Not saying Joe Mauer didn't deserve the MVP. But if Jeet or Tex had the same years on another team -- say, the KC Royals -- they'd have been assured at least one first-place vote from a home town writer.
And the scribe would be a hero today.
But not the NYC sportspack. Nope. They're always looking for that chance to patronize, to slip in a rabbit punch -- you know, to remind the stars that writers have some power, afterall.
Not one first-place vote for Tex.
Not one first-place vote for Jeet.
Did they discuss this beforehand? Did they make a pact?
OK, maybe it's just the "Rocky" Oscars scenario.
In 1976, the Best Film -- "Rocky" -- whiffed on four best acting nominees -- Bert Young, Sylvester Stallone, Burgess Meredith and Talia Shire. They canceled each other out among voters. Stallone lost to Peter Finch, the then-deceased actor (think: Heath Ledger) who portrayed the future Glenn Beck in "Network." Talia lost to Faye Dunaway, basically because she had been screwed out of her rightful victory in "Bonnie & Clyde."
Meredith & Young lost for Best Supporting Actor because -- let's face it -- two players on the same team is death in the voting. Jason Robards won for "All the President's Men." Can anybody recall his character? Hell, no. But he won anyway. Meredith's "Mickey" goes down as one of the greatest movie characters of all time. No Oscar, though.
Jeet someday goes into the Hall, first-ballot. This year, even more than his rookie season, was his best shot at the MVP. Not one first-place vote. Not one.
Teixeira? See above. Not one first-place vote. Not one.
If just one NYC scribe voted for his/her home town, Joe Mauer would still have won the MVP. (By the way, Miguel Cabrera got a first-place vote; can you believe it?) And today that writer would eatin' lightning and crappin' thunder!
But the writer would have done a terrible thing: betray the local wolf pack.
Nobody dares do that.
Well said.
ReplyDeleteMiguel Cabrera?! The voter was a member of the Japanese press who covers the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro I could understand, but I really don't get Cabrera. He wasn't as good as Teixeira, either offensively or defensively, and he had the "distinction" of getting stupid drunk on the night before the one-game playoff with the Twins, which the Tigers lost (though Cabrera played well.)
ReplyDeleteMauer totally deserved the award, but I too expected some first place votes for either Jeter, Tex or both, particularly after Jeter won the Hank Aaron Award for best offensive player in the AL and the Gold Glove, and Tex led the league in both HR and RBI and won a Gold Glove.
I'm OK with this one. Mauer deserved it. I'm still pissed and bitter that Morneau won over Jeter a couple years ago. That was a robbery.
ReplyDeleteThe salt in the wound is that the AP writeup of the announcement had Morneau and Mauer toasting with Champagne.
The problem with using Jeter's Hank Aaron Award as criteria for MVP is that he didn't deserve that award. I love Jeter, but his mantel is already full of awards that he didn't deserve. He should have won the MVP in 1999 and probably in 2006, but not this year. And he should never win a Gold Glove, even if his defense is better than it used to be. "Better" is not the same as "good."
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