do it again.
Sorry David Ortiz, but lobbying for the MVP award in the press while your team is going down in flames is pathetic. I personally think you mean more to this team (meaning without you the Red Sox would not have won the few meaningful games that you did) than Derek Jeter. If Jeter went down this year like he did last year, they would still have won. But when the Yankees lost two, then three, key parts of their staff, Jeter came through like very few others have done this year. You, on the other hand, had the benefit if Manny hitting right after you. True, you had some great walk off hits, but take a quick scan at how well your team did against teams OTHER than the NL and Baltimore. Not so good.
Ortiz, you are a great hitter and a nice guy and I love D'Angelos, especially their BLT in a pocket with mayo. But you have to be joking when you say things like MVP guys should be the home run hitters. It's not true.
Good luck in the Red Sox October Golf Classic, maybe you can win the MVP in that too.