OT: AL MVP Race - Cabrera/Trout
Interesting debate on 97.1 going on regarding who the stronger MVP candidate is today: Miguel Cabrera or Mike Trout.
My immediate (homer) response was that Cabrera is the obvious selection. But in looking at the numbers as of today:
The contrasting elements in Trout's favor is the speed (base stealing), combined with his possible Gold Glove defense. Trout has higher on-base and slugging %. Cabrera's RBI totals are staggering, however.
I think it'll come down to how their respective teams finish that'll determine the vote. Very close call today.
just helped his argument with yours: " but what good is it if the guy behind you in the order leaves you stranded?
You do see how you just showed the team dependancy in RBI's, right?
But you can make the "team dependency" argument around just about any stat. The guy batting in front of Cabrera is going to get a lot of good pitches, for instance.
I doubt putting Don Kelly in front of Miggy in the order would really help Don Kelly get on-base more. Maybe a tiiiiiny bit, but the difference is negligable.
Are you sure it's negligible? Do they keep track of a guy's batting average in different positions in the lineup?
but there's little to be learned by it considering the sample size issues involved.
Well, thank god we can actually watch the games and not just rely on statistics.
(Coming from a math guy)
stats like wOBA, wRC+, OBP (unless you're batting in front of the pitcher), WAR etc. are virtually entirely team independent.
Also, there's no evidence that lineup protection exists, so the guy batting in front of Cabrerea won't get better pitches.
Not really.
Studies have shown that who bats in front of/behind somebody, doesn't really have much of an impact, the difference, if any, is negligible, other than in extreme cases.
Just like wins for a pitcher, too dependent upon the other players on the team. If no one gets on base before you, you can't have more RBI than you have HRs.
Cabrera is heating up right now and all the national media is picking up on it and starting to give him his due. I've got a feeling he gets it, not only for the amazing season he is having, but also for being so consistently awesome for so long without getting an MVP. My gut says he finishes first in HR and RBI's and closes the gap on batting average.
He wins, no question. Some of the counting stats may start to get closer, as by the end of the year the percentage of games Cabrera has played compared to Trout will shrink (except for RBI's, and that is easily and justifiably explained away by saying Trout is a lead-off hitter.) Ad to it the defense, which you simply can't compare, and the story, and it should be a runaway vote. Trout's having an all-time great season.
But at this moment, Cabrera deserves it for having played significantly more games.
If you weighted RBIs / HRs / Rs / AVG / SBs the same and those were the only categories you used - Trout (15.6 rating - 1st overall) would come out significantly ahead of Cabrera (12.3 rating - 4th overall). And that is for the ENTIRE season, not an average.
So clearly the answer is Trout. If you want to think about it some more, just look at the OPS stuff. I am sure if given 18 more games, Trout could make up the "gaps" that exist between his stats and Miggy's.
Yeah, I'm with the general consensus here: I'm a big Cabrera homer, but I think Trout has been the better all-around player this year. If you only only look at offensive production, I think there's a better argument there for Cabrera, but MVP shouldn't just be about offensive production. It should be about the player's contributions as a whole. Due to that, Trout has the edge, assuming he maintains his numbers the rest of the way.
While it smarts a little to say that, I'd still much rather see Cabrera holding a World Series trophy than an MVP trophy, and he probably has a better shot at that than Trout. So at least he has that going for him.
One other thing working against Cabrera is the league leading number of double plays he's hit into. Cabrera is probably the most feared/respected hitter in baseball right now, but Trout is having a fantastic all around year.
Still time for MIggy to make up some ground, or for Trout to fall off though. Would love to see Cabrera win it.
Eh, that's more a testament to his lack of speed than anything else. Why would that hurt him for MVP consideration?
And I see what you're saying about Cabrera needing to make up ground, but really, there's nothing more he can do. He's having an insane year, Trout has just been more insaner in almost every way. (Yes, I know I just said more insaner.)
because it leads you to ground into more double plays.
it also limits the amount of times you can go from 1st to 3rd on a base hit, ect.
Trout now, but I predict Cabby wins it...why?
1. Trout needs to keep these stats up for the rest of the year. That will be difficult since he is a rookie. I have never heard of a rookie with no rookie year slump. BUT, he is different. Cabrera has a more established history of getting better as the season plays on and is consistent.
2. It is impressive to think that Cabrera put up those stats without an offense in Detroit for 1/3 of this season. Now that they are hitting, I expect him to be a stat machine.
3. Finally, speed and defense (two things that make Trout stand out, aren't weighed heavily during the MVP voting. HR, RBIs, and BA are the holy trinity. THat and some bball writers will not vote for a rookie for MVP.
It won't be difficult because he's a rookie.
It will be difficult because he's in the midst of a historic season, a Willie Mays at his best type of season.
It's difficult for any player to put up that type of season, whether they are a rookie or a HOFer in his prime.
And any writer who doesn't vote for Trout solely because he's a rookie, or even lets that factor into his decision, should immediately lose his right to vote.
Well yeah, but being a rookie makes it harder still, since he hasn't been through the 162-game grind before.
bothered by the idea that a team has to make the playoffs for a player to win the MVP. If you have created the most value in your league, you're the MVP. Making the playoffs is a team deal. If Miguel Cabrera had the same season he's having now but on the Astros, he wouldn't magically be less valuable.
