Dustin Pedroia MVP... Seriously?

[djwhokid]

Wow. This maybe the worst AL MVP selection in a long time..

Not to knock Pedroia, he's a good player but he wasn't even the MVP on his team.

Much worse when Ichiro was chosen over Jason Giambi in 2001.

[Zen653]

I disagree with the Pedroia selection. As dj notes, he's not even the MVP of his own team. That distinction belongs to Kevin Youkilis, who played Gold Glove-caliber defense at two different positions and led the team in categories that actually matter.

No doubt Pedroia had a fine year, but since when is 17 HR/83 RBI an MVP season when you have other guys who hit twice as many homeruns, knocked in 50% more RBIs, slugged 150 points higher, and played just as well defensively? It's not like he stole 50+ bases, or carried the team on his own with intangibles. He had substantial help from teammates who outpaced him at various points in the season (Manny Ramirez, J.D Drew, Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay, etc.)

Look at the numbers that Carlos Quentin put up in a month less of baseball (36 HR, 100 RBI, .394 OBA.) Where would the White Sox have been without him? Certainly not in the playoffs. He willed an otherwise mediocre team into October. When he suffered the season-ending injury, the White Sox nearly collapsed and backed into the playoffs. This underscores his importance to that team. Without Quentin, the Twins would have run away with the AL Central. Doesn't that come close to the very definition of MVP? Why punish Quentin for missing the last month when his numbers over 5 months still blew away the competition?

Alternatively, how about Joe Mauer of the Twins, a phenomenal defensive catcher who won the batting title and kept a young pitching staff together? What about Alex Rodriguez, who finished well ahead of just about everyone in most offensive categories, for a championship-caliber contender that missed the playoffs only because of injuries that decimated half the pitching staff?

My top 5 would have been 1. Carlos Quentin, CWS; 2. Joe Mauer, MIN; 3. Kevin Youkilis, BOS; 4. Alex Rodriguez, NYY; 5. Dustin Pedroia, BOS.

Pedroia won this award because he's 5'6" (no one believes the 5'9" listing) and he plays for the Red Sox. It's the same reason why he won a Gold Glove this year, even though Oakland's Mark Ellis is a better defensive second baseman. Voters wanted to reward a little guy, so that they can inspire young kids who don't have an athlete's body. The average child can't dream about growing up to become Alex Rodriguez, but he can aspire to become the next Dustin Pedroia. It's a Rudy Ruettiger story, and it will make for a fine trivia question in 20 years when people ask about forgotten MVPs.

[Drury77]

Originally Posted by djwhokid

Wow. This maybe the worst AL MVP selection in a long time..

Not to knock Pedroia, he's a good player but he wasn't even the MVP on his team.

Much worse when Ichiro was chosen over Jason Giambi in 2001.

How can you say he wasn't even the MVP of his team, He most assuredly was. He was the heart and soul of that club this year. Clutch hitting, never quit attitude, qualities we would all want our ballplayers to have.

But I guess Bonds deserved every MVP he got.

[djwhokid]

Hanley Ramirez finished 11th in the NL MVP voting and is a better player than Pedroia.

Amazing.

[Nighthawk]

How can you say he wasn't even the MVP of his team, He most assuredly was.

If you limit your basis for comparison to 'things which cannot be measured', then yes, this could be arguably true. If you go by measurable characteristics, Youk crushes Ped in pretty much every category. So, if you want to say 'Pedroia is the team MVP because...well...I say he is' then I suppose that he is. But if you want to go by a measure of how much he contributed to the club's success, it's a no brainer.

Pedroia won because he was a story. And by the way yes, Bonds (cheater though he surely is) deserved pretty much all of his awards.

[Drury77]

Originally Posted by djwhokid

Hanley Ramirez finished 11th in the NL MVP voting and is a better player than Pedroia.

Amazing.

