2011 SB Nation Awards: National League MVP

by Al Yellon on Nov 11, 2011 12:00 PM CST in MLB News

Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers warms up on deck during the Major League Baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. The Dodgers defeated the Diamondbacks 7-5. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Today, SB Nation announces that Matt Kemp of the Dodgers wins the SB Nation NL MVP over the Brewers' Ryan Braun. Either one was, in my opinion, a legitimate choice.

For the second year in a row, no Cubs were harmed in the creation of the BCB ballots, or, for that matter, the final vote. This should come as no surprise to any of you. We voted for the top 10 and points are given on a 14-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

BCB ballots:

Al:

Braun, Kemp, Votto, Fielder, Pujols, Berkman, Halladay, Reyes, Tulowitzki, Morse

Mike:

Braun, Kemp, Fielder, Upton, Halladay, C. Lee, Tulowitzki, Votto, Kershaw, McCutchen

Complete voting after the jump. This concludes our week-long series of SB Nation award balloting.

Rank	Name	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Total
1	Matt Kemp	21	5	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	353
2	Ryan Braun	7	19	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	285
3	Joey Votto	-	-	8	7	6	3	-	4	-	-	176
4	Justin Upton	-	1	7	3	3	5	1	-	3	1	140
5	Prince Fielder	-	2	3	4	2	1	5	1	4	1	119
6	Troy Tulowitzki	-	-	-	3	1	3	5	7	3	2	91
7	Jose Reyes	-	-	-	1	2	5	7	3	1	3	86
8	Roy Halladay	-	1	5	3	1	-	1	1	1	-	85
9	Clayton Kershaw	-	-	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	-	56
10	Albert Pujols	-	-	-	1	3	2	2	1	1	3	51
11	Lance Berkman	-	-	-	1	2	2	-	3	2	2	44
12	Shane Victorino	-	-	-	1	1	1	3	1	3	2	41
13	Cliff Lee	-	-	-	-	3	1	1	-	3	-	33
14	Andrew McCutchen	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	3	2	3	26
15	Pablo Sandoval	-	-	-	2	-	-	-	1	1	-	19
16	Brandon Phillips	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	1	1	2	17
17	Matt Holliday	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	1	-	12
18	Mike Morse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	2	5
19	Carlos Beltran	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	4
19	Mike Stanton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	2	4
21	Ryan Roberts	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2
22	Ian Kennedy	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
22	Hunter Pence	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
22	Raul Ibanez	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

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Comments

No Carlos Zambrano?

Shame on you, voters. Shame on y… oh, “V” stands for valuable, not volatile? My bad.

"We push bunt, we squeeze bunt, we hit and run, we steal home!" - Larry Cox on the 1989 NL East Champion Chicago Cubs

by PacificCub on Nov 11, 2011 12:11 PM CST reply actions

Is that Uncle Fester batting?

♪ He held me very tight under stars so bright and whispered darlin' "Who do you love tonight?" I told him "baseball, baseball...." ♫

by katie casey on Nov 11, 2011 12:27 PM CST reply actions

Mike voted for C. Lee, that's Carlos Lee right?

Just kidding of course.

by Dustin0224 on Nov 11, 2011 2:32 PM CST reply actions

Yeah, Kemp was way better than Braun this year.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Nov 11, 2011 2:45 PM CST reply actions

"Way" better?

Better? Maybe. But not “way” better.

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by Al Yellon on Nov 11, 2011 2:49 PM CST up reply actions

Way better.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Nov 11, 2011 3:51 PM CST up reply actions

Sorry, no.

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by Al Yellon on Nov 11, 2011 4:09 PM CST up reply actions

No apology necessary, yes.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Nov 11, 2011 4:11 PM CST up reply actions

If it were the "NL WAR Award"

… I’d agree with you.

But it’s not.

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by Al Yellon on Nov 11, 2011 4:59 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah, it's "Valuable"....so Dan's still right.

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.

by santoswoodenlegs on Nov 11, 2011 5:29 PM CST up reply actions

"Valuable" can be defined in many ways.

It’s still not the “NL WAR Award”.

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by Al Yellon on Nov 12, 2011 7:00 AM CST up reply actions

By almost every measurable statistic Matt Kemp was better, way better.

Kemp had the 68th greatest bWAR ever.

Kemp had the 230th greatest fWAR ever.

I find it asinine when the “bbbbuuut he wasn’t on a good team!” argument is brought up. I’m assuming that’s going to be your retort. It’s not Kemp’s fault his team sucked (albeit, they were still over .500), it’s not his fault his team’s owners are rich, crazy, horrible owners. Kemp played a premium position, demonstrated all five tools, and led the NL in the following:

RUNS
HOME RUNS
RBI
OPS+
TOTAL BASES

If the point of the MVP is to award the player that helped his player the most, the player with the better statistics is exactly the definition of a better player. Furthermore, your stance is clearly in the minority, as demonstrated by the thrice greater of voters that awarded Kemp first place votes over Braun.

