2009 SBNation Awards: MVP

by Al on Nov 12, 2009 8:00 AM CST in News Comment 28 comments

Mike Fontenot after a forceout of Albert Pujols in April at Wrigley Field.

No surprises here, at least not for me. I expected Albert Pujols to be the unanimous MVP among SBN voters, and he was.

The AL winner is the guy I would have chosen; you may be a bit surprised at the second-place finisher.

Points for MVP are awarded as follows: 14 points for a first-place vote, then 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 for 2nd through 10th place.

BCB ballots:

Al: 1) Albert Pujols 2) Ryan Howard 3) Prince Fielder 4) Chase Utley 
5) Pablo Sandoval 6) Adrian Gonzalez 7) Hanley Ramirez 
8) Troy Tulowitzki 9) Derrek Lee 10) Adam Dunn

Mike: 1) Albert Pujols 2) Ryan Howard 3) Hanley Ramirez 4) Troy Tulowitzki 
5) Prince Fielder 6) Tim Lincecum 7) Chase Utley 
8) Adam Wainwright 9) Raul Ibanez 10) Mark Reynolds

National League

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pts
1	Albert Pujols	St. Louis Cardinals	31	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	434
2	Hanley Ramirez	Florida Marlins	-	6	8	11	2	1	2	-	-	-	220
3	Chase Utley	Philadelphia Phillies	-	7	11	2	3	1	-	1	-	1	192
4	Prince Fielder	Milwaukee Brewers	-	5	4	4	7	7	1	-	-	-	186
5	Troy Tulowitzki	Colorado Rockies	-	4	1	5	2	3	3	4	1	2	134
6	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco Giants	-	4	1	-	1	2	2	3	1	-	79
7	Ryan Howard	Philadelphia Phillies	-	4	-	1	4	1	-	-	3	1	79
8	Ryan Zimmerman	Washington Nationals	-	-	1	3	3	3	3	1	-	2	79
9	Adrian Gonzalez	San Diego Padres	-	-	1	-	3	3	2	4	3	4	71
10	Pablo Sandoval	San Francisco Giants	-	-	-	1	2	2	2	3	4	3	57
11	Matt Kemp	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	1	1	1	1	5	3	-	1	56
12	Ryan Braun	Milwaukee Brewers	-	-	2	-	-	2	2	1	1	-	39
13	Chris Carpenter	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	-	2	1	1	-	1	2	25
14	Derrek Lee	Chicago Cubs	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	1	3	2	25
15	Andre Ethier	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	-	-	1	2	2	-	-	-	24
16	Adam Wainwright	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	1	4	1	23
17	Javier Vazquez	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	2	1	16
18	Matt Holliday	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	12
19	Joey Votto	Cincinnati Reds	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	11
20	Mark Reynolds	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	1	2	10
21	Todd Helton	Colorado Rockies	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	7
22	Jayson Werth	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	6
23	Adam Dunn	Washington Nationals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	3	5
24	Juan Pierre	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
25	Justin Upton	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
26	Raul Ibanez	Philadelphia Phillies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
27	Ubaldo Jimenez	Colorado Rockies	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	4
28	Brian McCann	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	4
29	Dan Haren	Arizona Diamondbacks	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	4
30	Michael Bourn	Houston Astros	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3
31	Yadier Molina	St. Louis Cardinals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	3
32	Nyjer Morgan	Washington Nationals	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
33	Yunel Escobar	Atlanta Braves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

