I’m going to leave the stats out of this one, for the time being. Who is the American League’s most valuable player? Personally, I don’t care, but that’s because I’m a baseball fan. I love Miguel Cabrera & Mike Trout, what they bring to their teams, and to their fan bases. I’m not going to let the charlatan vitriol and misinformed fairweather ruin my end-of-the season fun. Do it somewhere else.
I apply my message to both sides of the argument, and fans of the Angels and Tigers. If I hear another “Cabrera/Trout doesn’t deserve the MVP…” I’m going to punch a hole in the wall because the fact of the matter is that they both deserve it. Neither side of this garbage “debate” is right, as I suggested in my piece earlier this week.
Die-hards need to take a step back and look at the situation from the standpoint, of say, the baseball Gods (if there are any left). My point: use some damned objectivity. Numbers aren’t the answer, and neither are the old-school stats.
At no point during the offseason does a baseball fan say to himself, “I can’t wait until the MVP race heats up so I can get into arguments with people who have no idea what they’re talking about!” That notion never comes to mind. There is however the anticipation for September pennant-runs, All-Star performances and perhaps even legendary feats. We get excited about baseball because it lets us do that. The petty arguments don’t deserve the attention many have given them.
These two players are having incredible seasons, and will win awards as a result. Why can’t we leave it at that?
This MVP race is good for baseball. It’s exciting. It gives us something to talk about other than the pennant-races, or rebuilding for next year, depending on which team is yours. It is an added bonus to fans who have sat through the glory and anguish of 150+ games.
Here’s what it’s not:
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- a chance for you to decide one of these players is worthy of being called names.
- a time to point fingers at a 21 year-old kid who very well may be the next coming of Al Kaline or Mickey Mantle.
- a time to call Miguel Cabrera fat and lazy.
- a time to take sides in a battle between arrogant Angels or Tigers fans.
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If you want to look at both sets of numbers, the sabermetrics and the old-school stats, go ahead. I provided a brief rundown of the stats here. If you want more in-depth sabermetrics, you’ll have to visit Fangraphs or Baseball-Reference.com
What I’m asking of you now is a bit of patience. Enjoy the rest of the season. Marvel in both Cabrera and Trout’s numbers. The Angels and the Tigers each have a handful of games left to play. Instead of wasting your time arguing to no end on bulletin boards and emails, go watch a game. Watch Cabrera play. Watch Trout play. It’s the end of the 2012 season for Major League Baseball and it would be a damn shame if you spent the last week blabbing about a question there is no answer to.
Now is a good time to be a baseball fan and not a sniveling know-it-all.
Enjoy this historic finish.
Think about what Jeter meant when he said,”I live for this.”
