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Archive for the ‘MVP’ Category

Albert Pujols is even better than we thought

Posted in Albert Pujols, Cardinals, Free Agent Signing, MVP, National League on February 22, 2026 | Leave a Comment »

Despite the St. Louis Cardinals and the Albert Pujols camp breaking off talks until the off season, the speculation about where the games best hitter will be sign will continue throughout the season. The White Sox GM Kenny Williams has already told everyone what he thinks of Albert’s salary demands. He is by far the best hitter I have seen. Even though he has not been at 100% health wise the past few years, he has still performed at an elite level . Just take the Quad which takes into account both counting stats in Times on Base, and Total Bases and the rate stats in On Base Percentage, Slugging average.

Times on Base
Albert Pujols 290
Prince Fielder 286
Rickie Weeks 276
Joey Votto 275
Adrian Gonzalez 271
Matt Holliday 263
Aubrey Huff 257
Jayson Werth 253
Ryan Braun 250
Dan Uggla 249
Kelly Johnson 247
Jason Heyward 245
Carlos Gonzalez 239
Andrew McCutchen 238
David Wright 237
Ryan Zimmerman 234
Hanley Ramirez 234

Total Bases (BABIP)
Carlos Gonzalez 351 0.384
Albert Pujols 350 0.297
Joey Votto 328 0.361
Matt Holliday 317 0.331
Ryan Braun 310 0.331
Rickie Weeks 302 0.332
Adrian Gonzalez 302 0.322
Dan Uggla 299 0.330
Adam Dunn 299 0.329
David Wright 295 0.335
Jayson Werth 295 0.352
Corey Hart 293 0.324
Kelly Johnson 290 0.339
Aubrey Huff 288 1 0.303
Hunter Pence 283 6 0.304
Casey McGehee 283 0.306
On Base Percentage (BB%)
Joey Votto 0.424 14.04%
Albert Pujols 0.414 14.71%
Prince Fielder 0.401 15.97%
Carlos Ruiz 8 0.400 12.7%
Jason Heyward 0.393 14.61%
Geovany Soto 0.393 16.02%
Adrian Gonzalez 0.393 13.48%
Matt Holliday 0.390 10.22%
Josh Willingham 0.389 14.89%
Ryan Zimmerman 0.388 11.44%
Jayson Werth 0.388 12.58%
Chase Utley 0.387 12.33%
Aubrey Huff 0.385 12.43%
Troy Tulowitzki 0.381 9.09%

Slugging (Contact Rate)
Joey Votto 0.600 77.15%
Carlos Gonzalez 0.598 77.00%
Albert Pujols 0.596 87.05%
Troy Tulowitzki 0.568 83.40% 0
Adam Dunn 0.536 64.34%
Jayson Werth 0.532 73.47%
Matt Holliday 0.532 84.40%
Corey Hart 0.525 74.91%
Adrian Gonzalez 80.71%
Ryan Zimmerman 0.510 81.33%
Dan Uggla 0.508 74.70%
Mike Stanton 0.507 65.74%
Aubrey Huff 0.506 84.01%
Ryan Howard 0.505 71.45%

The funny thing in all of these numbers is that Pujols is near the top in all the categories. But, his batting average with balls in play is below .300. This means he has gotten some bad luck and might be a better hitter than his numbers indicate. With Pujols slimmed down, and healthy there is no telling what he is capable of in 2011!

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Superbowl Sunday 44 Tape Measure Hits

Posted in American League, MVP, Projections, Twins on February 7, 2026 | Leave a Comment »

We have heard rumors of Twins catcher Joe Mauer , the 2009 AL MVP, going to the dance together with the Twins for the next 10 years. Mauer’s 2009 season is one for the record books, leading the American league in Batting Average , On Base Percentage, Slugging, OPS, and runs created.

Did the Mets rush oufielder Fernando Martinez to majors last season? His minor league career has shown flashes of great potential, but the ability to stay healthy has been his biggest drawback.

The Marcel projection system is either the most basic forecasting system, or the most advanced forecasting system. The Marcel 2010 projections can be found here.

With the acquisition of Roy Halladay, the trade of Cliff Lee, the free agent signing of Placido Polanco, you would wonder how the Phillies might stack up. Based On Shawn Smith’s Chone projection system, Phillies season is best summed up with two words, second place.

Miguel Cairo was one of the first ever Devil Ray players. We never knew he would have such a useful career as a super substitute utility player. There is even a projection system named after him. Here is where you can find the 2010 Cairo projections.

