Justin Morneau, AL MVP. Seriously?

Justin Morneau AL MVP? Huh? The news sent shock waves around the baseball world today as the much anticipated award was given to Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau. The numbers don’t lie, .321 with 34 home runs, 97 runs scored and 130 RBIs, a major accomplishment for the pride of Minnesota’s unknown, but how is it that he managed to steal the award from the more deserving Derek Jeter? Well, Morneau did carry his team from the obscure confines of the AL Central’s tightest race in recent memory, but he wasn’t alone. When you bat fifth in the order and have the AL batting champ, Joe Mauer hitting in front of you, 130 RBIs isn’t that impressive, especially since the AL RBI leader, David Ortiz, bats third with a weaker cast in front of him and 50 less at-bats. Even Derek Jeter, hitting out of the two hole, almost reached 100 RBIs. So what’s the big deal?

In comparison, Derek Jeter finished the season with better overall stats with the exception of power. He finished with an AL second best .343 batting average (with 31 more at-bats than Morneau), 118 runs (to Morneau’s 97), 97 RBIs (hitting 2nd in the order), 39 doubles (to Morneau’s 37), 69 walks (to Morneau’s 53), 34 stolen bases (to Morneau’s 3), and a .417 on-base percentage (to Morneau’s .375). Now Morneau finished with a higher homerun total, 34 (to Jeter’s 14), a higher sluggin percentage, .559 (to Jeter’s .483), and had 9 fewer strikeouts. But honestly, Derek Jeter does all this on the biggest stage in baseball, in front of the biggest news spotlight in the country, and still most people continue to ask, who is Justin Morneau?

Take the comparable stats, throw the names out the window, and ask the question, which would you rather have on your team, a shortstop that can put up these numbers: .343 BA, 14 HRs, 97 RBI, 118 R, 34 stolen bases, or a first baseman that can put up these: .321 BA, 34 HRs, 130 RBIs, and 97 R. Nine times out of ten, you will take the shortstop. Why? Because finding a good hitting first baseman is the easiest job in baseball. Now finding a shortstop that can do what Derek Jeter does, why that my friends is what they made the MVP award for.

On a much lighter note, at least David Ortiz didn’t win, or else this would have been a deposition on why a part time player should never win the award.