Originally Posted by Nighthawk

If you limit your basis for comparison to 'things which cannot be measured', then yes, this could be arguably true. If you go by measurable characteristics, Youk crushes Ped in pretty much every category. So, if you want to say 'Pedroia is the team MVP because...well...I say he is' then I suppose that he is. But if you want to go by a measure of how much he contributed to the club's success, it's a no brainer.

Pedroia won because he was a story. And by the way yes, Bonds (cheater though he surely is) deserved pretty much all of his awards.

Well I'm not a statistician, but obviously his stats had to have a bearing on why he won the MVP, he beat out Morneau and Youkilis. He's a very good player and is knocked because of his size, but to say that he didn't deserve the MVP is absurd to me. He beat Morneau, and his numbers were great this year, so his numbers had to be up to par for the writers to vote him to that award.

As for Hanley, he may be a better player but last I checked he's in a different league. End of conversation there for me.

So I hear cuz he's got characteristics that can't be measured in stats, he shouldn't have won the award. Arod deserved every MVP he got, even tho for several of them he was on a losing team, let alone non-playoff teams. Bonds cheated his way to MVP's as did Canseco when he beat Mike Greenwell out.

[eztmac1]

Originally Posted by djwhokid

Hanley Ramirez finished 11th in the NL MVP voting and is a better player than Pedroia.

Amazing.

Ok you can make a long list of players that are BETTER than Pedroia, but you cannot make a list of players that were MORE VALUABLE in 2008. This guy was a CLEAR CUT gold glove winner, and is light years ahead of Ellis defensively, please whoever posted that Ellis is better go to youtube and search Pedroia and look at what he does defensively then try to tell us Ellis is better. Pedroia led in doubles and runs scored and tied for the lead in hits, 2nd in BA only to Mauer (who he beat out in hits, runs, 2b, 3b, HR, and SLG). Please, it is obvious that Pedroia is the clear cut MVP this year, so stop hating on him just because he is from Boston.

[Zen653]

This guy was a CLEAR CUT gold glove winner, and is light years ahead of Ellis defensively

In 2006, Mark Ellis set the record for best fielding percentage for a second baseman in major league history. In 1,070 innings, he made 2 errors, for a 99.7% fielding percentage. In 2007, he followed that up with 5 errors and a 99.4% fielding percentage, and in 2008, he had a 99.3% fielding percentage and made just 4 errors.

In Pedroia's first full year of 2007, he made 6 errors and had a fielding percentage of 99%. In 2008, he again made 6 errors and posted a fielding percentage of 99.2%. Also in 2008, Ellis had him beat in both zone rating (.897 to .826) and range factor (.502 to .475.) Placido Polanco, Aaron Hill, Mark Grudzilanek and Brian Roberts all had better zone ratings than Pedroia. Ian Kinsler, Jose Lopez, Placido Polanco, Robinson Cano, Alexei Ramirez and Brian Roberts all had better range factors than Pedroia.

Pedroia wasn't "lightyears" ahead of anyone. He didn't finish first, second, third or fourth by any defensive metric. He won the Gold Glove because he was the best offensive second baseman among decent defensive ones. It's the same reason why Jeter won the Gold Glove at shortstop for so many years even though he only deserved to win maybe one of them.

[Zen653]

Embarrassing development in the Pedroia family:

Brett Pedroia, the older brother of Red Sox [team stats] second baseman and 2008 AL MVP Dustin Pedroia [stats], has been accused of child molestation.

Lt. Charles Wilts, spokesman for the Woodland (Calif.) Police Department, said Brett Philip Pedroia was arrested Jan. 9 for sex crimes involving...an 8-year-old boy...

Wilts said Pedroia, 30, was charged with two counts of lewd acts with a child under the age of 13 and two acts of oral copulation with a minor, both felonies...

Reportedly, Dustin Pedroia, 25, and his brother are not close and have not spoken in recent years.

Dustin Pedroia’s brother charged - BostonHerald.com