Lastly, pitchers and catchers in seven days.

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The Phils Hot-n-Cold Lefty Righty Split Problem

Posted in fantasy, Free Agent Signing, Hitting, Infield, MLB, MVP, National League, Phillies, Platoon on February 21, 2026 | Leave a Comment »

It is well known that Ryan Howard is one of the power hitting offensive forces of the past 4 years in the National league. The Phillies have 18 million reasons they like the lefty slugger coming into the 2009 season. But, one thing I touched on a few weeks ago about Ryan Howard:

Every now and then you hear the whispers that Howard is simply just a good platoon hitter.

So, lets take a look at Howard’s track record with the righty lefty splits.

Name Year vs Lefty (AB) vs Righty (AB) vs Lefty (HR) vs Righty (HR) vs Lefty (AVG) vs Righty (Avg ) vs Lefty (SLG) vs Righty (SLG)
Howard 2008 237 373 14 34 .224 .268 .451 .601
Howard 2007 209 320 16 31 .225 .297 .493 .644
Howard 2006 197 384 16 42 .279 .331 .558 .711
Howard 2005 61 251 1 21 .148 .323 .246 .645

So, in the red columns we see Ryan Howard’s production against left handed pitching. In his three full seasons, in the rate categories against lefties he has continued his decline in batting average and slugging. His home run production against righties just about doubles his production against lefties. To be fair, the Phillies are aware of the situation and he has received less at bats against lefties. The question remains though, would the Phillies be better off platooning him at first base.

I am certain they could find a right handed batter who could do better than a .224 batting average against the southpaws. Better yet, in fantasy leagues that allow for daily transactions, would you be better off sitting Howard against lefties.

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Bringing The D in 2008

Posted in Albert Pujols, American League, Around the Web, Defense, MVP, National League on January 27, 2026 | Leave a Comment »

Pinto with his PMR uses play-by-play data to determine the probability of a ball in play being converted to an out based on six parameters: Direction of hit (a vector), The type of hit (Fly, ground, line drive, bunt), How hard the ball was hit (slow, medium, hard), The park, The handedness of the pitcher, The handedness of the batter.

Here are the 2008 rankings:

Catchers

First Base

Second Base

Shortstop

Third Base

Left Field

Center Field

Right Field

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Kent: The David Cone throw in

Posted in Giants, Hall Of Fame, Indians, Mets, MLB, MVP, Trade on January 24, 2026 | Leave a Comment »

It was with the Toronto Blue Jays that Jeff Kent first came on the radar. He had some pop even back then with his bat when the Blue Jays were giving him some play at 3B. The Mets did the unthinkable and traded the player who meant so much to the team in David Cone. It was believed the center piece of that trade was Ryan Thompson who Peter Gammons seemed very high on. The other player was Jeff Kent who I atleast knew something about in his recent callup to the majors with Jays.

The Mets moved Kent immediately to 2B and Thompson came over soon enough and was thought to be Al Harazin’s CF for the next decade. Its funny how things play out. Over the next few years with the Mets, Kent showed decent power for a second baseman and after making the position change to a middle infielder, it was where he wanted to remain. He was a gritty hard nosed player. Though, he never was known for his personality.

The Mets never waited to see what Kent the player would evolve to. Nor did the Indians who used him for just the one season when they traded for him in a playoff run. It was his time beginning with the Giants that Jeff Kent took his game to the next level and became the player we will remember him as. He became one of the most feared hitters in the game, packaged in a middle infielders body. He did it right way we believe even though he played in the steroid era. He went on to become the 2B baseman that we all compare the new wave of elite second baseman to. A name Chase Utley comes to mind.

Jeff Kent performed at an elite level for 10 or so years which brings me to my conviction that Jeff Kent is a Hall Of Fame player. His entire career was not Hall of Fame material, like an Albert Pujols thus far. But, he has enough of a resume to make a case that he belongs in the Hall. His so called motorcycle accident, and his refusal to socialize with other players are factors, but they have nothing to do with what Jeff Kent did on the field.

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MLB Quad 2008: TOB,TB,SLG,OBP Winners

Posted in Albert Pujols, American League, Cardinals, MLB, MVP, National League, RedSox, Sabermetrics on January 7, 2026 | 2 Comments »

The Quad takes into account both counting stats in Times on Base, and Total Bases and the rate stats in On Base Percentage, Slugging average.

