Nov
22
2011

MVP Results: Verlander Stuns, Braun Dominates

An article by Clayton Collier

What has been a hot-button debate throughout the baseball world the past few weeks has now been settled: Justin Verlander is the MVP of the American League. The 27-year old Tiger’s ace now has an MVP trophy to put on his mantle along with his 2011 AL Cy-Young, four All-Star selections and the 2006 Rookie of the Year Award. Quickly becoming one of baseballs elite pitchers, this honor has put him on a level of his own.

Verlander went a phenomenal 24-5 in 2011 with a 2.40 ERA and a staggering 250 strikeouts to boot, taking the AL pitcher’s triple crown and leading his team to the AL Central division title (Not to mention pitching a no-hitter for the second time in his career). Verlander unanimously won the Cy Young award this year, but won by a closer margin when it came to the MVP, winning by 38 points over the RedSox’s Jacoby Ellsbury.

Verlander becomes the first pitcher to win the MVP award since Dennis Eckersley in 1992 and the first starter since Roger Clemens in 1986.

Meanwhile, Ryan Braun beat the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp to become the first Brewer to win a league MVP award since Hall of Famer Robin Yount won for the second time in 1989, when Milwaukee was still an American League franchise according to MLB.com.

He received 20 of a possible 32 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, two from each NL city, for a total of 388 points. Kemp received 10 first-place votes and 332 points. Braun’s teammate, Prince Fielder — currently a free agent — was third with one first-place vote and 229 points, giving the Brewers two players in the top five for the first time since Yount won and Cecil Cooper ran fifth in the 1982 AL vote.

On one side note, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes finished 11th in the MVP voting. If not for the injuries, he probably could have finished in the top 3 or 4.

About the Author: Clayton Collier

Clayton, a Long Island native and die-hard Mets fan, started writing online about three years ago. He is currently a Journalism major with a minor in Broadcasting at Seton Hall University. Although very disappointed with the current state of the team, Clayton remains hopeful that the young prospects in the farm system will bring the Mets back to a respected franchise in baseball once again. Besides writing for MMO, Clayton is also a staff member at 89.5 WSOU, Seton Hall's modern active rock radio station. You can contact Clayton by following him on Twitter: @Clayton_Collier or E-mailing him at MaybeNextYearMets@yahoo.com

11 Comments + Add Comment

jessep November 22, 2011 at 2:08 pm

I love that Kemp won.

I know this because I gave it as a trivia to a Dodgers friend of mine at the end of the season when I thought Kershaw/Kemp could/should win it

Fun fact with Kemp and Kershaw winning MVP & Cy Young, it is now only the 2nd time in the awards’ history that 2 players from the same team won it without the team making the playoffs.

The other team?

1962 Dodgers, Maury Wills and Don Drysdale… Dodgers lost in a 3- game playoff for the division against San Francisco.
XtreemIcon November 22, 2011 at 2:23 pm

Clayton, you were misinformed, I think. Braun won.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111121&content_id=26018700&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb
- jessep November 22, 2011 at 2:31 pm
  
  haha that’s what I get for getting my news from Clayton haha
  - XtreemIcon November 22, 2011 at 2:36 pm
    
    You still have a great trivia question. And I’m excited because Braun was my pre-season pick. And I don’t know if you noticed, but Alex should be up a tree any moment. Look who the only Brave to get himself an MVP vote is.
    - jessep November 22, 2011 at 2:41 pm
      
      Guarantee you Braun woud rather have the MVP than the Batting Title.
      - XtreemIcon November 22, 2011 at 2:54 pm
        
        I think if you asked him the question, he’d laugh at you.
  - Clayton Collier November 22, 2011 at 3:48 pm
    
    My apologies guys, I read some false information online about five minutes after the actual announcement took place.
    
    Thank you Joe for correcting my mistake. Sorry about that everyone.
    
    But if I may, I thought Starlin Castro was kind of a snub, getting only a 9th and 10th place vote. The guy had over 200 hits in his sophomore campaign.
- Joe Diaz November 22, 2011 at 2:35 pm
  
  Yes it was Braun!
Joe D November 22, 2011 at 2:56 pm

I corrected that for Clayton, apparently there was another false report in circulation.
Todd W. November 23, 2011 at 10:49 am

This most be a typo I am positive listening to some guys on this site Reyes was a run away MVP last year. Resign Reyes for 8 years 200mil cause he has brought the Mets so many titles and rings.
Alex68 November 23, 2011 at 10:55 am

so, now braun rather have the MVP rather than the Batting title.. uhh, no milwaukee has ever won the batting title, so he would’ve been the first. secondly, yes, awards are great, but i am sure every GREAT player would trade his awards for a championship. just ask griffey and barry.

NL East Standings

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
Braves	25	18	.581	-
Nationals	23	21	.523	2.5
Phillies	21	23	.477	4.5
Mets	17	24	.415	7.0
Marlins	12	32	.273	13.5

Last updated: 05/19/2013

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