American League

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pts
1	Joe Mauer	Minnesota Twins	24	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	371
2	Ben Zobrist	Tampa Bay Rays	-	10	6	2	2	1	-	1	-	-	172
3	Mark Teixeira	New York Yankees	2	3	2	4	3	2	7	1	-	-	158
4	Derek Jeter	New York Yankees	1	5	3	4	4	2	1	1	2	1	157
5	Evan Longoria	Tampa Bay Rays	-	2	4	1	2	3	2	3	2	1	106
6	Zack Greinke	Kansas City Royals	2	3	2	1	1	-	2	-	-	-	92
7	Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	-	-	3	1	2	4	-	2	-	5	74
8	Kevin Youkilis	Boston Red Sox	-	2	-	-	1	3	1	8	1	-	69
9	Chone Figgins	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	3	4	1	-	1	3	1	60
10	Jason Bay	Boston Red Sox	-	1	-	4	2	-	-	1	-	2	54
11	Kendry Morales	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	4	-	-	1	-	-	1	-	39
12	Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle Mariners	-	-	1	-	2	-	1	2	2	3	37
13	Franklin Gutierrez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	1	1	1	3	-	1	2	34
14	Justin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	-	-	-	2	1	1	1	-	1	1	32
15	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	3	2	-	31
16	Jason Bartlett	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	1	22
17	Alex Rodriguez	New York Yankees	-	-	1	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	18
18	Roy Halladay	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	-	16
19	Adam Lind	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	4	16
20	Dustin Pedroia	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	4	1	13
21	Bobby Abreu	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	-	12
22	Aaron Hill	Toronto Blue Jays	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	-	-	12
23	Mariano Rivera	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1	1	9
24	Torii Hunter	Los Angeles Angels	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
25	Brian Roberts	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	7
26	CC Sabathia	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	6
27	Carl Crawford	Tampa Bay Rays	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	1	6
28	J.D. Drew	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
29	Jon Lester	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
30	Jonathan Papelbon	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
31	Robinson Cano	New York Yankees	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
32	Victor Martinez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	5
33	Michael Cuddyer	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
34	Shin-Soo Choo	Cleveland Indians	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
35	Michael Young	Texas Rangers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	3
36	Jacoby Ellsbury	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
37	Jason Kubel	Minnesota Twins	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2
38	Alex Gonzalez	Boston Red Sox	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
39	Nick Markakis	Baltimore Orioles	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

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Comments

From the picture, I thought it was Fontenot

Hey, a guy can dream, right?

Mauer definitely deserves the nod in the AL. Jeter would be my number two. Excellent years for both, but take into account that Mauer missed time at the beginning of the year and doesn’t play every day. To put up those numbers is astounding

"If I were playing third base and my mother were rounding third with the run that was going to beat us, I'd trip her. Oh, I'd pick her up and brush her off and say, 'Sorry, Mom,' but nobody beats me." ~ Leo Durocher

by Musicdude10 on Nov 12, 2009 8:20 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Not to mention that Mauer is a plus defensive catcher.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Nov 12, 2009 8:30 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Haven't you heard, Jeter is a Gold Glove shortstop!

groan

by madcow256 on Nov 12, 2009 9:23 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

he had a good defensive year in '09 by any metric you like

by cubsforever on Nov 14, 2009 5:31 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

andrus was better imo

"hey

by jesus christos on Nov 14, 2009 11:21 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Only one Cub listed (D-Lee). Guess that tells you all you need to know about how this past season went...

Now only 12,859 on the "Cubs Season Tickets Waiting List"...

by Zeke on Nov 12, 2009 8:42 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Tulo...

Surprised he was so low on your ballot Al. And overall I am bit surprised he isn’t higher. He is the heart and soul of the Rockies.

In Heaven there is no beer, That's why we drink it here, and when were gone from here, all our friends will be drinking all our beer!!

by By Santo's Grace on Nov 12, 2009 9:02 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I love the guy

But I had him outside the top 10. I;m willing to bet the BBWAA has him as high as 3rd or 4th.

by backtocali on Nov 12, 2009 11:54 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I would agree

He had a monster year…I would be surprised if he doesn’t finish higher than Fielder and Utley.

In Heaven there is no beer, That's why we drink it here, and when were gone from here, all our friends will be drinking all our beer!!

by By Santo's Grace on Nov 12, 2009 12:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Mauer is amazing.

He still has a few years of getting better in front of him, I suspect, provided he can stay healthy.

Will the Twins be able to afford him going forward?

by MN exile on Nov 12, 2009 9:18 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

When is Posada retiring?

by rlpete on Nov 12, 2009 9:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The Twins will re-sign Mauer.

First of all, they have already started contract extension talks. Second, “hometown discount” is a literal statement with Mauer — he grew up there and always wanted to play for his hometown team.

