As I did at this time last season, I wanted to get a feel for who Yankees fans see as the most important players on the team. I will briefly list the names I believe people will raise with a brief blurb as to their case, and will then turn the discussion over to you in the comments. The names listed are people that I have heard mentioned in the same sentence as the word MVP. Chime in with your rankings in the comments.
1) Robinson Cano: Depending on the source of your data, he is either first or second (to Josh Hamilton) in the AL in WAR. He has been fantastic at the plate all year, with few slumps sullying his record. His defense has been impressive as well, and I would not be surprised if he won a Gold Glove. I suspect Cano will top most of these lists, as he deserves consideration for AL MVP.
2) CC Sabathia: CC has been a rock in the rotation for the Yankees, giving them quality length every time he touches the hill. He has pitched into the 6th inning in all but one start, and had 14 wins and a 3.14 ERA to show for his efforts.
3) Nick Swisher: According to Fangraphs, Swisher is 12th among all AL position players in WAR. Much like Cano, he has been remarkably consistent this season, and has been a stabilizing force in a lineup that has had some key members struggle for much of the year.
4) Mariano Rivera: The man is simply absurd. .88 ERA, .61 WHIP, 6.0 SO/BB make for another transcendent season. I am starting to believe that he will never age.
5) Brett Gardner: Brett has slowed down of late, but is still among the top 20 AL position players in terms of WAR. He has been excellent defensively while showing an ability to reach base regularly.
Others: Andy Pettitte’s injury kept him off my list for now…..Mark Teixeira is the most likely player to find himself shooting up these ranking over the next few months…..Phil Hughes shows well in many of the advanced statistical categories, but his struggles over the last few months caused me to cut him from consideration.
What does your list look like?
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6 Responses to Discussion: Who Is The Yankees' MVP?
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TIQ IQ
Gotta be Cano. When the rest of the offense was crashing in June, two men carried them on their backs: Cano and Gardner. Cano gets a bonus for being absolutely insane on offense. When he steps up to the plate, you get that feeling of “Shit is going down right now.” Take that game at Tropicana Field a week ago. That ridiculous scoreboard HR capped the funnest game of the season.
List for me goes:
1. Cano
2. Gardner
3. Pettitte
4. Sabathia
5. Swisher
Honorable mention goes to Mariano, who, ridiculous stats aside, is still a closer. Tex will probably be on this list by year’s end.
Dishonorable mentions to Derek Jeter, Joba Chamberlain, AJ Burnett, Randy Winn, and Ramiro Pena
Kinda crazy you’d lump DJ in with Burnett and Winn. I get it though … you expected a season along the lines of his career averages, and it looks like he’ll fall waaaay short across the board.
I would’ve removed Dj from the bottom 5 and replaced him with Nick Johnson.
Right now, it’s Cano (defense has often been brilliant tihs season) with Swish a very close second.
No A-Rod or Tex on top 5, really? A-Rod is second in the majors with 88 RBIs and Tex is first on the team in homers with 25. I’d put either over Gardy, who’s been slumping lately. As for my vote, I go Cano right now, but Swish is catching up – and will catch up if his home run rate post-ASG keeps up.
Absolutely. A-Rod is having a down year, and Tex was awful for 2.5 months. As I said, Tex will likely move up, but right now, neither is in my top 5.
1. Cano – i’m hoping he’ll finish 2nd in the AL MVP race. What can i say? I’m being pragmatic. Hamilton is a shoe-in for the award to date.
2. CC – is it crazy to think he can still win the Cy Young award with a great finish down the stretch? If he can win 20 games and drop the WHIP just under 1.20, how could he not win it?
3. Teixeira – Amazing turn-around. Even after a horrid first 2+ months, Teix could still OPS close to .900. SICK.
4. Swisher – Got engaged. Earned the All-star appearance. Great year.
5. Mo – Mr. Steadily Awesome.