How badly will Ryan Braun get jobbed in the MVP voting? (Finished 2nd to Posey)

[razzzorsharp]

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/20997605/buster-posey-wins-national-league-mvp

[Funketown]

Braun was probably the second best player in the NL this season, and he just finished second.

 

Maybe that's a sign writers are not going to hold last summer against him.

[markedman5]

and Cabrerra wins in a landslide.....glad to say I called this one

 

Bob Nightengale ‏@BNightengale

Cabrera gets 22 of 28 first-place votes to win AL MVP

[DuWayne Steurer]

Maybe a little OT, and thinking a little too far into the future.........

 

But I'm a little heartened by the fact that Brauny was on all 32 ballots. If he continues to play like this for 8-9-10 years, and has a Chipper Jones-like career (minus the injuries), I think the voting results can put to rest our fears about him getting the cold shoulder from Hall voters.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but this seemed like the first litmus test in that regard, at any rate.

[markedman5]

Totally agree. Well on his way to the Hall barring injury

 

Maybe a little OT, and thinking a little too far into the future.........

 

But I'm a little heartened by the fact that Brauny was on all 32 ballots. If he continues to play like this for 8-9-10 years, and has a Chipper Jones-like career (minus the injuries), I think the voting results can put to rest our fears about him getting the cold shoulder from Hall voters.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but this seemed like the first litmus test in that regard, at any rate.

[burnzy24]

I think part of the reason Braun was not left off any ballots is because all of the ballots were made public.

 

Also, I think worst ballot of the year goes to Tracy Ringolsby from Foxsports.com. Highlights from that ballot include Craig Kimbrel 2nd, McCutchen 7th and Yadier Molina 10th!

[Funketown]

Cabrera had a great season. Mike Trout was even better. Not a surprise, and I understand why Cabrera won the award, but I would have given it to Trout without batting an eyelash.

 

Trout will most likely fill his trophy case over the next fifteen years though. I'm really excited to see how great he can be.

[Ennder]

Yeah that is a good result for Braun considering last year. I figured Cabrera would blow Trout away but I thought Trout might get a few more 1st place votes. I bet if this ballot was held 15 years from now it would have been neck and neck and if it had been 15 years ago Trout probably doesn't get 2nd place. Good to see a lot of discussion on MLB network etc about how to value players though including Peter Gammons saying Trout should win which was great!

[Spidey]

I didn't see Buster Olney on any of the major awards ballot lists. I kind of figured he would get a NL MVP ballot and I was curious to see where he put Braun. Oh well, that kind of skepticism/contempt isn't healthy any way...

[TooLiveBrew]

And had it gone down the way is should have, I'd be very interested to know how the voting would go then. Braun would still likely finish 2nd but it'd be much closer.

 

I still think Posey wins in a landslide.

Yeah, the premise of this thread is off. A catcher putting up the numbers Posey did, with a RHB-swallowing park as his home park... there's nothing about this that includes Braun getting "jobbed". Not to mention that Kemp got "jobbed" last season. Just not worth huffing & puffing. Posey had an outstanding season coming off of an horrific injury, and deserves this MVP as much as anyone in the NL this season. Braun had a 'silence the critics' season to show he's not just the product of PEDs. All is well here, folks.

[adambr2]

Agreed. Braun finished 2nd to a deserving winner and wasn't even out of anyone's top 4. I think the whole controversy is probably close to being in the past, and he'll win another at some point.

[torts]

he was getting 2nd place with or without the OTL leak of his failed test.

[trwi7]

To review the writers' ballots just go to the BBWAA website, they're all there. Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star Telegram voted for Rodney. Kurkjian voted for Kimbrel.

 

Tim Kurkjian didn't vote for the NL so he couldn't have voted for Kimbrel. Tracy Ringolsby voted Kimbrel 2nd and John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press voted Jim Johnson 3rd.

 

It was cringeworthy to listen to Kurkjian on SportsCenter talk about how he voted for Cabrera. He said he thought Trout was easily the best player who had the best season but he voted for Cabrera because his team made the playoffs and Trout's team finished 3rd even though he said that wasn't Trout's fault.

 

The logic some of these guys use makes you wonder how they ever got writing jobs in the first place.

[brewerfan82]

To review the writers' ballots just go to the BBWAA website, they're all there. Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star Telegram voted for Rodney. Kurkjian voted for Kimbrel.

 

Tim Kurkjian didn't vote for the NL so he couldn't have voted for Kimbrel. Tracy Ringolsby voted Kimbrel 2nd and John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press voted Jim Johnson 3rd.

 

It was cringeworthy to listen to Kurkjian on SportsCenter talk about how he voted for Cabrera. He said he thought Trout was easily the best player who had the best season but he voted for Cabrera because his team made the playoffs and Trout's team finished 3rd even though he said that wasn't Trout's fault.

 

The logic some of these guys use makes you wonder how they ever got writing jobs in the first place.

Spidey was referencing the Cy Young voting results.

[trwi7]

To review the writers' ballots just go to the BBWAA website, they're all there. Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star Telegram voted for Rodney. Kurkjian voted for Kimbrel.

 

Tim Kurkjian didn't vote for the NL so he couldn't have voted for Kimbrel. Tracy Ringolsby voted Kimbrel 2nd and John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press voted Jim Johnson 3rd.

