Just Give David Ortiz the MVP Award
As a Yankee fan, I can’t stand the Red Sox. For a rivalry that’s been so one sided over the past century, I’ve seen too many instances of Boston coming out on top in my lifetime, and the man behind it all has been David Ortiz. So often throughout his career Ortiz has carried Boston, whether it’s bashing home runs, coming through in clutch moments, or lifting the spirits of the entire city. And as much as I hated watching Big Papi crush the hopes of Yankees fans throughout his career, I’ve always loved and respected him as a player. As he finally hangs it up, he’s able to feel that appreciation from the rest of the league, receiving gifts when he travels to other stadiums, and standing ovations everywhere, even from Yankees fans, who can recognize that he is to Boston what Derek Jeter was to them. That’s the sign of a great career.
What’s lost in Big Papi’s farewell tour is the fact that he’s still performing at an elite level. He turns 41 in November, but still managed to put up one of the best seasons of his career, and he’s made it clear to people that he’s moving on from baseball because he wants to, not because he has to. Ortiz should be a first ballot Hall of Famer, and while there will always be people that don’t want to see a DH in the Hall of Fame, he has undoubtedly earned it. He is a lifetime .286 hitter, with 541 home runs, 1768 RBI, and has been walked over 1300 times. He’s a ten-time all-star, six-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and three-time World Series champion. But if there’s one thing that Papi is missing from his career, it’s an MVP award. Ortiz has had numerous MVP caliber seasons, most notably his ’04 through ’07 campaigns, and if not for some ridiculous numbers from A-Rod and Vladimir Guerrero, he’d have won it for sure. Now, however, in the last season of his career, Ortiz has a shot at winning the award that has somehow eluded him.
Big Papi takes it all in after what could be his final home run in Boston.
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
The American League MVP race has boiled down to four candidates: Jose Altuve, Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, and David Ortiz. All four superstars sport impressive numbers, but David Ortiz has the best claim. Jose Altuve took the batting title this season, and set career highs in home runs and RBI’s to go along with his 30 stolen bases. He may have had the best statistical season in terms when you compare the individual categories, but the biggest flaw in his claim is in the category that doesn’t show up on his stat sheet: wins. Simply put, the Astros didn’t make the playoffs this year. The same can be said about Mike Trout. The argument for Trout is a simple one; he’s the best player in the game, and just because we’re tired of saying it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t win, and that’s a fair point too. Again, the Angels are simply watching the other two candidates play postseason ball from their couches at home.
This idea of you have to be on a playoff team to win the Most Valuable Player award isn’t a hard-and-fast rule, but it’s also not one without precedent. More often than not, it swings the pendulum heavily in favor of those who played a significant role in getting their teams into the postseason. You have to go back to 2003 to find the last time a player won the AL MVP without making the playoffs, and that was A-Rod when he was still playing shortstop for the Rangers. Players whose teams make the playoffs should get priority over players whose teams don’t. Priority doesn’t mean they should automatically win, but unless the candidate whose team didn’t make the postseason has a significantly better claim, the vote should go to the player who played a significant role in getting his team there. In 2003, when A-Rod won MVP, it was clearly a two-way race between him and Carlos Delgado. Their numbers were fairly similar, and A-Rod edged him out by a few votes, but Delgado’s Blue Jays didn’t make the postseason either, and there was no third player who had nearly the claim that these two did. In today’s case, to say that Altuve or Trout had significantly better seasons than Ortiz would be inaccurate, so I give Ortiz the nod.
That leaves Mookie Betts, his teammate. Therefore, the playoff argument does not apply, and their numbers are very comparable. Betts hit .318 with 31 home runs and 113 RBI’s, stealing 26 bases in a breakout campaign. Ortiz finished the year with a .315 average, 38 home runs, and a league leading 127 RBI’s. When people look at the numbers, the first thought that comes to mind is that Ortiz has a few more homers and RBI’s, but Betts steals bases and is an outstanding outfielder. Slight edge to Betts. But often times we forget what the MVP award stands for, and the word “valuable” doesn’t even begin to describe what Ortiz has been for this young Red Sox team on the verge of what could be another title. He’s the glue of this team, and he will be sorely missed when he plays his last game for this organization. Betts even attributes a part of his success to Papi, saying “he taught me to trust in my abilities, and to just have fun.”
Fans show their appreciation for what Ortiz has done throughout his campaign in Boston, both on and off the field.
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
The game of baseball is one of character, and time and again we see voters use character as a factor in defining players. It’s why so many greats are left out of the Hall of Fame. It’s why we see José Fernández as a leading candidate for the Cy Young award. We would be remiss not to recognize that Ortiz, in his final season with a franchise that he has lifted to such heights, a franchise that had gone 85 years without a World Series title, and with a city that needed him in the worst of times along the way, deserves this award. He is, in the truest sense, the definition of what it means to be most valuable. Do you believe in happy endings?
