The AL/NL MVP Races: Home Stretch!

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Well it's September, and the season is winding down. With just two weeks left before the postseason, we will be reexamining both the AL and NL MVP Races that we touched on earlier in the season! We will touch on the top 5 players in both races, along with some outsiders just missing out.[/center]

The AL Race[/size]

What happened?: SP Aaron Fultz, 1B Tino Martinez

Outside Looking In: SP Todd Van Poppel, LF Manny Ramirez, CF Carlos Beltran, DH Jason Giambi, SP Chuck Finley, 1B Todd Helton, SS Derek Jeter, LF Reggie Jefferson, DH Rafael Palmeiro, SP Todd Stottlemyre, SS Nomar Garciaparra


5. Pedro Martinez - Boston Red Sox
Age: 28
Ratings: B/A/G/G/B, B Duration
Stats: 22-10, 2.31 ERA, 238 K, 0.85 WHIP
Everyone is aware of Pedro's greatness, but he caught fire like no one else in history had. Before these past few losses, it almost seemed like Pedro would never lose another decision this season. After an abysmal start to the season, Pedro now leads the league in Wins while posting a 2.31 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. As usual he is leading the league in innings, but he's also currently pitched an absurd 19 Complete Games. He is the major reason for Boston's rebound in the AL East. As Pedro goes, so do the Red Sox.


4. CF Jim Edmonds - Anaheim Angels
Age: 30
Ratings: A/G/F/G/G/F, A Range, C Arm
Stats: .319 AVG, 34 HR, 124 RBI, .997 OPS
After a solid start to the season, Edmonds was playing well, but the Angels were struggling. Then in July, Edmonds exploded for a .411 average with 8 HRs, and the Angels came surging. They couldn't quite make up enough ground in their division or the WC race, but Jimmy Baseball kept raking. He's struggling a bit in September, but overall he's been fantastic. 1st in Runs, 2nd in RBIs, 5th in HRs and tied for 6th in BA, Edmonds has posted a very good campaign for the MVP. Unfortunately, he still falls short, just like his Angels.


3. 1B Frank Thomas - Chicago White Sox
Age: 32
Ratings: G/A/P/B/B/A, C Range
Stats: .318 AVG, 37 HR, 101 RBI, .989 OPS
The Big Hurt is always in the MVP talks and he still sits firmly at #3 in the rankings. He's once again leading the White Sox to another postseason birth after fighting off Cleveland for the division. Thomas is definitely slowing down from his monster past few seasons, but he's still putting up awesome MVP-type numbers. He's going to miss out, since it's basically a one and a half man race, but that doesn't diminish the huge impact Thomas has.


2. CF Ken Griffey Jr. - Texas Rangers
Age: 30
Ratings: G/G/F/B/G/G, A Range, B Arm
Stats: .325 AVG, 40 HR, 95 RBI, 9 SB, 1.190 OPS
Still think it was a huge mistake for the Rangers to not heal Griffey, and I think this time Dan would agree with me. While not officially out of the WC Race yet, it's safe to say that with a healthy Griffey, the Rangers would've secured that spot. The numbers you see above were done in 88 games. That's right. EIGHTY EIGHT games. That's insane. You're talking about possibly a 70+ HR and 160+ RBI season. Griffey isn't going to get the MVP this season due to the time he missed, but he would have been the MVP had he been healthy, unquestionably. Very unfortunate that we were robbed of seeing such a sexy season.


1. RF Juan Gonzalez - Oakland Athletics
Age: 30
Ratings: B/G/F/B/F/G, C Range, D Arm
Stats: .345 AVG, 47 HR, 140 RBI, 1.029 OPS
Juan Gone has been atop the rankings all season long. He is currently trying for a Triple Crown, only slightly behind teammate Derek Jeter for BA Crown. There isn't much to say. Gonzalez has been nasty all year long. He leads the league in RBIs by a good margin, and used to lead HRs by a good margin until Griffey went crazy. I don't know if he'll get the Triple Crown, but he will certainly win the MVP. He is a big reason for Oakland's powerhouse offense, and he will lead them deep into the postseason this year.

Not a very interesting MVP Race in the AL thanks to the Griffey injury. Gonzalez has been fantastic, but man, it would've been nice to see Griffey all year long.