The writers don't vote for the GG.
But yes, the BBWAA is largely a joke.
They should just reward the most valuable player in each league. That or rename the award to MVPOAPT.
actually still pay attention to RBI's? What a useless stat. Anyways, I'm a huge Cabrera guy, but this race isn't even close. It's Trout in a landslide right now. Trout has a higher wOBA (advanced version of OPS that more properly weights the events of each plate appearance), gains a little advantage on the bases, plays much better defense at a more premium position, and as a result, has a higher WAR by a pretty large margin. Keep in mind, WAR is a counting stat, meaning games played can affect it. Despite starting out in AAA, Trout is still way ahead of everyone.
I would even argue that Robinson Cano is just as much in any A.L MVP race as Miguel is. Heck, I'd argue the Tigers have another position player just as valuable to the team as Miggy.
That's the reason why Cabrera has an edge. They've both had great seasons but Cabrera has produced more by playing in 25% more games than Trout.
That number will shrink, but it's still likely to be around 15%.
I'd say Jackson is right up there with Cabrera for team MVP.
If not for his DL stint, I'd say he'd clearly be the team MVP.
Trout is probably going to get MVP and the only knock I can have against him is he will play around 20 less games than Cabby. Trout is this year's MVP but Miguel Cabrera is the best player in baseball. If that makes sense.
Miggy is lucky Trout didn't play those extra games or he'd be even further ahead. And yes, your last statement does make sense. However, even that might be debatable considering Trout was the #1 prospect in the game. It's doubtful that his season is a fluke.
I agree and in the end, it probably won't be a huge deal. 20 Games is not all that much for a hitter. However, I do think it might come into play for the Cy Young Award as Jered Weaver and Chris Sale will probably end up pitching between 30-40 less innings than Verlander, Felix and David Price - which is a big deal IMO
the amount of useage you get out of a player is definately a huge part of value. There are other pitchers who pitch just as well as Verlander, but he pitches so much more than them that it makes him so much more valueable than them.
Other than his .400 BABIP, none of Trouts numbers are unsustainable.
His LD% is high right now, but a LD% around 25% is sustainable, though Trout will need to do it a few more season before you can expect him to continue at that rate.
His IFH% is also high, but again, can reasonably be sustained.
Same goes for his HR/RB%, around 20% is very possible to sustain.
I don't see him being a 185 wRC+ guy going forward, but he very well could be a consistent 170 range wRC+ guy with great baserunning and fielding at a premium position.
Barring injury, he'll be a top 5 talent for a long time.
Mark Pryor was the, "can't-miss HOF'er" who had various nagging injuries and breakdowns to not last long in the show in the grand scheme of things.
Trout has great potential and may well deserve MVP this year. All the same I will wait before assuming anything about the heights of his career.
Like when Lebron was winning Mvps while kobe was winning rings...until this year
Is Cabrera the best athlete in professional sports to never win an MVP award? If there is one better, he's not coming to mind.
I say that Trout is more deserving through clenched teeth because it is so frustrating than Miggy has never won it, but if the Angels offered me Trout for Cabrera straight-up, I turn it down. I just can't see anyone keeping up what Trout is doing long-term. Pujols is the only man currently in Cabrera's universe regarding consistency.
Anyone think that because Verlander won the MVP last year, it may hurt Cabrera's chances? I don't think any voters would use that as their sole reason, but if they are torn, they may think "o, well they have the reining MVP on their team, Trout is probably more important to the Angels."
uses that as a voting criteria, I'd want to see them have their right to vote for the award taken away.
I say this as a lifelong Tigers fan, if I were able to vote for the MVP right now, I would have to go with Mike Trout, and the reason, in a nutshell, is that Trout seem like the next five tool player to me. For example, whereas a fair number of offensive stats which are in the neighborhood of each other (but not all - see the OP's post, of course), the stolen bases sometimes get overlooked as a statistic in overall run production by an individual, I think. Trout outmatches Cabrera by a slight margin here (to date, of course), I think. Defensively, Trout has a better fielding percentage than Cabrera by about .2, and even though they play different positions, Trout seems more consistent to me.
Of course, there is a sizeable chunk of the season yet to play. I would certainly love to see Cabrera get be the AL MVP in the end, of course.
and it's not close.
Trout: .346/.409/.601 (1.010 OPS), .442 wOBA, 36 steals in 39 attempts, 195 wRC+, 7.8 UZR (defense, at a very important defensive position), 6.9 Wins Above Replacement.
Cabrera: .326/.386/.586 (972 OPS), .410 wOBA, 160 wRC+, -5.0 UZR (at a less important position), 4.8 Wins Above Replacement.
The only thing Cabrera leads in is HR, but his slugging is lower.
total bases, doubles, rbi, strikeouts, walks
RBI is a meaningless stat, and the fact that he has fewer strikeouts and more walks hasn't translated into a higher OBP He has more total bases and doubles, in part, because he's played 20 more games. But WAR is a counting stat and says Trout has been worth more than 2 wins more than Cabrera, even counting the reduced playing time.
I don't dispute that RBI's are fairly meaningless, but you say 'he's played 20 more games' like its a bad thing. As if Trout should get credit for games in which he helped the Angels win not at all.
as far as walks go, Trout is at 9.1 percent of PA's this year to Miggy's 8.9 percent. On the flip side, Cabera strikes out significantly less.