 

It was cringeworthy to listen to Kurkjian on SportsCenter talk about how he voted for Cabrera. He said he thought Trout was easily the best player who had the best season but he voted for Cabrera because his team made the playoffs and Trout's team finished 3rd even though he said that wasn't Trout's fault.

 

The logic some of these guys use makes you wonder how they ever got writing jobs in the first place.

Spidey was referencing the Cy Young voting results.

 

Ahh, that is what one refers to as my bad.

[splitterpfj]

It seems as though the current trend is, "The best player on a team that makes the playoffs." Braun over Kemp, Posey over Braun, and Cabrera over Trout.

 

However you slice it, Braun should probably have one MVP, and he does.

[Ennder]

It was cringeworthy to listen to Kurkjian on SportsCenter talk about how he voted for Cabrera. He said he thought Trout was easily the best player who had the best season but he voted for Cabrera because his team made the playoffs and Trout's team finished 3rd even though he said that wasn't Trout's fault.

 

The logic some of these guys use makes you wonder how they ever got writing jobs in the first place.

 

I also like how they say Cabrera was hot late and that is why he should win it since he carried his team to the playoffs. The Angels had a better record late in the season than the Tigers, the only reason the Tigers made the playoffs is because the White Sox collapsed. Also a large part of why Cabrera was so hot is he faced the 3 of the 4 worst pitching teams in baseball almost half of his games in the last month and a half. A healthy dose of Cle, Min and KC made a lot of players look good last year.

[Patrick425]

When I saw 2 first place votes for Molina, I assumed they were St. Louis writers. They were actually from NY? I don't understand how anyone can think Molina had a better year than Posey or Braun? I guess perhaps the logic is in regards to his importance to the Cardinals. Still, he does not deserve 1st place votes.

[Funketown]

I think I have found the worst ballot of the year: John Lowe.

 

1) Cabrera, 2) Trout, 3) Johnson (I think Jim Johnson, not Kelly Johnson?), 4) Beltre, 5) Jeter, 6) Hamilton, 7) Rodney, 8) Cespedes, 9) Fielder, 10) Ibanez

 

Jim Johnson: 68 IP, 2.49 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 2 BB/9, 51 SV

Jeter: .316/.362/.429 with Derek Jeter defense

Ibanez: .240/.308/.453 with Raul Ibanez defense

 

Either this guy doesn't take it seriously or he doesn't really understand baseball.

[PrestigeWorldwide]

I believe HOF voters look at top 5 and top 10 MVP finishes, so a second place finish is still a significant accomplishment as it relates to his HOF chances.

 

And a 9th place finish for Ramirez! After Prince left I thought it might be long time until we saw two Brewers in the top 10 again.

[logan82]

And a 9th place finish for Ramirez! After Prince left I thought it might be long time until we saw two Brewers in the top 10 again.

Ramirez had the 4th best OPS(and wOBA) in the NL. I bet if he wasn't on the same team as Braun there would have been a lot for talk about Ramirez for MVP. If he was playing for let's say the Reds, there probably would have been a lot of talk about how he kept them in the race while Votto was hurt.

[Patrick425]

I think I have found the worst ballot of the year: John Lowe.

 

1) Cabrera, 2) Trout, 3) Johnson (I think Jim Johnson, not Kelly Johnson?), 4) Beltre, 5) Jeter, 6) Hamilton, 7) Rodney, 8) Cespedes, 9) Fielder, 10) Ibanez

 

Jim Johnson: 68 IP, 2.49 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 2 BB/9, 51 SV

Jeter: .316/.362/.429 with Derek Jeter defense

Ibanez: .240/.308/.453 with Raul Ibanez defense

 

Either this guy doesn't take it seriously or he doesn't really understand baseball.

 

 

There were other people that voted for Johnson and Jeter, but he was the only one that voted for Ibanez. Almost makes you wonder if somehow this guy got his ballot in late after the playoffs started.

 

What really makes me scratch my head is Sheldon Ocker who gave his 2nd place vote to Beltre and his 3rd place vote to Trout? Huh?

[Outlander]

But I'm a little heartened by the fact that Brauny was on all 32 ballots. If he continues to play like this for 8-9-10 years, and has a Chipper Jones-like career (minus the injuries), I think the voting results can put to rest our fears about him getting the cold shoulder from Hall voters.

 

If the hall of fame voting was disclosed to the public I would agree with you but the way it is set up now you don't know who voted for what player or didn't vote for a player. With these awards everybody is open to scrutiny and if somebody was tempted to not vote for Braun they had to think twice about criticism they would receive.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I couldn't really argue with Braun or Kemp last year...or Braun or Posey this year. All deserving of the award. I thought Kemp's supposed statistical edge over Braun was overstated last year, so a virtual stat tie should go to Braun. Braun had a stat lead over Posey as well, but when factoring the park, division, position and team factor...not to mention the intangible of overcoming his injury, it's a story to feel good about. Congrats Buster, well deserved...you too Ryan, way to overcome your own adversity.

 

Haven't seen it mentioned, but how about ARam coming in 9th? Terrific season there as well. Certainly put a number of contract fears to bed with his 2012. He may be in the red in 2014, but he'll have plenty of accumulated black going into it.

[LouisEly]

The ballot distributed to MVP voters says we must consider the “actual value of a player to his team.” Is there any higher form of value to a team than becoming the biggest factor in that team earning a playoff berth? In a sense, Cabrera’s contribution to the Tigers’ division title might have been more important than the Triple Crown itself.