Should pitchers be eligible for the MVP? How about Designated Hitters?

Question

I say no because they're both part-time players.

What do you think?

Answer 1

I've always said NO!!! Pitchers have the Cy Young award which is essentially the most value pitcher in baseball. As far as the DH is concerned, personally I wish the American League would get rid of it. It hurts the game. DH's are not complete players and should NEVER be considered for the MVP award. Paul Molitor is the only DH in the hall of fame and I have a problem with that.

Answer 2

Personally, I say yes to DH's but not pitchers. First, let me explain why I think pitchers shouldn't be eligible: They have thir own award, the Cy Young Award, which is essentially awarded to the best pitcher. Pitchers are usually the most important players on the field at any given time, so the winner of the Cy Young Award would almost be guaranteed a second award. Making pitchers ineligible would give hitters a chance at winning it.

Now for DH's: Designated hitters should be eligible because if they hit very well and in timely situations, they could be most valuable to their team. However, I think that the standards for them should be much higher.
Let me give you an example: Let's say that a DH has a season where he bats .400, gets 150 RBI's, and hits 45 HR's. Such a performance would definately be worthy of the MVP Award. However, if a shortstop, during the same season, hit .390, gets 140 RBI's, hits 40 HR's, and had a good year defensively, the SS would deserve the award.
Basically, what I am saying is that a DH should be eligible, but his hitting must be good enough to make up for his lack of defensive contributions.

Answer 3

They should both be eligible. I think a DH would have to seriously dominate, I'm talking at least a triple crown, to win an MVP. An ace on the pitching staff that has a great year can almost single handedl get a team to the playoffs. A season with 22 + wins and an ERA hovering around the low twos should certainly get a pitcher MVP recognition. That doesn't mean they should win it necessarily, but at least be in the running. A solid pitcher like that also gives the team a great chance at the winning the two games he is going to start in a playoff series.

Answer 4

DH's should not be able to win the MVP. Pitchers on the other, are and should be. And no, the Cy Young Award is given to the best pitcher based more on compared personal statistics so don't get it twisted. MVP is Most Valuable Player to their team which means any player can win it excluding DH's because of their limited capabilities. They get to sit on their fat a$$es and watch the rest of their team contribute defensively and risk injuries, why should they be deserving enough to win the MVP when all they do is step into the box 3 or 4 times a game and take some swings. No way.

Answer 5

Yes, all players are eligible, and yes, that's the way it should be.

Just because a (starting) pitcher only pitches every fifth game or so, it doesn't mean that he can't be as valuable as an 'everyday' player. A great starting pitcher can easily have five times the impact on a game he starts than your average everyday player would have.

Also, a good starting pitcher who is durable might be involved in a thousand confrontations with hitters during a season, whereas an everyday player MIGHT have 700-750 plate appearances, if he hits near the top of the order and gets on base enough.

The fact that a pitcher can have 5x the impact on games he starts, plus the fact that a good and durable pitcher can be involved in upwards of 1,000 confrontations with hitters means that a pitcher has just as much impact on a season as an every day player...but, as previous answers pointed out, a pitcher would have to have a truly spectacular year (with no hitters having ungodly years as well) in order to have a shot at an MVP award.

Answer 6

They are eligible, but like you I don't think a pitcher should win unless it's a very-very rare circumstance. If a pitcher wins 30 games and has an ERA under 2 then get back with me.

A DH is half a player. The award if for the most valuable player not most valuable hitter.

>"David Ortiz is a decent fielder too"< >He has the range of a stump, and since 2004 has "played" in 54 games at first in those 54 games he has made 8 errors. I highly doubt he played 9 innings in most of those games. He would kill the Sox defensively if he were out there every day.

Answer 7

Pitchers should be eligible, but only because the award is for "Most Valuable Player", not "Most Valuable Non-Pitcher".

Designated hitters should also be eligible because the award is for "Most Valuable Player", not "Most Valuable Hitter and Fielder".

That being said, it will take a lot for a pitcher or DH to win the award. Johan Santana has an outside chance of winning the award this season because Francisco Liriano is out for at least a year, and the rest of the staff is composed of journeymen (Carlos Silva and the other veteran in their rotation) and less-dominant youngsters (Boof Bonser and Matt Garza), so if the Twins repeat as division champs, he could take the award away from teammates Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.

Likewise, David Ortiz, Travis "Pronk" Hafner, and Jim Thome need to lead their clubs to the postseason to merit serious consideration, although Thome would probably lose most (if not all) of his votes to teammate Jermaine Dye if Dye put up similar #s.

The award shouldn't go to a vastly-overrated POS like Derek Jeter, but if none of the above-mentioned players wins the AL's trophy, he will. At least all of the frontrunners in the NL (Howard, Pujols, Reyes, and Beltran, to list some) are deserving candidates.

Answer 8

Both pitchers and designated hitters are already eligible for the MVP award. However, the designated hitter is at a signifigant disadvantage when it comes to winning.

Whereas pitchers are out on the field as much as the rest of the team, the designated hitter is out on the field for, at the most, about 20 or 30 minutes. When you consider the average baseball game as of late lasts around three hours (or more), this is more of a "part-time" position than any other on the field.

Answer 9

A pitcher would have to have a dominate season and carry his team into the playoffs and eventual world series to have any chance. Its also made harder because there is a special trophy for pitchers, the Cy Young. So giving them the MVP is a moot point.

I agree with the DH's. They mainly sit on the bench until its their turn to play. And there are every year players who are not only fine hitters, but excellent defensive players as well.

Answer 10

DH should and are eligible for MVP. The only two DHs I think have a shot at MVP are David Ortiz and Travis Hafner. Ortiz usually every year finishes in the top 5 for MVP candidates. Also, some people may not know this but, Ortiz is a decent fielder too.

Pitchers have there own MVP trophy called the "Cy Young". It is for the pitcher who played the best and was most valuable to his team just like the late-great Cyclone himself. The award is named after Cy Young because he has the most wins recorded as a pitcher, 508. See so they are eligible for a MVP just one in a pitchers category.