(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Earlier this week, Jon Heyman of SI ranked his picks for MVP in the AL and NL. Honestly, neither list made any sense whatsoever. But, since we’re of the NL focus here, and the DH rule is an atrocity, I’m discussing the NL MVP race. As a member of the BBWAA, Heyman has a vote. Not to mention, he’s one of the biggest baseball writers in the game. So, when he publishes something like this, we should all pay attention to it. Unfortunately, Heyman totally ignored Tulo, which is something we should probably expect from most of the voters. That’s a shame because he’s a very deserving candidate.
The problem with the MVP award is that its true meaning is not clearly defined. That leaves it up to the voters to use their own parameters when making a selection. Some think pitchers should be included, while others think they shouldn’t because they already have the Cy Young. And there is the perpetual debate of whether or not the MVP should play on a contender. In the end, it’s a free for all and the award is often given to an undeserving player.
Personally, I tend to interpret MVP in its most literal sense. The award should go to the most valuable player, and if that player is on a bad team, he shouldn’t be penalized. I also think it should be given to position players exclusively. The Cy Young is a prestigious distinction that isn’t available to position players. Both should be awarded equally.
The easiest way to determine value is to evaluate players based on WAR. After all, the player that contributes the most wins to their team is, by definition, the most valuable. Maybe some outside intangibles should be considered. For example, if a guy is constantly beating up his own teammates, he probably shouldn’t be the MVP even if he hits sixty homeruns. But, the selection of the MVP should be a relatively easy process. That’s why rankings like Heyman’s are disconcerting. He listed some pretty great ballplayers on there, but many are completely undeserving. However, worse than that, he totally snubbed Tulo and Joey Votto.
Despite the Rockies’ poor season, there is an argument that Troy Tulowitzki should be the National League MVP – a very good one, actually. Currently, Joey Votto leads the NL in WAR, but Matt Kemp, Tulo and Justin Upton just barely trail him. Any of those three, as well as Ryan Braun and Shane Victorino, could be the league leader by the end of the season. If I were to give the award today, I’d probably give it to Votto or Kemp, but Troy isn’t far behind.
The big knock on Troy is that he has struggled in high leverage situations this year. Certainly, that is the one part of his game that Troy can improve upon. However, his struggles late in games don’t knock his value all that much. In the end, he’s still contributing as much Upton or Kemp, guys that are considered clutch. Granted, many will staunchly disagree with that point – and I can see the other side – but I’d still take an un-clutch Tulo over Matt Kemp and Joey Votto. We are talking about a historic talent at shortstop and he’s having one of the greatest seasons the National League has ever seen at the position.
Again, I’m not saying that Troy should win, but he should definitely be considered. And, the fact that he’s being left off ballots in favor of closers and stationary outfielders is a slap in the face to one of the game’s most iconic players. He’s been awesome this year. He deserves more credit.
What do you think? Should Troy be considered for the MVP? Where would you rank him?
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9 comments
Will Shanahan
September 1, 2011 at 9:19 PM (UTC -6)
Man, I am twelve years old, but even I have the common sense to know that some of the MVP “candidates” that Jon Heyman of SI included on his list of MVP hopefuls are total bull. For God’s sake, even I know that freaking CRAIG KIMBREL does not deserve to be in the top 30 MVP candidates. All he has to do is come into a ballgame, get three outs miraculously without giving up a run and he is suddenly in the mix for MVP? What Tulowitzki has done after signing his colossal deal, in hoisting the Rockies on his back with Carlos Gonzalez is a little more MVP-worthy, don’t you think??? But no, Mr. Heyman somehow managing, through the agony, to record three outs every couple games is good enough to crack your list.
Michael
September 1, 2011 at 9:34 PM (UTC -6)
I am glad that this was brought up. You are very right Tulo should be high in the MVP conversation. His offensive stats are so far and above the wasteland that is the shortstop position that it seems unfair that he is also one of if not the best fielder. Writers could care less about our troubled rockies and so it goes until we win but shouldn’t the guy that baseball GM’s would pick first overall to start a team be mentioned in these discussions. Honestly the only baseball person that I hear mention Tulos name for MVP is K.Law on ESPN.
