Who Should Be MVP? Part 2

[dell71]

The other thread was interesting but hardly the only year where there is a debate. I've applied this to another year and the candidates which will be named later. So, who should be MVP from the group below? Vote, discuss.


Player A: .282 / .386 / .508, .384 wOBA, 154 wRC+, 160 OPS+, 29 HR, 109 RBI, 102 R, 9 SB, 0.0 Fld

Player B: .269 / .366 / .545, .390 wOBA, 159 wRC+, 165 OPS+, 39 HR, 101 RBI, 101 R, 29 SB, -6.0 Fld

Player C: .288 / .336 / .496, .367 wOBA, 144 wRC+, 142 OPS+, 27 HR, 99 RBI, 82 R, 21 SB, -8.0 Fld

Player D: .290 / .377 / .483, .377 wOBA, 150 wRC+, 148 OPS+, 25 HR, 76 RBI, 106 R, 31 SB, 6.0 Fld

Player E: .288 / .345 / .506, .372 wOBA, 144 wRC+, 144 OPS+, 25 HR, 100 RBI, 101 R, 30 SB, 6.0 Fld

 

[FirstTimer]

B.

 

[Goober]

I would say B, but it's close enough to where defensive numbers could sway me another way. Hard to cast a vote without seeing the complete picture, since the hitting numbers are so close.

 

[dell71]

I would say B, but it's close enough to where defensive numbers could sway me another way. Hard to cast a vote without seeing the complete picture, since the hitting numbers are so close.

Added in the Fielding # used by fangraphs.

 

[Rudi]

E

 

[Villain]

Gotta be A or B.

 

[Fappin Raptor]

Don't really know what some of these stats mean, but player B would be my choice.

 

[NAHSTE]

B
A
D
E
C

 

[dell71]

Time for the Big Reveal. These are your top 5 finishers for NL MVP of 1988.

5th Place: Player A - Will Clark, SF. "The Thrill" had a great year, but his team, not so much. They finished 4th in the NL West.

4th Place: Player E - Andy Van Slyke, Pit. He was hurt by the fact that fielding proficiency was totally ignored as fielding% was the only stat out there (no one in baseball thought what Bill James and others were doing had much validity for hitting stats, and total disregard for fielding stats). Still, he won a Gold Glove that year. He helped his team to 85 wins and 2nd in the NL East, but that was still 15 games back.

3rd Place: Player C - Kevin McReynolds, NYM. Team was NL East champs with 100 wins, but he split the vote with the guy one slot ahead of him.

2nd Place: Player B - Darryl Strawberry, NYM. At a time when counting stats were undisputed champs of the baseball stat world, he could reasonably say he got robbed. The low BA and high regard for teammate McReynolds didn't help.

NL MVP: Player D - Kirk Gibson, LA. By the popular stats of the day, Gibby hardly seemed an MVP candidate. However, this was one time the voters truly voted for who they thought was "most valuable" as opposed to who had the gaudiest numbers. In '87, he was playing in Detroit as the Dodgers finished 4th in the NL West with 73 wins (17 games out). In his first year in LA they won the division by 7 games with 94 wins.