The 2009 AL Most Valuable Player Award is being announced today at 2 p.m.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com wrote an article yesterday that implied Derek Jeter has the best chance to win the award besides the heavy favorite Joe Mauer.
That surprised me, as I have thought all along that Mark Teixeira has the best chance because he led the league in homers and RBIs and played gold glove defense.
DiComo made a good point about this possibly being a chance for one of those “lifetime achievement” giveaways. He came close in 2006 but lost to Justin Morneau, and nobody expected him to make another run at the award again. Now that he has, the writers may feel it is time for him to pick up some new hardware.
The MVP debate is so hard to discuss because everyone has their own guidelines they go by. For example, some people say that it is amazing how Mauer was able to compile the numbers he did while missing the first month of the year. My argument would be that he didn’t do anything for the team for a whole month, so that loses a lot of value.
Also, some writers my weigh the fact that Mauer led his team to the playoffs without Justin Morneau extremely high, while others will ignore the fact that Mark Teixeira changed as a hitter when Alex Rodriguez joined the lineup in May.
I hope the vote isn’t a blow out, but I think it will be. Anyone dare to say Mauer isn’t the guy?
UPDATE: Beat writer Sam Borden predicts a second place finish for Jeter, while Mark Feinsand sees Teixeira taking second.
(Either way, Jeter and Teixeira are going to have World Series rings, and Mauer will not.)
