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About that MVP ballot ...

 
Published Nov. 16, 2012

Pages and pages are being devoted tonight to explaining AL MVP ballots.

Here is mine, followed by some short answers as to why:

1. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers

2. Mike Trout, Angels

3. Adam Jones, Orioles

4. Adrian Beltre, Rangers

5. Derek Jeter, Yankees

6. Yeonis Cespedes, A's

7. Josh Hamilton, Rangers

8. Fernando Rodney, Rays

9. Rafael Soriano, Yankees

10. Josh Reddick, A's

At the top: Absolutely nothing should be taken away from what Trout did, he was sensational in all facets of the game. I just think the context of

what Cabrera did was greater – his overall numbers (including games played), his performance down the stretch in September, his team making the playoffs, his handling of the shift to third base after the signing of Prince Fielder. When I looked at ALL of that, to me Cabrera was the MVP.

In the middle: Beltre and Jones was just about a toss-up, and I could have easily gone the other way. Jeter and Cespedes weren't far behind.

As for leaving out Robinson Cano: While the Yankees 2B overall numbers were solid, he was inconsistent throughout the season, his numbers wih runners in scoring position were not particularly good, and, after talking to several of the writers covering the Yankees, he was not the MVP of the team but Jeter was.

As for including Soriano: This is an MVP vote, and what he did AFTER Mariano Rivera went down was huge.

As for Edwin Encarnacion: He was next on my list.

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