Winning Ways

Jeter
Mauer
Ortiz
C. Guillen
Santana
Morneau
Ramirez
Hafner
Sizemore
Mike Young
,2011 New Arrival Sale
The Hardball Times just published the final win shares data (American League, National League). Win shares puts Jeter and Mauer 1-2 in the American League, and if you look at the measure of Win Shares above bench, Jeter,Cartier Sunglasses, Mauer and Ortiz are all tied. Note that a big advantage for Jeter over both Mauer and Ortiz is that he played more games than Mauer and Ortiz. If you will, on a per game or per at bat basis, Mauer and Ortiz (and others) are more valuable than Derek. But Jeter is always in the lineup, and there’s something to be said for contributing every day.
Note, too, Mauer’s excellent defensive contribution. Mauer ranks much higher on defense as a catcher than Jeter does as a shortstop. It’s a very tough choice. My MVP ballot would probably look like:
In the AL, I could just as easily put Mauer ahead of Jeter. The playing time does it for me. If Jeter played a less demanding defensive position, I’d put Mauer ahead of him for sure. In the NL,Mariano Rivera will be a tough act to follow, put the top three in any order you like, I won’t give you much of an argument. It just seems that people in the discussion on this topic don’t give Beltran’s defense enough consideration.
And one last thought. The Yankees player with the second highest number of win shares was Alex Rodriguez. He must have done something right during the season.
Carlos Beltran
Albert Pujols
Ryan Howard
Miguel Cabrera
David Wright
Lance Berkman
Alfonso Soriano
Chase Utley
Jose Reyes
Barry Bonds (for old times sake)
In the NL, Pujols edged out Carlos Beltran for total win shares in the last week of the season, while Carlos finished first in win shares above bench. Note that Ryan Howard did not rank very high in total win shares, just sixth on the list, behind David Wright of the Mets. A big part of that is park effect. Shea was the second toughest park for run scoring this season. Philadelphia still favors offense, although less than in previous seasons. This is going to pull Howard down while raising Wright and Beltran, despite the fact that Howard hit better on the road. So the win shares ranking of Howard may be too low.
But I don’t think the ranking of Beltran is too high. Remove Carlos from Shea, and he hits as well as Ryan, plus he played a great defensive centerfield. Pujols’s rank is quite impressive, given that he missed 19 games. So my NL ballot would look like: