Muffed MVP voting

“Blind eyes could look at me and see the truth.” Lil Wayne said that. I am here to say that blind eyes could look at Todd Helton’s 2000 season and see that he may in fact be the truth. We are talking about a man who led the National League in eight offensive categories, while leading the MLB in six. This guy was hotter than a microwaved ghost pepper. But, yet, what seldom gets discussed was how he finished fifth in MVP voting. I have been unable to fathom this information, thus here I am to write of a few players who boasted tremendous seasons, yet wrongly were not given the MVP award.

1. Todd Helton in 2000: Led league with 216 H, 59 2B, 147 RBI, .372 BA, .464 OBP, .698 SLG, 1.162 OPS, 405 TB I have not seen a line as efficient and productive since Henry Ford started started working on the Model T. He led the league in those eight categories as well as boasting 42 homeruns. I believe we have ourselves another example of Colorado stat shaming, which hurts a player’s legitimacy. The winner of the 2000 MVP, Jeff Kent, must have secured his trophy by virtue of having seven more at-bats and seven more stolen bases because these are the only categories that he boasted better numbers. Jeff Kent’s stat line read 196 hits, 41 doubles, 125 RBI-steaks, .334 BA, .424 OBP, .596 SLG, 1.021 OPS. Until we alter the physical geography of Colorado, it seems as if those who play at Coors field will not receive their due respect. *EDITORS NOTE* Let’s take Colorado and push it someplace else.

2. Albert Belle in 1995: Led the league with 121 R, 52 2B, 50 HR, 126 RBI, .690 SLG, 377 TB Additionally, Belle batted .317 with a .401 OBP. What jumped off the page to me was how he had eclipsed the MVP of 1995, Mo Vaughn, in every offensive stat. Every signal one of them. You haven’t seen someone dominate the charts like this since the Beatles released the Revolver album, suggesting that the 1995 MVP voting was Belle-anor Riggedby. Mo Vaughn had a great season, however it falls short in comparison to Belle’s. Mo Vaughn had 23 LESS runs, eight LESS hits, 11 LESS homeruns, 24 LESS doubles, batting average was .017 points LESS and OPS was .128 LESS. For a guy named Mo, you are actually seeing a whole lot of LESS. To me Belle is a no-brainer MVP, however we must consider the narratives surrounding why the writers favored Vaughn.

3. Ted Williams 1947: Led league with 125 R, 32 HR, 114 RBI, 162 BB, .343 BA, .499 OBP, .634 SLG, 1.112 OPS, 335 TB Most of us are familiar with ‘Teddy Ballgame’. We have seen his career revered by new wave analysts, and some of the white haired readers may have actually gotten to see Ted play. As tremendous as this season is, it falls short of many other Ted Williams seasons which speaks volumes to his degree of mastery. Not only did Williams lead the league in nine offensive categories; he overshadowed Jumping Joe DiMaggio in every single category. Marilyn Monroe’s boy toy had 97 R, 20 HR, 95 RBI, 59 BB, .290 BA, .367 OBP, .511 OBP, .878 OPS, 257 TB. Suffice to say those numbers lack the same luster that Teddy’s stats had. Ted Williams stats remind me of how Mike Trout is voted today for MVP votes, in that they truly have a few or so seasons where they could and should have won MVP. While he may be frozen at his present state, during his campaigns in the 1940s he was hotter than a winter coat in the Sahara. Honorable mentions: Mike Piazza’s 1995 season, and Johnny Mize’s 1940 Season