A few years back I once told a friend whom I had started a fantasy baseball league with to watch out for this new guy in Cincinnati... a top prospect by the name of Joey Votto. Votto was a young talented player who, by many scouts, was said to have a great blend of power and contact, and also had a great knowledge for the game. Well, truth be told, I had never really expected Votto to be an MVP, let alone beat out his 1B counterpart Albert Pujols! Votto won the NL MVP voting with a whopping 31 out of 32 possible first place votes, the lone 1 going to Pujols. Votto had a similar statistical season to Pujols, hitting 37 long balls, drove in 113 runs, and hit for a .324 average. Pujols won 2 legs of the NL Triple Crown in home runs(42) and runs batted in(118), and hit for a .312 average.
Now you might be wondering, "wait, it looks like Pujols had a slightly better season... why didn't he win???"
Well, one reason was simply that Votto's team made the playoffs. Although that was NOT the primary reason Votto won. The REAL reason he won was because Votto not only led the NL in slugging percentage(.600), but also led the entire MLB with a .424 on-base percentage. Not only was Votto able to hit, but he showed great patience and discipline when he stepped up to the plate, and carried the Cincinnati Reds to an NL Central division title. And this was the guy who barely made it in to the All Star Game, and was almost snubbed a spot.
Rockies OF Carlos Gonzalez finished 3rd in the MVP voting, while the 4th, 5th, and 6th top vote getters were Padres 1B Adrian Gonzalez, Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki, and NL Cy Young winner and Phillies P Roy Halladay
No comments:
Post a Comment