Why is A-Rod considered the front runner in the MVP race??? any reason other than his team is in the playoffs

Question

Stat / Maglio / A-Rod
Avg. .359 (1) .309 (13)
Hits 211 (2) 178 (16)
Runs 116 (5) 140 (1)
RBI 136 (2) 151 (1)
2B 52 (1) 30 (43)
HR 28 (7) 53 (1)

(#) = AL Ranking

I say Magglio...what do you guys think?

additional stats

Stat / Mags / A-Rod
OBP .430 .418
BB 75 93
K's 79 118

I don't really want to hear about ESPN style stats...that's like saying "Brett Favre is undefeated when playing at home on a Sunday night when it snowed two days before and the game time tempearature is 12 degrees warmer than it was last week"

Answer 1

Honestly, you could make a legitimate case for either of those two to be A.L. MVP. In my opinion Magglio is the more valuable player to his team especially if you consider the Yankees would be an excellent team with or without Rodriguez, but AROD's power numbers can not be denied. I think the fact that AROD will be in the playoffs and Magglio will not be is probably the deciding factor that swings the majority of votes towards him but both of these guys are deserving.

Answer 2

If it was only about numbers you could assign a weighting factor to all the categories and let the computer pick the winner. At 309-53-151 A-Rod's numbers speak for themselves but even more impressive is the fact that A-Rod alone carried the team in April and May and was the major reason the Yankees were able to hang in there until the team started playing better. The MVP goes to the player that makes the most significant impact for his team when compared to other players on other teams and A-Rod is the guy.

Answer 3

To give credence to my answer, I hate the Yankees.

While the numbers between A-Rod and Ordonez are about equal, the Yankees did make the playoffs.

And when the Yankees started out 21-29, A-Rod was the only player hitting in the clutch. I distinctly remember three walk-off homers in April and May.

While Ordonez may compete in the future, A-Rod is hands-down the AL MVP!

Answer 4

AROD is considered a front runner for the AL MVP because his numbers are extremely impressive...not because his team is in the playoffs,remember,theyve been saying hes MVP all year,including when the Yankees were 8 games under .500...so i dont think it has to do with the teams accomplishment. He leads the majors in HR and RBIs and runs scored so i guess thats what counts the most.HE has had many game winning home runs this year, and has carried the team to many of their victories...So id say AROD,sorry..

Answer 5

What Magglio is doing is quite spectacular as well but what A-rod is doing is just jaw dropping.


who has a higher RBI total and higher average with 2 outs and runners in scoring position?

whose a better clutch hitter? who's better at coming thru with timely hits in critical situations?

Who's team is going to the playoffs?

who has less help around him in the lineup?


THE ANSWER IS ALEX RODRIGUEZ

EDIT

well guess what the statistics I mentioned above ARE THE MAIN INDICATORS of what an MVP is

ALSO

Magglio Ordonez and the mighty Detroit Tigers were pretty much on top of the standings until July and they choked away their lead

The Yanks and their shitttty bullpen meanwhile kept them as much as dozen games (could be more) out of first place from their division and about 8 games from the wild card around June and now they BEAT DETROIT to win the wild card and are within striking distance of capturing the division lead

You tell me which team's best player deserves the MVP award?

Answer 6

He is leading the league in HR, Runs scored, RBI, decent average all for the Yankees the most publicized team.

I say why not give it to Magglio for a great year, either player would be a good choice for MVP. Plus now they factor in playoffs even though they say that they do not worry about the teams finish, it matters in voting, Yankees are playing in October and the Tigers are not.

Answer 7

"I don't really want to hear about ESPN style stats." Oh, so if you use cherry-picked statistics, it's fine, but the rest of us are forbidden?

I think we can all agree Ordonez has had a fine season. But let's not go nuts.

Mags has a higher on base percentage, but it's about a third of Rodriguez' edge in slugging.
But we'll keep it simple...Rodriguez has scored more runs, driven in more runs, created more runs, stolen more bases, while playing better defense at a more essential position for a team which is making the play-offs instead of failing to make them.

But you'll probably say the "best answer" is the one which agrees with you.

Answer 8

avg. and hits are will give roughly the same ranking for everyday players so you don't need to compare both.
Runs 1st vs. 5th
RBI 1st vs. 2nd
and would you rather have a player hit 50 doubles for your team or 50 home runs?
of course a-rod's doubles are fewer because almost a third of his hits are home runs.
add up the total bases for those stats you listed and you get:
Maggs - 216
A-rod - 272

so magglio gets his batting title and a-rod gets his team into the playoffs and wins mvp. it's barely debatable.

ALSO:

why are you even asking this question? you're just waiting for someone to agree with you and put magglio down. pull up as many idiotic stats as you want (.012 difference in OBP, take a look at OPS), this is one of the most cut-and-dry MVP awards out of all pro sports the past few years.

Answer 9

If it wasn't for A-Rod the Yankees would've never been in a position to come back. Aside from that, he's having a better season than Ordonez - and that's saying something. In almost any other year Ordonez would be MVP, but not 2007.

Answer 10

Why didn't you mention Maglio's 4 steals vs. A-Rods 24?

A-Rod is 5-tool. better defensively and more valuable to his team. he's the reason the yankees are not 25 games back.

i don't even like the yankees... but get real.