The Offical NL MVP Race Thread

[moneyman255]

We are now under a month away. NL MVP race is pretty damn tight, here are some canadiates this season:

Kemp LAD: .320 AVG, .32 HR, 106 RBI, .400 OBP, .570 SLG, .970 OPS, 37 SB
Braun MIL: .335 AVG, 27 HR, 95 RBI, .404 OBP, .595 SLG, .999 OPS, 31 SB
Fielder MIL: .293 AVG, 31 HR, 107 RBI, .405 OBP, .544 SLG, .949 OPS, 91 BB
Tulo COL: .304 AVG, 29 HR, 100 RBI, .376 OBP, .550 SLG, .927 OPS, 9 SB
Votto CIN: .316 AVG, 26 HR, 88 RBI, .428 OBP, .536 SLG, .964 OPS, 100 BB
Upton COL: .296 AVG, 27 HR, 82 RBI, .378 OBP, .540 SLG, .918 OPS, 20 SB

I don't feel like looking up the WAR #'s, but last I checked 3 days ago or so, Braun was at 6.1 and Kemp was at like 6.5.

How would your top 6 go?

1. Braun MIL
2. Kemp LAD
3. Upton ARI
4. Votto CIN
5. Tulo COL
6. Fielder MIL

[manchild24]

Braun

[EmpireWF]

It's a weird race cause I wouldn't vote for Kemp since his team is horrible and I don't know if I'd vote for either Brewer with them splitting support.

[Warner2BruceTD]

I think Kemp has been the best player all year but he's not the most valuable.

They created that Hank Aaron award for guys like Kemp who play for bad teams, but nobody cares about it.

[Primetime]

Braun's to lose. Batting title, 30/30, leads the league in slugging and runs, etc.

[NAHSTE]

Braun. Leads the league in OPS, average and will likely have 30/30. Just too multifaceted and productive for the voters to ignore, especially on a winning team.

In a year with not many candidates, I don't mind giving it to the best overall player and leaving team achievement out of it but Braun has separated himself from the pack as the clear cut winner IMO.

[FedEx227]

In a perfect "non-valuable" world Matt Kemp would probably win because of stellar offense + defense.

If you want to give it to the most deserving guy on a winning team then it's Braun easily.

[Goober]

In a perfect "non-valuable" world Matt Kemp would probably win because of stellar offense + defense.

If you want to give it to the most deserving guy on a winning team then it's Braun easily.

Kemp is a terrible centerfielder. If you want to give it to someone with a good glove it has to be Tulo or Upton, no?

[FedEx227]

He's not great but he's certainty less of a butcher in CF than Braun is in LF.

My point was with both combined Kemp is probably the best player in the baseball this year. The 2nd best is Braun. Braun is on a winner. The award usually goes to a winning team. Braun should win.

Tulo and Upton are of course better defensive players but Kemp and Braun are much better offensively.

[Primetime]

He's not great but he's certainty less of a butcher in CF than Braun is in LF.

My point was with both combined Kemp is probably the best player in the NL this year. The 2nd best is Braun. Braun is on a winner. The award usually goes to a winning team. Braun should win.

Tulo and Upton are of course better defensive players but Kemp and Braun are much better offensively.

[FedEx227]

Meh. Verlander is fucking awesome, no doubt... but the impact an offensive player has vs one that plays every five days is obvious.

[Primetime]

Meh. Verlander is fucking awesome, no doubt... but the impact an offensive player has vs one that plays every five days is obvious.

Now you're going back to the argument of best vs. most valuable. Kemp = more valuable, Verlander = best.

[moneyman255]

Ryan Braun's UZR is around -8 which is awful, but Matt Kemp is also at -5.8 this season. They both are pretty bad defensively (although Braun is worse)

Kemp's UZR last season was: -25.7 in 1346.0 innings.

How you can consider him to be a good defender is beyond me. You said Kemp had stellar offense+ defense. In reality, he is just a stellar offense player, just like Braun.

[Sharkweather]

Kemp is a terrible centerfielder. If you want to give it to someone with a good glove it has to be Tulo or Upton, no?

:bizzaro:

[FedEx227]

Now you're going back to the argument of best vs. most valuable. Kemp = more valuable, Verlander = best.

I don't think MVP awards should go to pitchers regardless. When I said best player I guess I should've specified best position player.

I don't think you can compare the two because their impacts are so dramatically different.