IN TWO weeks I will submit my vote American League MVP ballot, and Joe Mauer pretty much has extinguished all debate for the top spot.
He not only has had — by far — the best season of any AL player, but he is the main reason the Twins were in contention. He, for example, went 10-for-13 (.769) in the four-game winning streak that preceded the current weekend series against first-place Detroit. And he did that with his cleanup protection, Justin Morneau, gone for the year.
Talk about rising to the occasion. A scout who saw Mauer in the last week said, “It is ridiculous. It is like he can get a hit every time up.”
The real battle is for who gets the No. 2 slot. I believe that essentially comes down to Boston’s Kevin Youkilis, Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera and a Yankee (more on them in a moment). I am currently leaning toward Youkilis for two major reasons:
1) His ability to shift between first and third base, and play both at a high level, allowed the Red Sox to more comfortably obtain Victor Martinez and is the key in enabling Boston manager Terry Francona to find ways to best utilize a group of players that includes Mike Lowell and David Ortiz.
Mark Teixeira came up a third baseman. Imagine if he still could play the position and would have been able to fill in there while Alex Rodriguez missed the first five weeks to allow Joe Girardi to play Nick Swisher at first, use Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner, the (pre-injury) Xavier Nady and Johnny Damon in some combination, and put Cody Ransom on the bench. Youkilis actually is able to do that, which is most valuable for his team.
2) After losing two of three to the Yankees, Boston was just one game up in the wild card on Aug. 23. The Red Sox had gone 8-11 in 19 games and were free-falling. But in the next 19 games, the Red Sox gained firm control of a playoff spot by going 14-5, and in those games, Youkilis hit .349 (.429 with runners in scoring position) with a .556 slugging percentage.
Who is third in the MVP voting? I would say a Yankee. But which Yankee? The debate has been Derek Jeter vs. Teixeira. Both are worthy. But my gut kept making me wonder if Alex Rodriguez was more deserving. Not because he put up glorious numbers (though they are pretty impressive, especially after missing 28 games because of hip surgery). But because it felt as if his return was the catalyst for the Yankees turning from 13-15 underachievers to the majors’ best team.
But I am having trouble separating my sense of what Rodriguez has meant with the actual numbers. For example, the Yankees were averaging 5.6 runs even while going 13-15, and 5.8 runs in going 81-39 in the next 120 games. That would suggest that improved pitching (maybe Phil Hughes should be MVP) has been more vital to the Yankees’ turnaround than Rodriguez.
The mark against Teixeira is that his worst 28 games coincided with Rodriguez’s absence, which is perhaps when the Yankees needed him most to shine. He
hit just .198. So do we give Rodriguez some points for being a weightlifter, the kind of star whose mere presence creates great value because he takes weight off
the rest of the lineup. How
much is Teixeira’s subsequent offensive success because of Rodriguez batting behind him?
Since A-Rod’s return, Teixeira leads the AL in RBIs that either tied the score or put his team ahead with 38 (thanks, Elias Sports Bureau). Rodriguez is third with 30. Since A-Rod’s return, Teixeira has 15 homers that have tied the score or put his team ahead, one fewer than the AL leader (David Ortiz, surprise, surprise) and one more than A-Rod. No one in the majors has hit more homers that have put his team ahead from the seventh inning on than Rodriguez’s five, and that is even with missing 28 games.
If you want to nitpick, the power numbers for Teixeira and Jeter are inflated by the new Yankee Stadium. And Jeter’s clutch statistics are good, not great. But Jeter is having a brilliant all-around year hitting, running and, yes, on defense, where he arguably has had his best season. And Teixeira’s defense has been a difference maker from Day 1.
When it comes to the MVP, you end up putting candidates under the microscope. For example, there will be fine lines when you try to figure out where in the top 10 spots to put one or all of the Angels from among Bobby Abreu, Chone Figgins, Torii Hunter and Kendry Morales.
But this is why I am writing this now. I am positive Mauer should win. But what of the other nine slots? I am not going to take points away from Mauer for missing April, so I will not do it for A-Rod. Do I give extra points to Teixeira because his departure from the Angels, spurning of the Red Sox and landing with the Yankees feels like such a seminal moment in deciding the AL’s best regular-season team? Do I honor multiple Yankees in a year when everyone in their lineup seemed to have a great year, meaning, perhaps, that no one was most valuable?
One thing I will not do is give Jeter lifetime achievement points. His 2009 season stands on its own outstanding merits.
With two weeks left in the season, my ballot looks like this: 1) Mauer. 2) Youkilis. 3) Teixeira. 4) Cabrera. 5) Morales. 6) A-Rod. 7) Michael Young. 8) Jeter. 9) Abreu. 10) Ichiro Suzuki. Hard to leave off ballot: Jason Bartlett, Jason Bay, Hunter, Figgins and Adam Lind.
But there are two weeks left. My e-mail address is right below this. I would love to hear cases for or against my order.
joel.sherman@
nypost.com