Highest Jump: CF Jim Edmonds (+15)
Furthest Fall: SP Aaron Fultz (-8)

The NL Race[/size]

What happened?: RF Sammy Sosa (Traded but fell out of ranking)

Outside Looking In: SP Francisco Cordova, LF Rusty Greer, SP Kerry Wood, CF Reggie Sanders, SS Miguel Tejada, SP John Smiley, CF Bernie Williams, 3B Aramis Ramirez, SP Johan Santana, RF Jermaine Dye, 1B Larry Walker, LF Ichiro Suzuki, SP Greg Maddux, 2B Jeff Kent, SP Kirk Reuter, SP Bartolo Colon


5a. RF Vladimir Guerrero - Florida Marlins
Age: 24
Ratings: B/G/A/B/G/B, D Range, A Arm
Stats: .349 AVG, 27 HR, 107 RBI, 37 SB, .967 OPS
I couldn't personally decide between these two players from my team, so I put them equal to each other, since they're just a notch above the other two similar situation players (Greer and Cordova) this season. Vlad made his way over to Florida in a surprise division deal between the Expos and the Marlins which sent a lot of top prospects to Montreal and Vladimir Guerrero to Miami. Guerrero has essentially improved in everything coming to the Marlins, though is HRs are off pace. His OBP has steadily increased and his steals as well. He is one of the league leaders in BA, OBP, OPS, HRs, RBIs, and SBs. He's on pace for an awesome year, but just not on pace for an MVP season yet.


5b. SP Randy Johnson - Florida Marlins
Age: 37
Ratings: B/A/G/G/B, C Duration
Stats: 27-4, 2.62 ERA, 209 K, 0.94 WHIP
The Big Unit is STILL doing it big. He has 3 starts left in the season, so he has a legitimate shot at 30 wins this season, but the clash with Atlanta will be a hurdle for that goal. His ERA and WHIP have gone up a bit, but still sit pretty at 2.62 and 0.94. Johnson is the leader of a top rotation that may produce four 20+ winners. The likely Cy Young is having his best season of his career at the tender age of 37. It remains to be seen how much gas he'll have left in the tank after this season, but so far, he's been unreal.


4. LF Bobby Higginson - Florida Marlins
Age: 30
Ratings: G/G/A/A/G/G, B Range, C Arm
Stats: .331 AVG, 24 HR, 127 RBI, .949 OPS
Higginson has been huge for the Marlins all season long, and may have even been a better acquisition than Johnson was. He has been the Marlins' most consistent offensive threat. He is fourth in OBP at .407, along with being sixth in BA and OPS, but where he's really done his damage is consistently bringing runners in. He currently leads the NL with 127 RBIs. With runners in scoring position, he is hitting .385 with a 1.024 OPS. Being the anchor of the Marlins' league-leading scoring offense, Higginson will be crucial for a deep playoff run this postseason.


3. SS Chipper Jones - Atlanta Braves
Age: 28
Ratings: G/G/F/G/G/G, D Range
Stats: .354 AVG, 26 HR, 110 RBI, 1.065 OPS
Chipper slipped a few spots in the rankings since last time, due to his numbers dropping a bit. Earlier he was on pace for 34 HRs and 144 RBIs, but now it doesn't look like he'll be hitting those marks. That doesn't mean his numbers aren't still ridiculous. He's still top 3 in BA, OPS, OBP, and Runs Created, being first in the latter two. His .463 OBP is amazing, clearly thanks to his fantastic BA and his league-leading 108 bases on balls. Chipper could very easily make a final push for the NL MVP, but for now he's at #3.


2. RF JD Drew - Chicago Cubs
Age: 24
Ratings: G/G/A/B/B/B, C Range, E Arm
Stats: .343 AVG, 32 HR, 124 RBI, 1.013 OPS
Drew, the man no one seems to want to trade for. I can't wrap my mind around that, but Drew has been proving people wrong. He does everything well at plate and will likely be one of the league's greatest hitters for the next decade. He had a rough August, but let's look at his July: .429 average with 12 HRs and 34 RBIs. That's Griffey-esque. It'll come down to him and Higginson for the RBI crown. Like Higginson, Drew is posting a .407 OBP, but where Drew separates himself is his slugging ability, of which he is only chasing one man. The same man he's chasing for the MVP.


1. C Mike Piazza - Houston Astros
Age: 32
Ratings: G/A/P/B/A/A, B Range, C Arm
Stats: .380 AVG, 38 HR, 109 RBI, 1.081 OPS
Never would I imagine Piazza would still be hitting .380 midway through September. He's leading the league in BA by far and he's also leading in HRs, along with OPS. It may be a disappointing season for the Astros, but it hasn't been a disappointing season for Piazza. He did all he could to keep the Astros in the race, but the Cubs and the NL East were just too much for them. The one silver lining for the Astros is that Piazza is the frontrunner for the MVP Award. It's going to be a close race, but so far, Piazza is winning it.

A very hotly contested NL MVP Race. Lots of stud players in the NL. I think Piazza's amazing average keeps him winning the MVP, but I think guys like Drew and Chipper could definitely make a push. Way too many good players to go through in the NL.

Highest Jump: RF JD Drew (+6), SP Randy Johnson (+6)
Furthest Fall: Bernie Williams (-6)