Below is the top 10 overall finishes in MLB over the course of the 2008 season (either American League or national League results). If a player makes it to the top 10 list, its really a great accomplishment. The fact that Albert Pujols made the top overall in 3 of 4 catgeories, and got beat out by only Chipper Jones in On Base Percentage shows that the NL MVP voters got it right.

Dustin Pedroia placed 8th in times on Base, 10th in Total Bases, but was absent on any other top 10 finishes. The American league numbers were way below the National League at the top of the heap. Albert Pujols was the most impressive offensive force in 2008. The fact that he was playing somewhat hurt makes this offensive display even more of a standout.

Times on Base

  1. Albert Pujols 296
  2. David Wright 287
  3. Nick Markakis 283
  4. Lance Berkman 279
  5. Grady Sizemore 279
  6. Hanley Ramirez 277
  7. Jose Reyes 271
  8. Dustin Pedroia 270
  9. Ichiro Suzuki 269
  10. Chase Utley 268

Total Bases

  1. Albert Pujols 342
  2. Ryan Braun 338
  3. David Wright 334
  4. Ryan Howard 331
  5. Miguel Cabrera 331
  6. Josh Hamilton 331
  7. Aubrey Huff 330
  8. Jose Reyes 327
  9. Chase Utley 325
  10. Dustin Pedroia 322

Slugging

  1. Albert Pujols 653
  2. Ryan Ludwick 591
  3. Chipper Jones 574
  4. Alex Rodriguez 573
  5. Carlos Quentin 571
  6. Kevin Youkilis 569
  7. Carlos Lee 569
  8. Lance Berkman 567
  9. Milton Bradley 563
  10. Ryan Braun 553

On Base Percentage

  1. Chipper Jones 470
  2. Albert Pujols 462
  3. Lance Berkman 420
  4. Joe Mauer 413
  5. Matt Holliday 409
  6. J.D. Drew 408
  7. Nick Markakis 406
  8. Hanley Ramirez 400
  9. Brian Giles 398
  10. Manny Ramirez 398

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American League MVP, CY, ROY Blog Vote Week 7

Posted in American League, Around the Web, blogpoll, Cy Young, MLB, MVP, Rookie Of Year on May 22, 2025 | 9 Comments »

This is the fourth AL voting period after six seven in the books. The MLB Blog Poll votes on the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of Year candidates in each league throughout the regular baseball season. In doing so, you get a cumulative snapshot of the award winners, instead of the single vote. That way we get constant feedback as the year goes on.

American League Most Valuable Player Vote Week #7

  1. Josh Hamilton - 285 points
  2. Kevin Youkilis - 167 points
  3. Carlos Quentin - 160 points

The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 14 points, the player ranked second is assigned 9 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 8 points. Click to see the actual votes.


American League Cy Young Vote Week #7

  1. Cliff Lee - 122 points
  2. Daisuke Matsuzaka - 48 points
  3. Zach Grienke - 29 points

The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 point. Click to see the actual votes.

American League Rookie of the Year Vote Week #7

  1. Jacoby Ellsbury - 89 points
  2. David Murphy - 70 points
  3. Greg Smith- 46 points

The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 point. Click to see the actual votes.

The following blogs contributed to the Blog Poll results:

Baseball Digest Daily
Baseball Happenings
Baseball Musings
Seth Speaks
Fire Brand of American League
Brock For Broglio
Brew Crew Ball
Beyond The Boxscore
Fake Teams
RotoRob
Over the Monster
No Bias Baseball
Outs Per Swing
Bugs & Cranks
Talking Chop
Roto Junkie
Baseball Time In Arlington
CardinalsDiaspora
Tiger Tales
Kranepool Society
Cubs F/X
Roto Advice
Chicago Cubs Online
Baseball Legends
Roto Professor
DRays Bay
DisabledListInformer

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NL BlogPoll MVP, CY, ROY Week 6

Posted in Cy Young, MLB, MVP, National League, Rookie Of Year, Uncategorized on May 13, 2025 | Leave a Comment »

This is not the first, nor the second second NL Voting period, but the third NL voting period after six weeks in the books. The MLB Blog Poll votes on the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of Year candidates in each league throughout the regular baseball season. In doing so, you get a cumulative snapshot of the award winners, instead of the single vote. That way we get constant feedback as the year goes on. Whereas, from Fox News is the Dayn Perry’s 25% awards.

National League Most Valuable Player Vote Week #6

  1. Lance Berkman - 277 points
  2. Chase Utley - 196 points
  3. Chipper Jones - 161 points

The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 14 points, the player ranked second is assigned 9 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 8 points. Click to see the actual votes.

