[Designated hitters shouldn't even exist let alone be considered for MVP awards...A-Rod's selection is a no-brainer.]
By JACK CURRY
Published: November 15, 2005
The New York Times
The debate about whether Alex Rodriguez or David Ortiz was more valuable percolated through a tense baseball season. It was the complete player against the clutch hitter. It was a passionate city's superstar against another adoring city's icon. It was a personal twist on the rivalry between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
When the 28 ballots, from two baseball writers in each of the 14 American League cities, were revealed yesterday, Rodriguez narrowly beat Ortiz to capture his second Most Valuable Player award in three seasons. The smooth third baseman from the Yankees defeated the burly designated hitter from the Red Sox.
Rodriguez finished first on 16 ballots cast by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, second on 11 and third on one for 331 points. The system awards 14 points for first-place votes, 9 for second, 8 for third, 7 for fourth, and so on down to 1 point for a 10th-place vote. Ortiz garnered 11 firsts and 17 seconds for 307 points. Vladimir Guerrero of the Los Angeles Angels, who was last year's M.V.P., secured the only other first-place vote.
After Rodriguez won, he said that he did not expect the award to reduce the scrutiny of him. With a $252 million contract and a reputation as perhaps the elite player in the game, Rodriguez said he would probably always be judged differently.
"We can win three World Series," Rodriguez said. "With me, it's never going to be over. My benchmark is so high that no matter what I do, it's never going to be enough. But I understand that."
The Yankees witnessed a more comfortable Rodriguez during his second season in New York this year. He hit .321 with a league-leading 48 homers, along with 130 runs batted in, 124 runs scored and a .421 on-base percentage to help the Yankees rebound from a dreadful start and win the A.L. East. Boston finished second, although the teams had identical 95-67 records.
Ortiz's season included a succession of splashy hits and ended with his batting .300, with 47 homers, a major-league-best 148 R.B.I., 119 runs scored and a .397 on-base percentage. Ortiz had statistics superior to Rodriguez's in clutch hitting situations, but Rodriguez was better in a majority of statistical comparisons and played strong defense, too.
"There are probably like 15 or 16 offensive categories, if you want to be a baseball junkie," Rodriguez said. "I'm not sure, but I think I won in 10 or 12 of those. But I think defense, for the most part, being a balanced player and also taking away a lot of runs on the defensive side, was a major factor."
Clearly, Rodriguez's victory was one for the everyday player over the everyday hitter. He played in all 162 games, made just 12 errors at third base and even stole 21 bases. Ortiz played 10 games at first and was Boston's full-time designated hitter. No designated hitter has ever been named M.V.P.
"This is an A-Rod day in New York," George Steinbrenner, the principal owner of the Yankees, said in a statement.
Ortiz had a chance to win the M.V.P. because of his dramatic hits. The statistic known as "in late and close situations" is defined as at-bats in the seventh inning and beyond when the player's team is ahead by one run or is tied, or the potential tying run is at least on deck. In those situations, Ortiz hit .346 with 11 homers and 33 R.B.I.; Rodriguez was at .293 with 4 homers and 12 R.B.I. Ortiz also batted .352 with runners in scoring position, 62 points higher than Rodriguez.
"I think it's discrimination right there against the D.H.," said Ortiz, in discussing his chances for the M.V.P. this year. "It's a position, bro. Who are the guys making the money? The hitters."
Still, when Rodriguez was asked to define M.V.P., he mentioned "doing it from both sides of the field" and "being on the field every day" before saying he would rather play baseball than have to decide on its M.V.P.
The two New York voters, Ken Davidoff of Newsday and John Delcos of The Journal News, picked Rodriguez first; the two Boston voters, Steve Krasner of The Providence Journal and Bill Ballou of The Worcester Telegram & Gazette, gave Ortiz their first-place votes.
"I felt if a D.H. was going to win, he'd have to blow away the stats that the position player had," Delcos said. "I don't think Ortiz did that."
Ballou said he thought Ortiz did.
"What Ortiz did in terms of timeliness and production was over and above anything I'd ever seen a D.H. do," he said.
Davidoff said he waited until the final weekend of the regular season to make his decision and gave Rodriguez the edge once the Yankees clinched the division over Boston.
"If the Red Sox would have won, I would have voted for Ortiz," he said.
Guerrero, finishing behind Rodriguez and Ortiz, received his first-place vote from Gene Guidi of The Detroit Free Press. Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox was fourth (156), Travis Hafner of the Cleveland Indians was fifth (151), Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox was sixth (128) and Mark Teixeira of the Texas Rangers was seventh (106). Three Yankees - Gary Sheffield, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter - completed the top 10.
Rodriguez becomes the fourth player to win the award at two positions and the fourth to win it with two teams; he won it as a shortstop for the Texas Rangers in 2003. He received a $1 million contractual bonus. Because Rodriguez is expected to excel, he will probably field more questions next spring about going 2 for 15 in the postseason than he will about winning the M.V.P.
"My approach never changes," Rodriguez said. "It's to go out and be the best player I can and help my team win and get back to being world champions. Maybe when I retire, all the critics and all that kind of stuff will end."
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