How great is Yoenis Cespedes? Let the players decide!
I have to admit that I'm a little surprised that Yoenis Cespedes, MVP Candidate has become a thing. Although I suppose this might be one of those "deserves to be in the conversation" things rather than one of those "hey this guy actually deserves to win" things.
Anyway, my friend Matt Kory wrote about all this and here's his big finish:
If the purpose of the separate awards for each league is to honor the best seasons of players in that league, than maybe we should only treat the team a player is on at the end of the year as a qualification for which MVP award a player is eligible to win, rather than assuming that only a player's value while in that league can count towards his candidacy. Cespedes has legitimately been one of the most valuable players in baseball this year; why should we prefer a methodology that is incapable of recognizing that?
Of course, as long as we are limiting ourselves to value created within that specific league, there is simply no way to say he'™s been more valuable to the Mets than Harper has been to the Nationals, (Andrew) McCutchen has been to the Pirates, or (Anthony) Rizzo has been to the Cubs. But there is a stronger argument to be made that Cespedes' overall season has been worthy of MVP consideration independent of the current leagues-centric structure of the MVP award. Cespedes hasn't been the best, but he's been really good, and if you get past the hyperbole and the recency bias, maybe there is something there worth recognizing, and perhaps the fault lies not in Cespedes'™ record but in how we structure the awards themselves.
At one point, it made a lot of sense to have separate awards for both leagues. Back then, the leagues were distinctly different in various ways, plus everybody within the league played the same schedule. Mickey Mantle didn't have to face Yankee pitching, but otherwise Mantle vs. Jackie Jensen was essentially a fair fight.
Today, with unbalanced schedules and interleague games, there aren't any fair fights. Not completely fair, anyway. Unless you're fighting somebody on your own team. Which you shouldn't do because chemistry.
But these are the awards we have. It says right there on the plaque, MOST VALUABLE PLAYER NATIONAL LEAGUE, which would seem to suggest that what you did in the American League really doesn't matter. Not for this one.
Voters were put to the test seven years ago, when Manny Ramirez crushed National League pitching for a couple of months. But as great as he was, Ramirez finished fourth in the MVP balloting. Now, I would argue that he shouldn't have finished nearly that high. You know, considering his "fielding" and considering that Hanley Ramirez and Chase Utley and Chipper Jones and various others were in the league all season and also played brilliantly.
But it's clear that the voters wanted to acknowledge Ramirez's contribution, even while not a single voter thought he was THE most valuable player, since he didn't garner any first-place votes.
One thing that's different this season: Cespedes's team is going to the playoffs and Bryce Harper's team isn't. Back in 2008, Ramirez's team finished in first place. Albert Pujols, who actually won the award, did not play for a first-place team or even a playoff team. But Pujols' Cardinals did finish with a better record than Ramirez's Dodgers. Which might have meant something to some of the voters. Ryan Howard's first-place team certainly meant something to the voters, as he finished right behind Pujols despite a WAR that wasn't among the league's top 15.
Are the awards structured perfectly? Of course not. But they're not going anywhere. The awards are immensely valuable to the Baseball Writers' Association of America, and they're immensely valuable to the players and their agents.
Also, there's an award for the best player. Since 1998, the Players Association has been giving out league-specific awards and an overall Player of the Year award. And of course they've made a hash of it, showing even less analytical acumen than the writers. But it's there.
Hey, doesn't everyone always want to be judged by their peers?