2012 MVPs?

[tino38]

AL? NL? I am going with Miggy and Posey. Would like to hear some comments and opinions on this matter since everyone else will obviously be talking about it until it is announced.

[Dan R.]

While I completely understand what Miggy brings to the table, and while I believe he's probably the favorite in the AL, I believe it should be Trout.

For me, a true MVP benefits his team in every aspect of the game, something Trout does game in and game out. Even missing almost a month of the season, Trout hit 30 HRs and stole 49 bases. To put that in context, he narrowly missed out on being only the 4th player ever in MLB history to post a 30 HR/50 SB year. In the field, Trout shines even brighter. Fielding % was brought up earlier, but it really is an erroneous statistic. UZR isn't perfect, but it is much more accurate - Trout's is 13.3, Miggy's is -9.2. Advanced statistics would argue that Trout is even better at offense - wRC+ (attempts to measure total runs created, taking baserunning into account) has Trout at 174 and Miggy at 167.

So, for me, it's Trout over Miggy in the AL. I agree with Posey in the NL, though.

That being said, even if Miggy wins the AL MVP, I suspect Trout will win MVP multiple times in his career, should he not be slowed by injuries. To think that he has done what he has this year while only turning 21 after the All-Star break is unbelievable. When Trout and Bryce Harper are in their primes, I suspect we will be having the same debates about them that were had over Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.

[Onyxgem]

Miggy's team made the post season with ALOT less talent around him compared to Trout's team who didn't even finish in top 2 in their own division and majorly under performed as a team. Trout did have an amazing rookie year, but Miggy went out and did something that has not been done in 67 years by winning the triple crown.

In the NL i would have to go with Posey or Molina, both have great #'s for catches and Posey has better offensive #'s by a bit and Molina is the much better defender...however I would guess Posey gets it as Molina just doesn't get much pub at all.

As for ROY it is Harper and Trout and it is not even close.

[RyanM]

Miggy's team made the post season with ALOT less talent around him compared to Trout's team who didn't even finish in top 2 in their own division and majorly under performed as a team. Trout did have an amazing rookie year, but Miggy went out and did something that has not been done in 67 years by winning the triple crown.

He also did it in a division that has A LOT less talent in it. The Chisox are not a good team from top to bottom & everyone else in that division is awful right now. The Angels has a better record in a tougher division. I personally would vote Trout, who provides more value in every facet of the game except raw power.

NL is a mess, espeically after Fielder & Pujols left to the AL. I guess Posey would be my pick if I had to make one.

ROY in AL is Trout obviously, but NL is a little more interesting. With everything else being equal, I have a tendency to vote for someone who probably has more upside which is Harper.

I'm not a fan of giving relievers the CY unless they were ungodly dominant, so I'd go with Dickey in the NL (though Kershaw has an argument). Probably Verlander again in the AL.

[tino38]

Well I wouldn't say that the White Sox are a bad team. In my opinion the have the guy that will perhaps finish 2nd in the Cy Young behind David Price, and they were a team that was about 20 times better than people predicted. Also because of some of the hitters in the Angels line up pitchers are forced to pitch to a guy a certain way like Trout however Miggy didn't have near the protection. He had Prince which helped immensely helps. Miggy is the first player I have heard baseball analysts compare Mantle to with the style of baiting a pitcher. He will at times intentionally swing at bad pitches to hopefully make a pitcher come after him for the strike out pitch and that's when he gets them.

Also if your a believer that RBIs are overrated then you almost must believe that passing yards are overrated. Because they are extremely similar. Trout owned for the Angels and in many different years I'd say he should win but I absolutely do not think you are that valuable to your team if your team is not a playoff team. Finishing 3rd in the division is not good. Ask the Rays where they would be this year had Longoria not gotten hurt. I don't think we would be talking about orioles in the playoffs. But they finished 3rd as well, and he was on pace for an MVP type season before injury. He to me is more valuable to the Rays than Trout is to the Angela with all the talent they have on the roster.

[RyanM]

Value for position players is comprised of three areas for me: with the bat, on the bases, on defense.

Clearly Cabrera had more value with the bat, but I don't think it's an astronomical advantage. Trout is worth so much more on the bases (advancing, steals, steal percentage), and on defense (which is an astronimcal advantage over Miggy) that I think it trumps Cabrera's advantage with the bat.

I'm not downing the triple crown achievement - it's incredible & we might not see it again for 40 years - but Trout did more to lead to his team's success to me than Cabrera.

[Onyxgem]

Value for position players is comprised of three areas for me: with the bat, on the bases, on defense.

Clearly Cabrera had more value with the bat, but I don't think it's an astronomical advantage. Trout is worth so much more on the bases (advancing, steals, steal percentage), and on defense (which is an astronimcal advantage over Miggy) that I think it trumps Cabrera's advantage with the bat.

I'm not downing the triple crown achievement - it's incredible & we might not see it again for 40 years - but Trout did more to lead to his team's success to me than Cabrera.

WAY WAY WAY disagree, the Angles had more talent on that team than almost the entire Al Central combined....it is a utter joke for them not to make the playoffs...Cabrera isn't surrounded all over the place with talent like Trout is on the Angels and it is not even close.

[RyanM]

Part of point is that Cabrera accomplished a lot of what he did due to the lousy talent in his division & the fact that the unbalanced schedule affords him more games than the Angels against bad talent. Trout also had to hit in 3 of the most difficult parks in the league with regularity (Anaheim, Oakland, Seattle).

And I can't stand the talent around them argument. Pujols didn't take Trout's ABs for him, or steal his bases, or play the best CF I've seen in over a decade. Those guys didn't affect whether the pitchers "gave" Trout pitches to hit either.

I don't think people appreciate what Trout has done because he doesn't have 3 neat well-known numbers that we've been fed to believe matter more than anything else. He & Cabrera did the same stellar jobs of not producing outs (Trout's OBP - .399, Cabrera's - .393), but Cabrera actually gave up runs because of how lousy his defense was. BTW - I give him bonus points for going to play a difficult defensive position without complaint when he knew he'd look bad doing it.

For me it's Trout.

[larry linke]

I am a little biased towards the Tigers but Cabrera accomplished a batting feat that has not been done in the previous 45 years. If he leads the league in home runs, he is in the MVP race. If he leads the league in AVG, he is in the race. To lead both categories, plus RBI's makes him the favorite. Trout is definately a good story but I think some of the voters may want him to prove himself again before giving him the award.

Larry
Minnesota AFFL

[tino38]

I'm sorry you hate the "talent around them" argument Ryan but the talent around guys helps set up pitches for better hitting and a good hitter can set up a runner to assist him in stealing a base as it can also shift the defense into a position that's unwanted. Miggy forced guys to press when getting guys out in front of him so he couldn't get too many RBIs and that set up bad pitches sometimes.