Listed below are the 2007 stats of two players that were discussed in the MVP race. And no cheating!
Player A: .325 AVG/ 30 HR/ 107 RBI/ 34 SB/ .416 OBP/ .546 SLG
Player B: .296 AVG/ 30 HR/ 94 RBI/ 41 SB/ .344 OBP/ .531 SLG
Now, here are the 2008 stats of the same two players, as of yesterday:
Player A: .295 AVG/ 25 HR/ 98 RBI/ 14 SB/ .387 OBP/ .528 SLG
Player B*: .261 AVG/ 8 HR/ 42 RBI/ 31 SB/ .326 OBP/ .421 SLG
*Player B has spent time on the disabled list this season.
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, David Wright is Player A and Jimmy Rollins is Player B. In my mind, the award should have been David’s (or Matt Holliday’s) last year. It’s amazing that one player could put up those kind of numbers at Shea, a pitcher’s ballpark. David’s numbers were better than the NL MVP’s in almost every offensive category out there, right down to the number of walks. I wouldn’t have felt as bad if Matt Holliday had won because he is the Rockies. I didn’t agree with Prince Fielder coming in third either, but what happened has already happened.
The Mets are our very own Redeem Team. With 34 games left to play, the Mets have to prove that they aren’t the team that…well, we all know what happened…at the end of last year. It may seem like Mr. Wright’s numbers are down, but he is currently on pace for more free passes than he had last season. A prudently thinking Mets fan might say, “But Jessica, what about Jose Reyes? Doesn’t he deserve to be part of the discussion too?”
Bringing up Reyes makes the MVP discussion that much more interesting. Jose Reyes still is the most exciting player in baseball and he still is our catalyst. He has 14 triples (up from last year) and 40 steals (down from last year). What it comes down to in my mind is that David Wright is more of a clutch hitter than Jose Reyes. Reyes has taken more whiffs at the plate while Wright shows more patience. The Mets are 0-3 without Reyes and somebody has always filled David Wright’s shoes as the clutch hitter.
Both players, in my mind, are very much deserving to be in the discussion. If you had to pick one player to be NL MVP, would be Wright, Reyes, or somebody else on another team such as an Albert Pujols? Either way, the voters may have a very tough time!