Berkman is just so locked in with a mind boggling 1.256 OPS that has put the Astros right in the thick of the NL Central race. Same for Ramirez 8 HR’s has 13 stolen bases as well as leading the Marlins (The Marlins?) to first place in the NL East. Joe Morgan is a lousy announcer but is a Hall of Fame player and if he says Chase Utley is the best 2nd baseman he has ever seen that is very high praise. Tough to leave Alber Puljos off this list and how about an honorable mention for Nate McLouth and Xavier Nady for making baseball worth watching in the Steel City once again” — Steve, Kranepool Society

National League Cy Young Vote Week #6

  1. Brandon Webb - 90 points
  2. Tim Lincecum - 49 points
  3. Edinson Volquez - 40 points

The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 point. Click to see the actual votes.

“There is no way Webb doesn’t have a stranglehold on this award now: 8-0, 2.41 ERA. Wow! Edison Volquez: An obscenely low 1.06 ERA, Volquez has done a great job keeping the ball in the park, but needs to firm his command up. Aaron Cook :Any time a Rockies pitcher has a 2.26 ERA through eight starts, you’re recommended to sit up and take notice.
” — Evan , Fire Brand of American League

National League Rookie of the Year Vote Week #6

  1. Geovany Soto - 116 points
  2. Jair Jurrjens - 48 points
  3. Kosuke Fukudome- 47 points

The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 point. Click to see the actual votes.

“Chicago Cubs’ catcher Geovanny Soto takes over the top spot with a 1.003 OPS. Teammate Kosuke Fukudome falls to second because Soto’s postion and SLG outpace Kosuke’s excellent .481 OBP. Reds’ 1B joey Votto noses out Braves’ SP Jair Jurjjens thanks to history-making 3HR/1Sb day. He is also drawing some walks which should serve to keep his OBP respectable. In a weaker field, Dodgers’ 3B Blake DeWitt would get more props with a slash stat line of 323/398/479 - after doing worse between Hi A & AA last season!” — Eric, Fake Teams

The following blogs contributed to the Blog Poll results:

    Baseball Digest Daily
    Baseball Happenings
    Baseball Musings
    Seth Speaks
    Fire Brand of American League
    Brock For Broglio
    Brew Crew Ball
    Beyond The Boxscore
    Greener On Other Side
    Fake Teams
    RotoRob
    Over the Monster
    No Bias Baseball
    Outs Per Swing
    Bugs & Cranks
    Talking Chop
    Roto Junkie
    Baseball Time In Arlington
    CardinalsDiaspora
    Statistically Speaking
    Tiger Tales
    Kranepool Society
    Cubs F/X
    Roto Advice
    Chicago Cubs Online
    Baseball Legends
    Roto Professor

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      MLB Blog Poll Week 5 AL MVP,CY,ROY Vote

      Posted in American League, Around the Web, blogpoll, Cy Young, MLB, MVP, Rookie Of Year, Uncategorized on May 6, 2025 | 2 Comments »

      The MLB Blog Poll votes on the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of Year candidates in each league throughout the regular baseball season. The Blog Poll Voters is a group of some of the best writers the baseball blogosphere.

      American League Most Valuable Player Vote Week #5

      1. Manny Ramirez - 270 points
      2. Casey Kotchman - 114 points
      3. Josh Hamilton, Carlos Quentin (Tie) - 113 points

      The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 14 points, the player ranked second is assigned 9 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 8 points.

      American League Cy Young Vote Week #5

      1. Cliff Lee - 116 points
      2. Zack Greinke - 40 points
      3. Ervin Santana, Chien-Ming Wang (Tie) - 18 points

      The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 point.

      American League Rookie of the Year Vote Week #5

      1. Jacoby Ellsbury - 83 points
      2. Greg Smith - 58 points
      3. Evan Longoria - 25 points

      The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 5 points, the player ranked second is assigned 3 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 1 point.

      The following blogs contributed to the Blog Poll results::

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      MLB Blog Poll Week 4 NL MVP Vote

      Posted in blogpoll, MLB, MVP, National League, Uncategorized on April 29, 2025 | 4 Comments »

      The MLB Blog Poll votes on the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of Year candidates in each league throughout the regular baseball season. The Blog Poll Voters is a group of some of the best writers the baseball blogosphere. This week we vote on the National League. This week I am making an individual post per award where I show each voters selections.