There’s the one guy they absolutely cannot afford to lose. With a new stadium providing some extra revenue next year, they should be able to get this done.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Nov 13, 2009 7:25 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I really hope you are right

I root for the Twins just because they are a small market team that usually does it right. If you calculated the wins per salary dollar for the last 10 seasons, I’d bet the Twins would be at the top.

by rlpete on Nov 13, 2009 8:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

If each SBN blog got two votes and Albert was unanimous...

…how did he end up with an odd number of votes (31)?

Did someone turn in an empty ballot as protest? Has the BBWAA mentality crept down into the SBN world? Does someone’s voting privileges need to be revoked? It’s a conspiracy, I tell you, a conspiracy! I bet Bud Lite is behind it!

Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."

by ballhawk on Nov 12, 2009 10:02 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Apparently, some people didn't return their ballots.

There should have been 34 — 2 for each of the teams and 2 from “Beyond the Boxscore”.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Nov 12, 2009 10:39 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

We submitted one ballot per league, fyi.

Beyond the Boxscore Not a member? Sign up.

by Sky Kalkman on Nov 16, 2009 8:50 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Actually, 34 isn't right, either.

32 total ballots, 2 for each team, and 2 from Beyond the Boxscore, and if BtB returned one per league, that accounts for the 31 votes for Pujols.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Nov 16, 2009 9:32 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

There are some strange votes on the NL side

Juan Pierre got one, as did Nyjer Morgan, and Michael Bourne. What up with that?

Every player should be accorded the privilege of at least one season with the Chicago Cubs. That's baseball as it should be played - in God's own sunshine. And that's really living."

by DC Cubbie on Nov 12, 2009 10:13 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I couldn't figure those out either.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Nov 12, 2009 10:39 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Even though

He was hurt for a large part of the last two months, Im a little surprised Morgan didnt get more love. There was a time that he was top 5 I think in WAR. He was still the highest WAR guy among outfielders.

by backtocali on Nov 12, 2009 11:57 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

4.9 WAR for the season

Pretty impressive considering the teams he was on.

by madcow256 on Nov 12, 2009 12:02 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The teams he was on don't make it easier or harder to accumulate WAR

WAR is quite independent of your team, no RBI or R or any of that — you might get fewer PA playing for a poor offensive squad, but the amount there is not enough to really kill your WAR.

I don’t like to take a WAR number at face value for a guy like Morgan, given that such a large component of it is UZR and UZR can fluctuate so much year-to-year. 4.9 WAR is our best estimate for Morgan’s contributions this past season, but we’ll have a better idea how good his defense really is if he gets a few more seasons of full-time starting in.

by aldimond on Nov 13, 2009 1:29 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the info

by madcow256 on Nov 13, 2009 3:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Joey Votto got a 3rd place vote....

Sounds like a little homerism.

Nobody cares about your fantasy baseball team

by carmen_fanzone on Nov 12, 2009 2:08 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Not entirely shocked by Zobrist...

…seeing that these votes come from people who actually follow baseball and understand players’ real value (that is to say, compared to the writers). Zobrist had the most valuable season in 2009 according to the stat “Wins Above Replacement” or WAR at 8.6, compared to Pujols’ 8.4. Sure it’s sort of a bullshit stat, but because of his outstanding defense at almost any position in the field, he’s an extremely valuable player to the Rays.

Comparing another utility guy, Mark DeRosa to Zobrist is probably more fair. To put Zobrist’s season in perspective, DeRo had a 3.8 WAR in his outstanding 2008.

Proud recipient of a hot dog shot from the Iowa Cubs hot dog gun.

by IowaCubs- on Nov 12, 2009 10:19 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Ryan Howard

I can’t agree with the second place vote for Howard. Glad to see the rest of SBN giving Utley, Ramirez and Tulo the love they deserve.

by cliff on Nov 12, 2009 12:44 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

Pablo Sandoval

Quite simply, the best damned young talent in baseball that nobody ever talks about. Sandoval is a very special player in the making. I dare say he could become a reasonable fascimile of Albert Pujols some day. Watch Sandoval in 2010. You will be blown away on just how good a hitter he is. And a good 3rd baseman too.

"Cubs will win 79 to 83 games." BLou (7/21/09)

by BLou on Nov 12, 2009 9:33 PM CST reply actions 0 recs