National League MVP
Ryan Howard, Phillies
Got any foolproof methods for separating two men who clearly deserve this award just as much as the other? We could use a magic MVP formula in a big way, since we have a real mess on our hands with this pick. One moment, we see Howard getting intentionally walked with nobody on base and think: "There's the MVP." Ten seconds later, we watch Albert Pujols smoke a season-saving homer off a pitcher who had given up one run since July and ask: "How can he not be the MVP?" Well, Pujols had that "SportsCenter" moment many voters look for Wednesday.
But we're tipping slightly in Howard's direction because he's never even given the opportunity to have that moment anymore. He now has been intentionally walked 16 times in September, most of them in insane, Bonds-ian situations. That's 10 more intentional walks this month than Pujols. In fact, it's four more times than Carlos Beltran and Carlos Lee have been intentionally walked all season -- combined. And all those free trips to first base are telling us something about which of these guys the managers think most towers above the rest of his lineup. But here's what also helped push us toward Howard: Through Friday, Howard had the higher batting average (.385 to .363), on-base percentage (.551 to .463) and slugging percentage (.769 to .676) in September, for a team that declared itself dead two months ago and then charged into the wild-card lead.
But Regis, this is not our final answer. We have to fill out an actual ballot in this race in a couple of days, as opposed to merely filling space in this column. So this column was due first, we reserve the right to change our mind. There's just as compelling a case to be made for Pujols, too. So for both teams and both candidates, the final weekend is all about survival. It wouldn't be the first MVP election to come down to one final Sunday afternoon in the baseball season.
Apologies to: Pujols, Lance Berkman, Miguel Cabrera, Beltran and Jose Reyes.