Dan

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Nov 12, 2011 12:45 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs

Ur stance...

is WAY better..not just better. I agree better..disagree on WAY better.

Kyle

Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser. --Vince Lombardi

by KS_Cub4Life on Nov 12, 2011 4:54 PM CST up reply actions

Rec

by alkappy on Nov 13, 2011 1:02 AM CST up reply actions

But a logical argument can be made

that a player who has a great year for a bad team (like Kemp this season, or Banks in the late 1950s) should get less consideration that the best player on a winning team. I am not saying I buy that argument, but just how valuable was Kemp? Without him, the Dodgers still suck, but without Braun or Fielder, the Brewers probably don’t make the playoffs. Looking at it that way, Braun and Fielder were clearly more valuable, stats be darned.

So maybe Kemp was better, but he might not have been more valuable.

I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren

by lookingdeadred on Nov 13, 2011 9:36 AM CST up reply actions

Then Braun or Fielder should be the Brewers MVP.

This award is called the National League MVP. To me, that means who is the most valuable player to the National League. Not any one team, but for the whole league. And IMO that puts more emphasis on the individual stats and less on how his team did.

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

by ballhawk on Nov 13, 2011 1:43 PM CST up reply actions

With Kemp the Dodgers' season was a failure

without him it would have been a failure, so how valuable was he really? At best he helped his team suck less, whereas the Brewers do not make the playoffs without Braun or Fielder.

I am not saying this is how voters should weigh their vote, but I have no doubt many do. It does say most valuable, and to be blunt, Kemp was less valuable than either Braun or Fielder. Actually I hope Kemp wins as he had the best season, even if it was not the most valuable.

I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren

by lookingdeadred on Nov 14, 2011 8:06 AM CST up reply actions

Right. I agree with what you've said.

Voting by those standards, however, and awards would certainly result in MVPs that are only from the best teams, not necessarily the best players. I don’t know what is with this propensity to award MVPs that are on the best team, but then turn around and give the Cy Young to whoeverthehell is the best pitcher. To me the Cy is for the best pitcher, the MVP for the best position player. Almost nobody disagrees that the Cy Young is for the best pitcher—it is. That’s what the award is for. But all of a sudden, you throw “Valuable” in the mix, and now we huff and puff about what the hell the ambiguous word “Valuable” means. Does it mean best? Does it mean playoff team?

Winning teams (read: playoffs teams) have handfuls of players that get them to the playoffs, not just one. MVP and Cy Young awards keep fledging teams with seats in the ballpark; see Zach Greinke just two years ago. I guess what I’m saying is that it makes no sense to me to diminish a player’s season simply because he was on a crappy team; it’s not his fault, and wholly out of his control.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Nov 13, 2011 5:21 PM CST up reply actions

Because it is called the "most valuable player"

how valuable can anyone be on a bad team? If you helped a team win something (Braun and Fielder), you are much more valuable. If your team failed to win (Kemp’s Dodgers), you could not have been all that valuable. There is a difference between most outstanding player and most valuable. I am not saying that is how all voters think, but I suspect some maybe even many do.

I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren

by lookingdeadred on Nov 14, 2011 8:02 AM CST up reply actions

It's not an objective award.

If the award were called “Player of the Year” — sure, then it would be Kemp.

But it is “Most Valuable Player”. And one of the voting guidelines specifically states that value to the team is a criterion.

It’s not the “Best WAR Award”. It requires subjective judgment.

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by Al Yellon on Nov 14, 2011 8:13 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs

Rec

Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser. --Vince Lombardi

by KS_Cub4Life on Nov 14, 2011 3:31 PM CST up reply actions

I agree...

and Kemp is still more deserving than Braun.

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.

by santoswoodenlegs on Nov 14, 2011 3:34 PM CST up reply actions

Maybe.

But I think you can make a legitimate argument for Braun.

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by Al Yellon on Nov 14, 2011 4:10 PM CST up reply actions

Go ahead and make an argument for him then...

but use facts and stuff.

As I've told you before, I never repeat myself.

by santoswoodenlegs on Nov 14, 2011 6:03 PM CST up reply actions

plenty have been made

just because you don’t like them does not mean they have not been made.

I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren

by lookingdeadred on Nov 15, 2011 7:50 AM CST up reply actions

Nobody's making it a WAR award, Al.

Did anybody say that? If your only argument against Kemp is that you don’t like statistics and all his statistics are clearly—not close, but CLEARLY better—then it’s not much of an argument.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Nov 14, 2011 5:34 PM CST up reply actions

but that is the basis of your argument

why try to deny it?

