National League MVP

[revo]

who ya got:

Matt Kemp: .326, 109 R, 36 HR, 118 RBI, 40 SB, 171 OPS+
Ryan Braun: .330, 104 R, 31 HR, 104 RBI, 31 SB, 163 OPS+
Prince Fielder: .293, 89 R, 34 HR, 112 RBI, 158 OPS+
Albert Pujols: .304, 102 R, 37 HR, 98 RBI, 8 SB, 156 OPS+
Justin Upton: .292, 103 R, 31 HR, 88 RBI, 21 SB, 144 OPS+
Ian Kennedy: 20-4, 2.88 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 53/194
Clayton Kershaw: 20-5, 2.27 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 53/242
Cliff Lee: 16-8, 2.37 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 42/232
Roy Halladay: 18-6, 2.41 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 34/217

[B-Fly]

I've got Ryan Braun to become the sixth Jew ever to be named a league MVP (Hank Greenberg, Lou Boudreau, Al Rosen, Sandy Koufax, Rod Carew).

[Mithrandir]

Kemp.

[revo]

I've got Ryan Braun to become the sixth Jew ever to be named a league MVP (Hank Greenberg, Lou Boudreau, Al Rosen, Sandy Koufax, Rod Carew).

Rod Carew is, in fact, not Jewish.

[B-Fly]

Rod Carew is, in fact, not Jewish.

LOL, I know. But he did marry Jewish and raise Jewish kids, so I'm counting him.

[swampdragon]

I've got Ryan Braun to become the sixth Jew ever to be named a league MVP (Hank Greenberg, Lou Boudreau, Al Rosen, Sandy Koufax, Rod Carew).

Oh wait - I thought you were going to mention Brad Ausmus - nevermind

[Piney Boy]

Kemp should get it, but being his team sunk to near the bottom it will probably be Braun.

[B-Fly]

Kemp should get it, but being his team sunk to near the bottom it will probably be Braun.

Because his team sunk to the bottom, he shouldn't get it.

[Mithrandir]

Because his team sunk to the bottom, he shouldn't get it.

Wrong. One man can't win a division, but he sure as hell can be the most valuable contributor to any one given team.

[DMT]

Once again we run into the problem of what 'MVP' means. Where would the D-Backs be without Upton? No way they'd be going to the playoffs. This is probably true for the Brewers and Braun as well but the same could be said for Prince. There is no doubt Kemp, who is making a legit run for the triple crown, has been the best player this year, but nothing really changes for the Dodgers without him. And Pujols putting up those kind of numbers despite breaking his wrist once again casts doubt on whether he actually is human.

[Trautdiggity]

I think Braun will win for the reasons so far debated (value of the team coupled with value of the player). But I'll take Kemp.

[gcstomp]

MVP has that weird 2 schools of thought deal going, with people clamoring on 1 side for the most productive hitter to win, which is my take. And on other side we are looking for the best player of just the top couple teams who are division winners to claim it.

As if Babe Ruth himself could propel a last place team to WS champ by himself, of course not, this is a deep team sport weighed down or propped up by large rosters, any individual wont make a huge difference in standings.

But whether it is from golden age of baseball or today Ruth should win the MVP, if he is hitting more hr's than entire teams with triple crown stats.

[gcstomp]

BTW, what I am saying is Kemp should win, and history 100 years from now will settle on what MVP in the game means, but right now we are still mired in the muck of 2 schools of thought.

[chancellor]

As a Brewer homer, I have to go with Braun. I think he'll get it, assuming the Brewers don't pull the worst choke since 1964 and blow the division in the next few days.

That being said, if Kemp wins, I couldn't argue much. Both are pretty equal with the bat, but Braun is a giant defensive liability in LF.

[DMT]

BTW, what I am saying is Kemp should win, and history 100 years from now will settle on what MVP in the game means, but right now we are still mired in the muck of 2 schools of thought.

So you're saying the D-Backs would be in 1st sans Upton? Not a chance.

You might disagree with one side but it is a legitimate argument. It's not to say players on non-playoff teams have no value, but that they don't have the most value because there is much less 'value' to be accounted for on non-playoff teams.

Btw, I'm not a hard-liner for either side of this argument. If Kemp wins the Triple Crown he most certainly will win the MVP and deservedly so. But, if not, his numbers are not that much better than Braun's and because their numbers are very close, I'd vote for the guy who's led his team into the post-season.