Baseball’s most talented might not be the most valuable

As another baseball season ends, writers around the country are filling out their ballots for… As another baseball season ends, writers around the country are filling out their ballots for year-end awards. It’s always a fun debate for those who aren’t allowed to vote for such things. Or more appropriately, for those whose votes don’t count, since I’ve sent in homemade ballots for year-end awards to Bud Selig’s house for years now and always get back letters telling me to stop. Perhaps it’s because I only vote for the awards I think are important:’ Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year awards. With awards like Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year, you give one to the best rookie and best manager in each league. Of course, the winners are usually pretty debatable. The Cy Young is also pretty straightforward. Occasionally, when a closer has an outstanding season, there is a debate about whether someone who only pitches an inning or two every few days can be the best pitcher in an entire league. Still, even with the Cy Young, it’s always a given that it goes to the best pitcher in the league. But with the MVP award, there’s one question that nobody can answer: Is the award for the best overall player in each league or the player that is most valuable to his team? Since the ‘V’ stands for valuable, it is logical that the latter would be the clear choice, but that’s not always true. In 1987, Andre Dawson won the National League MVP award playing for a Cubs team that finished the season in last place. It’s the only time in MLB history that a player from a last place team won the MVP. While not on last place teams, plenty of other players were awarded MVP awards for teams that didn’t make the playoffs. In 2006, the Phillies’ Ryan Howard won the NL MVP, although Philadelphia missed out on the playoffs. After the season, Albert Pujols, of the playoff-bound Cardinals, said, ‘Someone who doesn’t take his team to the playoffs doesn’t deserve to win the MVP.’ Pujols, shockingly, finished second for the award, and the Cardinals finished with two fewer wins than the Phillies, but played in an inferior division and thus made the playoffs. The Cardinals also won the World Series that year. Coincidentally, this year there is no clear-cut National League MVP, though Pujols is a favorite to win. The Cardinals finished the year in fourth place in their division, while the Phillies won theirs. So if Pujols wins the MVP, do you think he’ll give it back? Of course not. But he clearly thinks the award should only go to players who were valuable to playoff teams. He’s right. The award should go to the single most valuable player to his team, opposed to the best player in the league. Because of this, there are no other choices for NL MVP than Manny Ramirez or CC Sabathia. When the Dodgers traded for Ramirez, they were only a game out of the first place, but also hovering around the .500 mark. The Dodgers overtook first place from the Diamondbacks on Sept. 6. It was the first time since April 5 that Arizona wasn’t in first, after a 7-2 defeat by the Dodgers, thanks to two homers by Ramirez. The Dodgers won the NL West, and since joining the team, Ramirez has hit .396 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI’s in 53 games. Now, where would the Dodgers be without Manny? Tough to say, but an educated guess says watching the playoffs on mute, just like the rest of us. The Brewers traded for Sabathia on July 7. Since going to Milwaukee from Cleveland, Sabathia is 10-2 with a 1.78 ERA in 16 starts. He also has seven complete games and made his last three starts with only three days rest, when a starter normally receives four. That doesn’t seem like a big deal, but in today’s league it is. Sabathia is a free-agent after this season, and he just threw more than 400 pitches in the past two weeks. Right before an enormous payday, he risked arm injury and millions of dollars. Every time he was called upon, he pitched and did so quite well. Although he’s a pitcher, Sabathia shouldn’t win the Cy Young. He wasn’t the best pitcher in the NL all season, but there was no pitcher more valuable to his team this year than Sabathia. The Brewers are going to the playoffs for the first time since 1982, clinching the NL Wild Card on the last day in the season. Would they be going there without Sabathia? Once again, can’t actually say, but probably not. If baseball wants to reward the best player in each league, that’s fine. Create some other award, perhaps the Alexander E. Rodriguez Award of Excellence. Maybe the trophy can be a gold statue of a player majestically watching a home run he hit while there were no men on base and his team was trailing by seven. The best player in the league isn’t always the most valuable, and since you already included the word in the award’s title, just go with it. So there you have it, baseball. I’ve settled that debate for you. Since my opinion doesn’t matter, though, you can handle the other one: Manny or CC?