tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131289420618991795.post3921584830956401257..comments2023-06-17T08:53:42.643-04:00Comments on ShysterBall: Twelve Simple RulesCraig Calcaterrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00190345915954808542noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131289420618991795.post-37945280791481864492007-10-04T09:00:00.000-04:002007-10-04T09:00:00.000-04:00Osmodious --It is a sticky wicket, isn't it? I st...Osmodious --<BR/><BR/>It is a sticky wicket, isn't it? I struggle too, and there have probably been as many occasions over the past 20 years where I have been a supporter of a guy who just sort of feels like an MVP as occasions when I have been behind the clear statistical leader.<BR/><BR/>It's a tough year. To me it's a tossup between Holliday and Prince Fielder. Hard for me to choose between them because I really don't blame Fielder for the Brewers not making it into the playoffs -- if anything he was the only reason they stayed so close for so long. Ultimately I think I would lean towards Fielder due to a very slight Coors discount on Holliday (but nothing like the discount most writers will be inclined to apply). In the end, though, I acknowledge that I am probably biased by having seen Fielder more than Holliday, and by the knowledge that I think Fielder will be the better player going forward for many years. No, it shouldn't have anything to do with it (MVP is for THIS year) but I'm almost incapable of ignoring it.Craig Calcaterrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00190345915954808542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131289420618991795.post-86976131360944696512007-10-03T17:06:00.000-04:002007-10-03T17:06:00.000-04:00Interesting 'rules'...though they seem to be based...Interesting 'rules'...though they seem to be based more on 'precedent' than on a pure analysis of what *should* be the criteria (I guess this is the difference between the views of an analyst and those of a lawyer? :-).<BR/><BR/>Every season I struggle with the whole MVP thing. I try to come up with some qualitative (or quantitative) analysis of a player's raw value...but it just feels wrong to me, maybe because this is a sport where the vaunted 'intangibles' are both important and impossible to quantify. Since most of us don't get a vote, trying to figure out how the voters usually go is as good a way as any to try to figure out who will win.<BR/><BR/>But, then again, the beauty of baseball is that we can ignore those precedents and attempt to define our own MVP criteria (to ID the 'should win' rather than the 'will win'). There *are* some statistics that can help here (VORP, WARP and such...and what about great forgotten stats like 'Productive Outs'?), but numbers will only take you so far. Basing it on purely voting is rough, too, for the reasons you outlined in your post...popularity contests rarely allow the cream to rise.<BR/><BR/>Short story: I was away from the game for a long time, coming back and falling in love again in the late 90's. Being a Yankee fan, I was immediately turned off by all the hype on Derek Jeter...I couldn't stand him right off because of it. But then I started watching every day, and I slowly realized that the hype was all wrong...this guy isn't a superstar, he may be the best pure all around baseball player of his generation (not just skill, talent and work...he's got a baseball BRAIN, constantly weighing every variable available, and he plays 100% every inning of every game).<BR/><BR/>My point? Perhaps the only people fit to judge who is the most valuable player for their team are those that watch (and analyze) every day. <BR/><BR/>Of course, that really doesn't help with an overall MVP, because most of us are, according to the above, unqualified to judge those of other teams.Osmodioushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01629875493204286891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9131289420618991795.post-15626741710828323392007-10-03T13:48:00.000-04:002007-10-03T13:48:00.000-04:00Great stuff...I think you're right: Holliday over ...Great stuff...I think you're right: Holliday over Rollins is how the vote shakes out.JDBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02501374646330624725noreply@blogger.com