      National League Most Valuable Player Vote Week #4

      1. Chase Utley - 322 points
      2. Chipper Jones - 159 points
      3. Albert Pujols - 101 points

      The player ranked first on a ballot is assigned 14 points, the player ranked second is assigned 9 points, and the player ranked third is assigned 8 points.

      Chase Utley, Twenty extra base hits from a middle infielder. Albert Pujols, Love the walks. Rafael Furcal, Keeps on Hitting” — David Pinto, Baseball Musings


      National League Most Valuable Player Vote Week #4

      Voter Player Rank Points
      RotoRob - Rob Chase Utley 1 14
      RotoRob - Rob Chipper Jones 2 9
      RotoRob - Rob Rafael Furcal 3 8
      Kranepool Society Chase Utley 1 14
      Kranepool Society Hanley Ramirez 2 9
      Kranepool Society Brandon Webb 3 8
      Outs Per Swing Chase Utley 1 14
      Outs Per Swing Chipper Jones 2 9
      Outs Per Swing Albert Pujols 3 8
      NoBiasBaseball Chase Utley 1 14
      NoBiasBaseball Hanley Ramirez 2 9
      NoBiasBaseball Brandon Webb 3 8
      Beyond The Boxscore Chipper Jones 1 14
      Beyond The Boxscore Albert Pujols 2 9
      Beyond The Boxscore Chase Utley 3 8
      Chicago Cubs Online Derrek Lee 1 14
      Chicago Cubs Online Chase Utley 2 9
      Chicago Cubs Online Chipper Jones 3 8
      Seth Speaks Chase Utley 1 14
      Seth Speaks Chipper Jones 2 9
      Seth Speaks Pat Burrell 3 8
      Roto Advice Chase Utley 1 14
      Roto Advice Chipper Jones 2 9
      Roto Advice Derrek Lee 3 8
      Bugs & Cranks Derrek Lee 1 14
      Bugs & Cranks Chase Utley 2 9
      Bugs & Cranks Pat Burrell 3 8
      Baseball Legends Chase Utley 1 14
      Baseball Legends Chipper Jones 2 9
      Baseball Legends Pat Burrell 3 8
      Talking Chop Chipper Jones 1 14
      Talking Chop Chase Utley 2 9
      Talking Chop Derrek Lee 3 8
      Baseball Happenings Chase Utley 1 14
      Baseball Happenings Hanley Ramirez 2 9
      Baseball Happenings Chipper Jones 3 8
      Brock For Broglio Albert Pujols 1 14
      Brock For Broglio Chase Utley 2 9
      Brock For Broglio Chipper Jones 3 8
      Baseball Musings Chase Utley 1 14
      Baseball Musings Albert Pujols 2 9
      Baseball Musings Rafael Furcal 3 8
      Fire Brand of American League Chase Utley 1 14
      Fire Brand of American League Chipper Jones 2 9
      Fire Brand of American League Albert Pujols 3 8
      Greener On Other Side Chase Utley 1 14
      Greener On Other Side Chipper Jones 2 9
      Greener On Other Side Pat Burrell 3 8
      Statistically Speaking Derrek Lee 1 14
      Statistically Speaking Chase Utley 2 9
      Statistically Speaking Albert Pujols 3 8
      Drays Bay Albert Pujols 1 14
      Drays Bay Chipper Jones 2 9
      Drays Bay Chase Utley 3 8
      Cubs F/X Chase Utley 1 14
      Cubs F/X Chipper Jones 2 9
      Cubs F/X Derrek Lee 3 8
      CardinalsDiaspora Albert Pujols 1 14
      CardinalsDiaspora Chase Utley 2 9
      CardinalsDiaspora Chipper Jones 3 8
      Roto Professor Chase Utley 1 14
      Roto Professor Hanley Ramirez 2 9
      Roto Professor Lance Berkman 3 8
      RotoRob Chase Utley 1 14
      RotoRob Hanley Ramirez 2 9
      RotoRob Derrek Lee 3 8
      Fake Teams Chase Utley 1 14
      Fake Teams Derrek Lee 2 9
      Fake Teams Albert Pujols 3 8
      Brew Crew Ball Chase Utley 1 14
      Brew Crew Ball Chipper Jones 2 9
      Brew Crew Ball Lance Berkman 3 8
      Baseball Time In Arlington Chase Utley 1 14
      Baseball Time In Arlington Chipper Jones 2 9
      Baseball Time In Arlington Hanley Ramirez 3 8
      Tiger Tales Chase Utley 1 14
      Tiger Tales Albert Pujols 2 9
      Tiger Tales Rafael Furcal 3 8

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