Today starts postseason baseball and the tightest competition has already ended. The AL MVP seems to be harder to determine than the eventual World Series’ winner. Los Angeles Angel Mike Trout and Detroit Tiger Miguel Cabrera are both exceptional baseball players.
They both deserve to win the award, but if I had to make a decision I would have to go with Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera finished the 2012 season with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs, and 139 RBIs. Winning the batting triple crown is such an amazing accomplishment that rarely happens. The last triple crown winner was Red Sox Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. Leading the American League, which is a hitter’s league, in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in is nothing to sneeze at.
However, Trout’s value to the Angels made him the most valuable player to the Angels on a team that has Albert Pujols in the line up. Did I mention Trout is a rookie? He was second to Cabrera in batting average and was the first rookie with 30 homers and 40 stolen bases. And his defense? When he was not hitting home runs, he was brining opponents’ homers back into the park. Trout only committed FOUR errors all year. Clearly, Trout will win AL Rookie of the Year.
Whoever wins the MVP will be controversial because of how talented both players are. The voters, all members of Baseball Writers’ Association of America, will be questioned by their decision for years to come. This will probably not be the last time that Trout’s name is brought into the MVP discussion. If this year is only the start for Trout, then he will be a multi MVP award winner. One advantage that Cabrera does have is that the Tigers’ are in the postseason and after all the spending the Angels did in the offseason have been a huge disappointment. When I started writing this article, I thought I had made up my mind about who I would vote for, but now I am not so sure which one truly deserves the honor.
I agree fully and would defer logic to the age-old baseball argument that MVP awards go to players who successfully took their teams to the playoffs. Because if you want to change baseball, you’re either a terrorist or a communist. đŸ˜‰
Reblogged this on ATF Sport and commented:
My reply/comment sums up my opinion on the matter. This is good stuff from my blog-gal-pal.
Although I was impressed by Trout’s performance as a rookie this year, I just have to agree and say Cabrera should win the MVP award because not only did he win a triple crown, but also brought his team into the playoffs — but who knows what will happen.
I would have to respectfully disagree. Cabrera was the best hitter in basbeall this season (maybe). Trout was by far more valuable when you take into account baserunning and defence (Cabrera is a sieve). And the playoff argument doesn’t hold water here since the Angels had a better record than the Tigers (and remember Trout missed all of April). It’s not like Trout did all this playing for KC.
That said, there’s not really a wrong choice. Both are deserving. Trout is just actually deserving based on the criteria (and this is without going into advanced metrics, bWAR or anything like that).