Braun NL MVP

[no driver]

Let the Kemp complaints begin...

[Stephen]

I personally would have voted for Kemp, but it's tough to argue with Braun.

I can't help but wonder if there was some factor, I've vote for one of the Dodgers players to win an award, but not both and people sided with Kershaw?

Either way, they both had phenomenal season.

[DJBeasties]

Weird! Clayton Kershaw compares very favorably to Justin Verlander but he gets his ass handed to him in the NL.

[senorsheep]

I personally would have voted for Kemp, but it's tough to argue with Braun.

I can't help but wonder if there was some factor, I've vote for one of the Dodgers players to win an award, but not both and people sided with Kershaw?

Ethier way, they both had phenomenal season.

FTFY

[Moonlight J]

Kemp had Loney/Miles/Rivera/Uribe hit behind him for 130 games

Braun had Fielder for every game of the season.

Teams had to pitch to Braun, they had no business pitching to Kemp all season.

LF is easy, CF is hard

This was Kemp's award but the voters (albeit different) said Kershaw was better than Halladay for the Cy but not on the MVP ballot.

[dannahann]

If a player's team misses the playoffs they are normally going to lose out in the MVP balloting. Losing a weak NL West hurt both Kemp and Kershaw. They weren't the reason they lost (couch ... McCourt ... cough) but Kemp and Braun's measurables were close enough to ensure Braun's division winning impact tilted the scale. The same goes for the poster who thought it weird Kershaw got creamed in the MVP despite having similar stats to Verly.

[Moonlight J]

What the Brewers did as a team should have no impact on this voting process. It is an individual award and there are metrics out there that can measure how much one individual did towards any one team's success.

Its blissful ignorance that keep those metrics from being a factor in these discussions. They at least changed the voting process for GG to show LF/CF/RF as they must recognize each is a different position. Then again, they gave Kemp a gold glove he didn't deserve

[DJBeasties]

If a player's team misses the playoffs they are normally going to lose out in the MVP balloting. Losing a weak NL West hurt both Kemp and Kershaw. They weren't the reason they lost (couch ... McCourt ... cough) but Kemp and Braun's measurables were close enough to ensure Braun's division winning impact tilted the scale. The same goes for the poster who thought it weird Kershaw got creamed in the MVP despite having similar stats to Verly.

Mine was more just sarcasm that 11 players in the NL were that much more valuable than Verlander was to Ellsbury/Bautista in the AL.

Totally logical.

[B-Fly]

Reaching the post-season or at least contending for a post-season berth has long been a significant factor in MVP voting and has rarely been a factor in Cy Young voting. I think that factor more than accounts for Braun's MVP win over Kemp, as well as Kershaw's Cy.

[Erik]

It was a big deal when Andre Dawson won an MVP on a last-place team in 1987. It had never been done before.

[Judge Jude]

In fact, I think only 5 MVPs have played for a losing team - Dawson, Ripken, A-Rod, Banks, Banks again.

[Hornsby]

The MVP is much more of an award for a winning team, as has been pointed out. Voters can, and do, argue about how valuable a player can be if his team finishes in the cellar. That's why there needs to be an award for the best offensive player, period. Then there should be no argument from the Kemp side...

[Lucky]

What the Brewers did as a team should have no impact on this voting process. It is an individual award and there are metrics out there that can measure how much one individual did towards any one team's success.

Its blissful ignorance that keep those metrics from being a factor in these discussions. They at least changed the voting process for GG to show LF/CF/RF as they must recognize each is a different position. Then again, they gave Kemp a gold glove he didn't deserve

I think they should consider the metrics more carefully, but I don't think there should be a specific formula for determining the winner. Otherwise, why vote?

Besides, the voters need to be able to consider "intangibles" so Jeter can one day get that MVP award he deserves.

[DMT]

The MVP is much more of an award for a winning team, as has been pointed out. Voters can, and do, argue about how valuable a player can be if his team finishes in the cellar. That's why there needs to be an award for the best offensive player, period. Then there should be no argument from the Kemp side...

And this is a valid argument IMO. There is simply more value on a team that wins more games so the best player on the winningest teams represents more value than the best players on losing teams. I would have voted for Braun over Kemp, even though Kemp has slightly better offensive stats and plays a more valuable defensive position.

[chancellor]

Complete and expected crap. Kemp had a season for the ages. Braun's was good. Pretty much every baseball award is ridiculous, it seems. Who are the dip****s who vote for these things anyways?

Brewer fans.