Mark Teixeira for MVP

No, You’re a Towel readers voted overwhelmingly: Mark Teixeira for MVP. 63% of you voted for Mark Teixeira, followed by 10% for A-Rod, Derek Jeter and Phil Hughes and 5% for Mariano Rivera. The Yankees are the best team in the American League and Tex leads the Yankees in home runs, RBIs, SLG%, OPS, OPS+ and Total Bases. He leads the team in HR% and XBH%. He’s also been a huge help to the rest of the infield, saving their errant throws at first base and won two games for the Yankees in June with his baserunning alone (with a takeout slide at second base and running out Luis Castillo’s dropped pop up).

How does Teixeira rank among the league leaders? According to Baseball-Reference, he leads the league in extra base hits, is 2^nd in total bases, runs created and HR, 3^rd in RBI, adjusted batting wins and adjusted batting runs, 4^th in times on base, 5^th in the league in SLG% and OPS, 6^th in OPS+ and AB/HR, 7^th in offensive win %, 9^th in HBP and IBB, and 10^th in 2B and BB. He’s also hit a lot of Tex messages.

According to FanGraphs, Mark Teixeira ranks 12^th in the AL in “dollar value” for 2009 based on WAR. His teammate Derek Jeter probably won’t get the same MVP love, but he’s ranked much higher. Mark Teixeira is ranked, though, as a slightly below average first baseman and Derek Jeter is ranked as an above average shortstop. I love statistics and UZR is one of them I’ve tried to get a grasp on, but I just can’t accept that as the truth.

The other candidates for MVP include: Minnesota’s Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, Boston’s Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay, Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera, Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria, Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki and Russell Branyan, and Los Angeles’ Kendry Morales. There may be others, but right now, that’s who I see as the top candidates. And out of that group, I think that the Twins’ M&M boys and Miguel Cabrera will be Tex’s biggest challenge.

Rob Neyer doesn’t know if Mark Teixeira will win once the season ends, or whether he should, especially with the season that Joe Mauer is having. If that wasn’t enough, Rob Neyer takes it on for another post saying that basically a vote for Teixeira is a vote for doing the voting the way it’s always been done instead of looking at the actual value of the player and points out a few other blog posts on the subject: Joe Posnanski says that it’s not even close between Mauer (the MVP) and Teixeira,  The Bronx View says that Tex isn’t even the MVP of the Yankees (that’s Jeter), Jonah Keri (somewhat half jokingly) says that it should be Victor Martinez, but Mike Silva fights back and says it should be Teixeira. The Newark Star-Ledger asks if he’s the most boring, the most valuable or a little of both (picture comes from them)?

My opinion? Teixeira’s defensive deficiencies are WAY overstated. The man should win the Gold Glove at that position, he’s been absolutely fabulous. He’s the best player on the Yankees and the Yankees are the best team in the AL. Did he make the 7.5 game difference between the Yanks and Sox? I don’t know, but who cares? If the Yankees go on to win the AL East by 25 games, do they automatically not get an MVP because no one has a WAR of 25? That’s ridiculous.

Regardless, if the Twins make some run at the playoffs, Joe Mauer should be the MVP. I have a hard time giving an MVP to a guy on a team that is below .500 (would they be much worse than “below .500” without him?). But if they can finish above that mark, Mauer has been the best player in the league this season, and he deserves the MVP, even over my guy, Mark Teixeira.