It’s the most wonderful time of the year. That’s right, the part of the summer when people… It’s the most wonderful time of the year. That’s right, the part of the summer when people start discussing the Most Valuable Player races in Major League Baseball.

There are names we’ve seen before, names we’ll see again and maybe names we’ll find in Cooperstown sometime down the road.

I’ll start (and finish) with the American League, because the National League MVP might as well be the Pacific Coast League MVP as far as I’m concerned.

As is the case every year, there are major debates over the importance of the player’s position (see David Ortiz, designated hitter), the contention of their teams in the playoff races, their durability throughout the season and the raw numbers.

Does the designated hitter even warrant comparison to the all-around players who play night in and night out, grinding through the season?

Sure — if that designated hitter alters outcomes and the opponent’s strategy.

Ortiz — one of the five legitimate candidates for American League MVP — is exactly that kind of designated hitter. He changes games, weekends, even months, when he is hot.

But he doesn’t field unless the Red Sox are playing interleague games, and that scares a lot of potential voters away from choosing him as MVP. Yet the American League’s most prominent power hitter tops the major leagues with 46 home runs and 120 RBIs. Heck, he’s even scored 97 runs.

Whenever he has a chance in big situations, he becomes the most clutch hitter in baseball. His presence alone has helped Manny Ramirez see more fastballs and hit with less pressure, something the Red Sox have wanted for Ramirez for a long time.

But then there’s Derek Jeter, all around the most complete player in baseball. He has tools that make a manager drool — he plays with heart and leadership, hits in the clutch, fields with the best of them and rarely misses games.

Jeter carried the Yankees through the roughest times, holding true to his role of captain. Hitting .334, good for second in the American League, he has driven in 78 runs while stealing 26 bases.

His case for American League MVP is different from Ortiz’s nemesis last year, Alex Rodriguez, because Jeter isn’t a big power guy, but he plays every game as if it were his last. He steals bases, gets dirty in the field and fist-pumps like it’s his job.

If Jeter isn’t gritty enough for you, meet Joe Mauer. Born in Minnesota, Mauer is the Twins’ homegrown hero. The 23-year-old stud leads the American League in batting average, hitting a whopping .360, as of Saturday.

Mauer has smacked 29 doubles and four triples while driving in 73 runs. The 6-foot-4 catcher has caught 112 games for the wild card-leading Twins. Do I even need to mention that he catches a top Cy Young contender and a Rookie of the Year frontrunner?

Rivaling Mauer is Jermaine Dye, the anchor in the Chicago White Sox lineup. He’s tallied 37 homers, 99 RBIs and 26 doubles with a month left in the season. And he provides quality tools as an outfielder, making him a fantastic all-around player.

But like Mauer, Dye’s name doesn’t carry the same weight as players like Ortiz and Jeter. When Dye won World Series MVP last year, casual baseball fans were left scratching their heads.

The same problem applies to Justin Morneau, who, despite his gaudy numbers, plays in a relatively small market with Mauer and the Twins. Morneau combines his strong fielding at first base with a powerful bat, knocking 32 homers and 27 doubles while collecting 110 RBIs.

With Mauer, Dye and Morneau presenting awfully good cases for MVP, I still believe the vote will come down to Ortiz and Jeter. And because Jeter will make the playoffs and plays a field position, the scale tips in his direction.

The rock of the Yankees deserves the award. Ortiz has put in some tremendous work for the Red Sox since 2003, but when position players deliver stellar seasons in both fielding and hitting, Big Papi just can’t win MVP.

Jeff Greer is a diehard Red Sox fan who can’t believe he just wrote a column vouching for Derek Jeter as American League MVP. E-mail him at [email protected] and tell him your choice for AL MVP.