Will Sizemore’s 40/40 run bring MVP votes?
Written By: Mike | Category: Cleveland Indians | Comments: 13This year Sizemore matters more than any player in the American League. Forget the team’s record. From in individual standpoint he may be the best player in the AL this year and has a realistic shot at a 40/40 season with MVP votes a real possibility. Is this for real or is this just another dream?
Ok, one thing at a time and yes, that was a lame 80’s-ish music reference above. In my defense, I am blaming my post-weekend shakes. Ok…not very defensible. Moving on now.
Grady Sizemore took another big step forward in his attempt to become just the fifth player to ever have a 40-homer-40-steal season by hitting his 30th and 31st homers on Monday night in Detroit. He is now the second Indians player, along with Joe Carter, to go 30/30 in a season. Sizemore needs nine more homers and six more steals in the Indians final 32 games to hit the 40/40 mark.
In the months of May, June and July, Sizemore had homer totals of 7, 9 and 8; so 40 is a realistic possibility. Sizemore has also averaged about seven steals per month this season. I would say that barring an injury or a total collapse in production, Sizemore should have a great look at joining Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alfonso Soriano and Alex Rodriguez into the 40/40 club.
That being said, would that be enough to garner Sizemore some MVP votes? Well, for those of you who are aware of the statistic known as VORP (Value Over Replacement Player), Sizemore is right at the top of the AL in individual production. In fact, Sizemore’s only AL rivals in the category at the moment are Alex Rodriguez and Ian Kinsler.
Of course, VORP isn’t the first statistic that most of the cranky old members of the BBWAA who vote for the awards look for, which is a shame considering the stat does give a pretty accurate look at who the top hitters are this year. I’m sure they’ll most likely turn to another viable AL Central candidate like Carlos Quentin of the White Sox. Writers are funny about voting for players on first place teams. Would it even matter if the Indians maintain their run and finish in third place?
Let’s just hope those same writers don’t ignore the feats of Sizemore who is putting up great numbers while playing in a line up that has been extremely disappointing this year. Would Quentin have the season he’s having while hitting between the mighty Jamey Carroll and Asdrubal Cabrera on many nights? Probably not, but we already know Sizemore can.
C’mon writers…think outside the bun and vote Sizemore.
Agreed.
As do I. It’s just a shame that this whole MVP thing turned into a sham where it’s the best player on the best team. Basketball’s even worse…
In 2001, Alex Rodriguez hit .318/.399/.622 with 52 home runs, 135 RBI and 18 stolen bases. MVP? Ichiro Suzuki on the 116-win Mariners.
2002? A-Rod hit .300/.392/.623 with 57 home runs, 142 RBI and nine bags. Your MVP? Miguel Tejada on the 103-win A’s where he went 7-for-10 over the last four games, vaulting Oakland into the playoffs. For the year, he hit .308 with 34 home runs. Weeeeee…
Not to kick my dead horse, but one award is DEFINITELY a lock:
Gutierrez is coasting in for the “Karim Garcia Memorial Award” for an August/September performance that has no bearing on the team’s finish, and will convince the team brass that he’s turned a corner and is a core, every-day player, while I suspect he’s still not.
I get into the debate (especially during the NBA season) with friends about what the MVP award recognizes. I think that giving it to the best player on the best team isn’t always the wrong move and I certainly don’t think it should be based on stats alone.
MVP should go to who is making the greatest contribution to a successful team (which would rule Grady out this year). A team in first place probably wouldn’t be there without their best player and it seems thats where alot of the MVP votes end up going, or to a player that carried a team to success on his shoulders.
Either way its good to see a silver lining to this dismal indians’ season, especially after the high expectations going in. If he does finish 40/40 then maybe Grady will pick up a few votes as a nod to a fantastic young player, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get overlooked.
Hoy
haha. Great call. Totally agree.
Gutierrez is coasting in for the “Karim Garcia Memorial Award” for an August/September performance that has no bearing on the team’s finish, and will convince the team brass that he’s turned a corner and is a core, every-day player, while I suspect he’s still not.
Grady will definitely get a few of the lower-end MVP votes, but there’s no chance he places in the top 3. The writers will already think they’re being charitable towards the underperforming Indians by voting for Cliff for Cy Young, and the MVP award is traditionally even more biased towards players on winning teams.
Unfortunately history shows that even if Sizemore accomplishes the 40/40 feat, he still won’t get the MVP. Reference the 4 times other times it’s been done and the only one to earn MVP was from a 1st place team (Canseco)….
1988- Jose Canseco: 42HR, 40SB. A’s Record: 104-58. AL MVP: Canseco.
1996- Barry Bonds: 42HR, 40SB. Giants Record: 68-94. NL MVP: Ken Caminiti.
1998- A-Rod: 42HR, 46SB. Mariners Record: 76-85. AL MVP: Juan Gonzalez.
2006- Alfonso Soriano: 46HR, 41SB. Nat’s Record: 71-91. NL MVP: Sammy Sosa.
@Nicko: I wouldn’t say that it has no impact on our finish, as we could be nearing .500 sometime soon – as awful as that sounds.
@Matt: That’s a heckuva lot of ‘roids in that comment box…
@Scott: Agreed. Should Sizemore’s accomplishment mean more since he did it in the “post performance enhancing” ERA?
There’s an issue of market, too, I think. Witness that there was even a debate about CC’s Cy Young last year because he had one less win than Beckett, despite leading him in every other category. Need I remind you where Beckett plays?
Grady will get some votes from the Jayson Stark-types of the world who really spend the time to break down the numbers and their relevence, but that will be about it.
You guys all know that Grady is hitting .271 this year, right?
Yeah Tim, that is the kicker…..271…He went in to that huge slump after the All Star break that he only just recently emerged from. I love Grady, but there is no way he finishes anywhere near the top in MVP race. You have to bat at least .300 in my book to start the discussion.
Tim-
Yea, he’s hitting .271, but so what? He has on OBP of .382 heading into Tuesday night’s game and has a SLG% of .532 while also looking to become a rarity in being a leadoff hitter with over 100 RBI. Also, he’s looking at another Gold Glove and throw in the above and you have an MVP canidate in a year when there is no obvious choice in the AL at the moment…especially if the team stays red hot and finishes with a respectable record.