By: Ryan Andre
First of all, I want to give full disclosure to the fact that I am a huge Ryan Braun fan. But rest assure, I will (try to) leave all bias aside and write as a true professional. With that said, this guy should absolutely be the NL MVP. Braun not only has the best numbers among any batter in the National League, but he has the playoff-bound team to justify his value.
First of all, I want to give full disclosure to the fact that I am a huge Ryan Braun fan. But rest assure, I will (try to) leave all bias aside and write as a true professional. With that said, this guy should absolutely be the NL MVP. Braun not only has the best numbers among any batter in the National League, but he has the playoff-bound team to justify his value.
With less than two weeks left in the season, its safe to say the NL MVP award will likely go to one of three batters: Braun, Andrew McCutchen or Buster Posey. All three have posted monster stats.
Looking at the raw numbers, Posey is clearly the odd man out here. Yes, he plays half of his games in pitcher-friendly AT&T Park, and yes, his numbers are Godly in comparison to his teammates (not including The Juice Man), but Posey's inability to steal bases ultimately effects his ability to score runs. This is enough for me to eliminate him from the conversation. Sorry Posey.
In the new table I eliminated the columns differentiated by less than five units because those categories will be won or lost in the last two weeks of the season. Those categories (R, 2B, 3B, BB, K) will likely remain too close to be used in the decision making process. The remaining, more differentiated numbers show that Braun will finish with more HRs, RBIs, SBs and and a higher slugging percentage. I believe that most teams would choose the power numbers and base running ability over McCutchen's batting average.
Playing for a playoff team team is just as important (see Matt Kemp last year). That is why the MVP talks favored McCutchen at the end of August, when the Brew Crew were eleven games back from the Pirates in the wildcard race. McCutchen had just finished July with seven HRs batting .446 as Braun had finished with a modest .301 BA an six HRs.
I vividly remember hearing that Braun is undeserving because it is easier to hit without the pressure of October baseball, as many presumed that the Brewers were more likely to sell at the trade deadline than to contend for the playoffs. Braun would be “padding” his stats in the month to come.
Now two weeks away from October, the Brewers are 2.5 games out of a wildcard and three games ahead of the slumping Pirates. Braun has batted .313 with 12 HRs since July. McCutchen has batted .269 with eight HRs. I guess he did pad his stats. So much so that his team is now in the heart of the playoff race.
Braun's numbers are already stronger than they were in his MVP campaign last year despite losing Prince Fielder, one of the best body guards in the league. He has put the team on his back during the final stretch of the regular season and continues to march an epic comeback. If Braun doesn't win MVP, it will likely be due to a falsely failed PED test (whole other argument), and for that, my support goes out to the most deserving candidate, Braun.
Playing for a playoff team team is just as important (see Matt Kemp last year). That is why the MVP talks favored McCutchen at the end of August, when the Brew Crew were eleven games back from the Pirates in the wildcard race. McCutchen had just finished July with seven HRs batting .446 as Braun had finished with a modest .301 BA an six HRs.
I vividly remember hearing that Braun is undeserving because it is easier to hit without the pressure of October baseball, as many presumed that the Brewers were more likely to sell at the trade deadline than to contend for the playoffs. Braun would be “padding” his stats in the month to come.
Now two weeks away from October, the Brewers are 2.5 games out of a wildcard and three games ahead of the slumping Pirates. Braun has batted .313 with 12 HRs since July. McCutchen has batted .269 with eight HRs. I guess he did pad his stats. So much so that his team is now in the heart of the playoff race.
Braun's numbers are already stronger than they were in his MVP campaign last year despite losing Prince Fielder, one of the best body guards in the league. He has put the team on his back during the final stretch of the regular season and continues to march an epic comeback. If Braun doesn't win MVP, it will likely be due to a falsely failed PED test (whole other argument), and for that, my support goes out to the most deserving candidate, Braun.
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