roachdude

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koЯnut

Whoever wrote that article is a idiot. Ichiro is the best hitter in the league othen that Barry. He's dogging him for not being a power hitter??!! He's a fucking lead-off hitter. He does his job and gets on base, steals and scores runs. Ich has one on the strongest arms in the game as well as a great glove. Put him on a playoff caliber team and he's an MVP this year.

thewalrus

I didn't read the article, the headline said it for me, I would even go as far as saying "Ichiro is a great player, but he's not MVP." No MVP player should come from a team that's below .500, but Arod set the precedent last year so there's no turning back. It will be unfortunate if Ichiro got MVP this year.

lefty

Actually, Andre Dawson set the standard, when he was the first player on a last place team to win the MVP, during his first season with the Cubs.

Ichiro is old school. A slap hitter who does whatever necessary to get on base. He's stellar in the field and deadly on the bases--he doesn't make mistakes. Ichiro's style of play rivals Cobb's. Put the guy in a major market or in a great baseball town and he'd be center stage all the time.

And yes, on playoff team, he's your MVP. There aren't enough old school players out there who understand the value of hits versus homeruns.

Stumpy

The Hawk! Really good ballplayer, really bad haircut!

Who else in the AL really deserves the MVP? If not Ichiro, then Vlad. Maybe Shef. But Ichiro is a phenomenal ballplayer. If he sets the hits record, its a no-brainer.

Adonde?

Ichiro is a great player and the record is an accomplishment, but think about it, MOST VALUABLE PLAYER, which means most valuable player to their team in the league. If he is the most valuable to his team which is horrible, then what would be the point of saying he is the most valuable player in the league.

I think that there are a ton of players that will rival ichiros' performance on field and actually lead their teams far into the playoffs. Hideki Matsui, Gary Sheffield, Vlad gurrero and Manny ramierez come to mind. Also Nathan on Minnesota as well as Mariano Rivera are looking dominating this year. Eh who knows.

lefty

Let's really heat this up . . . if indeed we're talking MVP, Most Valuable Player then stats really shouldn't have a damned thing to do with the award. If there's a Best Player In The League Award, then stats matter, but MVP needs careful examination--which, unfortunately, most beat writers don't lend to the balloting.

My vote, and I'm not a Yankee fan, would go to Jeter. Jeter runs the pinstriper's clubhouse. He's the engine for the team. When Joe T. moved him to lead-off, he became a one man run machine (not Vince Coleman or Rickey Henderson, but amazing).

Jeter does whatever necessary to make his team better and contributes when it matters most. That defines MVP to me. And the best example of that: Kirk Gibson in 1988. Gibson meant more to the Dodgers than even Orel Hershiser (who had the best year I've ever seen--since I didn't see Bob Gibson pitch in '68!). He was the heart and soul of that team. His stats seemed marginal . . . but without him, on the field and in the clubhouse, the Dodgers would have been a second division club.

Go Jeter. In the NL, Jim Edmonds (but I'm a biased homer!)

:happycow:

Stumpy

Okay, best Gibby story I've ever heard ... spring training, '88 Gibby gets pelted with a shaving cream pie during some grapefuit league nonsense. He gets pissed, really pissed. The next day he stands up at a team meeting, and says something to the effect of "You guys are having fun, which is why you lose. I don't like you, but I'll be the first one in a fight if you're in one. I'm here to win, and I have your back."

Any '88 BlueBoy will say the same thing; without Gibby, they're a .500 club.

So with the Gibby theory in mind, my MVP goes to Kevin Millar. :happycow:

Adonde?

ifeelemo

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Ichiro is a great player, and he is having a phenominal year. But he is by no means the most valuable player to the league. To the mariners, sure. But the mariners suck. Like someone already pointed out, its the Most Valuable Player, not the Best Player Statistically.

I just wish he would include his last name. The only bastards that get one name are Prince and Madonna. You ain't either, ur name is fucking Suzuki!