CodenameDuchess
September 1, 2011 at 9:50 PM (UTC -6)
And the obsession with Runs and RBIs continues. Sigh… That article was trash.
Simone
September 2, 2011 at 11:26 AM (UTC -6)
Simply said, NO. If your team doesn’t make the playoffs…you can’t win the MVP.
I’m not saying it’s his fault, but it’s just how it should be.
CodenameDuchess
September 2, 2011 at 1:21 PM (UTC -6)
Please explain your logic. This isn’t golf or tennis where an individual can win by himself. Hell it isn’t even basketball where a single player can almost drive a team by himself, i.e. Cleveland’s descent post Lebron.
With the exception of the pitcher, individual players only have a handful of opportunities to change a game. 4-5 ABs, a handful of chances in the field, and potentially the opportunity to steal/take an extra base. That’s it. Why should the collective effort of the team have any bearing on an individual award?
For example, let’s imagine that Tulo refused to sign an extension last winter and demanded a trade. Let’s also assume that Ryan Braun did the same and that the Rockies and Brewers worked out a one for one trade. Lastly, lets assume that both players perform exactly as they have this year. Using WAR as our metric the Rockies have 1 more win and the Brewers 1 less. That still leaves the Rockies in muddling along in 4th place in the NL West 13 games behind the Diamondbacks and the Brewers still in 1st place in the Central now 6.5 games ahead of the Cardinals. Now by your logic Ryan Braun is no longer an MVP candidate and Tulo is potentially the front runner and the only thing that changed were their TEAMMATES!!! How the hell does that make any sense?
Simone
September 2, 2011 at 3:25 PM (UTC -6)
There’s a lot more to an MVP race than WAR, BA, RBI’s etc…
One of the big factors is…when do those RBI’s happen? Does the player come through during tough times? How does he influence the other players? And so on…
Tulo is not an MVP caliber player. Not yet anyways.
CodenameDuchess
September 2, 2011 at 3:38 PM (UTC -6)
That’s funny, during the W/S run and the playoff push people were overwhelmed with the leadership qualities displayed by the Rockies young shortstop and now he doesn’t positively influence his teammates? Are you serious?
As for “when” those RBIs happen guess what? A run in the first counts the same as a run in the 9th. Perform during tough times? This whole season has been tough and Tulo is performing better than every shortstop in the game. The fact is that there is a very small handful of players that could fill in for Tulo with out the team taking a substantial step back, that is value.
Feel free though to keep clinging to abstract concepts though, that kind of thinking is what keeps Jim Tracy employed and scrappy pros like Wiggy in the lineup.
Will Shanahan
September 2, 2011 at 4:06 PM (UTC -6)
Simone, brother, what the freak are you talking about? If your team doesn’t make the playoffs of course you can win MVP. THIS IS MOST VALUABLE PLAYER, NOT MOST VALUABLE TEAMMATES AND COACHING AND FRONT OFFICE. MVP clearly states “MOST VALUABLE PLAYER” and the most valuable player in a league can be on the Yankees and he can also be on the Royals and the Marlins. The question is, which player was most valuable to a team??? I think Tulo is very valuable to his team and is most definitely an (air quotes) MVP caliber player.
Forsythe P Jones
September 2, 2011 at 6:08 PM (UTC -6)
I absolutely think Tulo should be in the conversation. Honestly, neither league has a player who you could point to and say ‘That’s the guy’, so in lieu of that, it should come down to exceptional ‘value’. Troy is a defensive marvel, a tremendous hitter with the counting stats that people crave, by far the best player in either league at his position, and has been terrific for the last couple of months. Has he struggled in a number of situations? Yep, and that is a frustration. But as far as value to his team, I see few guys who could possibly rate higher. If Matt Kemp is discussed, and rightly is, than Tulo should be right next to him, along with Braun, Prince, etc.