After the season will Joe Mauer be voted American League MVP by the Baseball Writers Association of America? “If Mauer played for the Yankees he might be a shoo-in,” said Gregg Wong.
Wong is a former sportswriter for the Pioneer Press and his assignments included covering the Twins. “There always tends to be a bias tilted toward (favoring) major media markets,” he said. “Who do you see on TV each weekend? The Red Sox and Yankees.”
It’s not that writers across the country are predisposed to favor players with those teams but the exposure of major market teams showcases their best players. That advantage could impact the MVP voting in favor of New York’s Mark Teixeira or Derek Jeter. Boston’s Jason Bay will receive votes, too.
Teixeira leads the American League in RBI, is tied for the lead in home runs and ranks second in slugging percentage. Jeter, the Yankee captain, is fourth in hitting and third for on base percentage. He also became the Yankees’ all-time hits leader this year. Bay is second in AL home runs and RBI’s.
Mauer, at 26, is headed toward his third career batting title, hitting .367 right now. He also leads the American League in slugging percentage and on base percentage.
Wong said the first criteria the writers use for voting is to look at the “numbers.” But there’s more involved including team success. The Yankees have won the East Division and their record of 102-56 is the best in baseball. Boston will be a wild card team and the Red Sox record (91-66) is among the best in the majors. The Twins, 82-75, are still trying to catch Detroit in the Central Division race and finish better than seven games over .500.
The long list of past MVP winners is dominated by players who were on winning teams, sometimes pennant winners. Only a few times has an American or National League MVP played for a losing team.
There’s no absolute MVP voting definition for the writers to follow, though, and that could help Mauer. Certainly the Twins would not be even close to what they are without him. Wong views Mauer as “the best catcher” in baseball and a complete player. He said Mauer is even a “great base runner.”
Another Mauer asset is his likeability. He’s no quote master with the media, and tends to be shy, but you’re really having a bad day to develop a disliking to our hometown guy.
In a “toss up” voting situation for the MVP award involving a perceived jerk and nice person, writers will “lean toward the good guy,” Wong said. The personality element, he added, could not only help Mauer but also Jeter.
In what looks like a close vote for 2009 AL MVP, Mauer’s teammates could certainly help him by finishing strong and winning the Central Division. That won’t be as much of an asset to Mauer as being with a team having the best record in the league, but it will help.