I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren

by lookingdeadred on Nov 15, 2011 7:49 AM CST up reply actions

I ::think:: you've been playing devil's advocate here, but I don't know.

My argument is not that statistics are the end-all, be-all. If you think that’s my point you’re missing it. My point is that to discredit a guy’s season simply because he was on a shitty team—something that’s completely out of his control—is wrong. If this was a case of two guys that were real, real close and it wasn’t obvious who the better player was, then I’m all for using a team analysis to give the award to Braun. But this isn’t one of those situations.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Nov 15, 2011 7:16 PM CST up reply actions

You do oversell stats IMO

Stats are the whole basis of your pro-Kemp position. You think Kemp deserves the award because his numbers are better. That is your argument.

I would prefer Kemp get the award but will not be the least bit surprised to see one of the Brewers win it. Braun in particular is very deserving even if Kemp had better numbers. Braun was more vaulable. Is that fair to Kemp? No, but the award does say most valuable, and to be blunt, Kemp was not as valuable as Braun or Fielder.

I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren

by lookingdeadred on Nov 17, 2011 8:11 AM CST up reply actions

Not better at being a D-bag

But I’d take him on the Cubs in a heartbeat!

by Mapmaker on Nov 11, 2011 2:55 PM CST up reply actions

In my mind it's no contest either

Kemp by a long shot

by alkappy on Nov 12, 2011 8:40 AM CST up reply actions

leaving aside the fact that the Dodgers sucked (which maybe makes it more impressive)

Kemp was massively more valuable.

by PrincetonCubs on Nov 12, 2011 4:57 PM CST up reply actions

82-79

so probably more mediocre than sucked. Now if you were talking about management I’d agree with you! :)

Dodger Sims | Twitter | Xei On Sports

by Xeifrank on Nov 12, 2011 10:01 PM CST up reply actions

man

shows how much attention I was paying to NL West standings over the last month or so..definitely more mediocre than sucked.

by PrincetonCubs on Nov 13, 2011 11:07 AM CST up reply actions

Yeah.

The Dodgers were 34-20 after August 1 — surprisingly good finish given all the distractions around the team.

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by Al Yellon on Nov 13, 2011 12:25 PM CST up reply actions

i'm curious as to who voted for kemp in the 5th round

THEOOOOOOOOO (and Hoyer)

by jesus christos on Nov 11, 2011 4:54 PM CST reply actions

Great question

Check this out. Gaslamp Ball made a mockery out of the NL Cy Young and MVP voting. They let one of their readers cast their ballot and she picked the two following criteria to make her vote (cuteness of the players and hating any Dodgers players). Gaslamp Ball voted Kershaw 5th in the CY Young and Kemp 5th in the MVP. Read their blog post linked to above where they explain their reasoning. Stuff like this makes it more difficult for SBN blogs to gain street credibility.

Dodger Sims | Twitter | Xei On Sports

by Xeifrank on Nov 11, 2011 11:38 PM CST up reply actions

Starlin was no darlin'?

Heck…without him, Cubs mighta finished flat-out-last… :]

There are no facts, only interpretations.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Lets Go Theo!!! 10/13/2011

by jeffstorm2 on Nov 11, 2011 5:34 PM CST reply actions

Agreed.

Pretty unbelievable that RAUL IBANEZ got a vote but the Star didn’t.

88, 32, 7, 21, 17, 31

by carmelsown on Nov 14, 2011 12:51 PM CST up reply actions

Okay...

Who gave a ballot to the Philly Fanatic…Raul Ibanez…really.

"All I want is food and creative love" - Rusted Root

by TheRiot Police on Nov 11, 2011 7:31 PM CST reply actions

he of the -1.4 WAR season

that’s more embarrassing than the gaslamp ball idiocy

by PrincetonCubs on Nov 12, 2011 4:59 PM CST up reply actions

Kemp was one homer from being 40-40...

My vote goes to Kemp, and it’s not because I hate Braun.

Why is it the MVP “must go” to the player who’s team makes the playoffs, but the Cy Young can go to the pitcher who pitches for the worst team?

My take: Cy Young award goes to the best pitcher, and MVP goes to the player who had the best season (pitchers included)

by cubfanwill on Nov 12, 2011 10:48 AM CST reply actions

No votes at all for Castro - not even from our two "homers"? ;-)

This does not bode well for everyone who had the “No 2011 Cub gets a vote in the MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year or Manager of the Year contests.” event way down on your It’s Happening contest entry.

[pause while daver (14 pts), cubzfan (14) and TrueBlueM (13) dance a jig…]

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

by ballhawk on Nov 12, 2011 3:16 PM CST reply actions