2010 NL and AL Sabermetric MVPs
With the National League MVP announcement today, we thought we’d unveil something ourselves: our annual sabermetric MVP rankings. (regular readers of this blog are familiar with the concept). As a Cardinals fan, we hate to write it, but it really shouldn’t even be close this year. Joey Votto deserves it, hands down.
| Rk | Name | Team | WAR | WPA | MVP |
| 1 | Joey Votto | Reds | 7.4 | 6.85 | 14.25 |
| 2 | Albert Pujols | Cardinals | 7.3 | 5.38 | 12.68 |
| 3 | Roy Halladay | Phillies | 6.6 | 4.91 | 11.51 |
| 4 | Matt Holliday | Cardinals | 6.9 | 4.10 | 11.00 |
| 5 | Ryan Zimmerman | Nationals | 7.2 | 3.75 | 10.95 |
| 6 | Ubaldo Jimenez | Rockies | 6.3 | 4.22 | 10.52 |
| 7 | Adrian Gonzalez | Padres | 5.3 | 5.11 | 10.41 |
| 8 | Jason Heyward | Braves | 5.0 | 4.82 | 9.82 |
| 9 | Josh Johnson | Marlins | 6.3 | 3.47 | 9.77 |
| 10 | Aubrey Huff | Giants | 5.7 | 3.70 | 9.40 |
| 11 | Adam Wainwright | Cardinals | 6.1 | 3.16 | 9.26 |
| 12 | Carlos Gonzalez | Rockies | 6.0 | 3.16 | 9.16 |
| 13 | Andres Torres | Giants | 6.0 | 2.42 | 8.42 |
| 14 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 4.8 | 3.25 | 8.05 |
| 15 | Jayson Werth | Phillies | 5.0 | 3.01 | 8.01 |
| 16 | Roy Oswalt | Astros/Phillies | 4.7 | 3.30 | 8.00 |
| 17 | Dan Uggla | Marlins | 5.1 | 2.76 | 7.86 |
| 18 | Troy Tulowitzki | Rockies | 6.4 | 1.30 | 7.70 |
| 18 | Brian McCann | Braves | 5.3 | 2.40 | 7.70 |
| 20 | Rickie Weeks | Brewers | 6.1 | 1.57 | 7.67 |
That’s not to say Pujols didn’t have a super season. Votto was simply better.
Cardinal partisans will likely notice that St. Louis had three players among the top 11 — Pujols, Matt Holliday and Adam Wainwright — and yet finished second in the Central Division to Votto’s Reds. That might lend further credence to the popular take on MVP deservedness, which asks how well a team would’ve done without the candidate. Curiously, while three of the NL’s four playoff teams were represented in the top nine, the World Champion San Francisco Giants didn’t have a single player (Aubrey Huff was 10th).
In the American League, the Sabermetric MVP ratings were almost a dead heat, with less than one point separating the top two:
| Rk | Name | Team | WAR | WPA | MVP |
| 1 | Josh Hamilton | Rangers | 8.0 | 6.25 | 14.25 |
| 2 | Miguel Cabrera | Tigers | 6.2 | 7.42 | 13.62 |
| 3 | Felix Hernandez | Mariners | 6.2 | 5.12 | 11.32 |
| 4 | Jose Bautista | Blue Jays | 6.9 | 3.66 | 10.56 |
| 5 | Jered Weaver | Angels | 5.9 | 4.02 | 9.92 |
| 6 | Robinson Cano | Yankees | 6.4 | 3.50 | 9.90 |
| 7 | Cliff Lee | Mariners/Rangers | 7.0 | 2.79 | 9.79 |
| 8 | Shin-Soo Choo | Indians | 5.7 | 3.97 | 9.67 |
| 9 | Carl Crawford | Rays | 6.8 | 2.62 | 9.42 |
| 10 | Evan Longoria | Rays | 6.9 | 2.47 | 9.37 |
Although Josh Hamlton blew away the competition in WAR, Miguel Cabrera impacted the outcome of games unlike anyone else. Hamilton ultimately gets our vote, but the finish was a lot closer than we expect the writers’ vote to be.
November 22nd, 2010 at 12:06 pm
THE LAST TWO MONTHS OF THE SEASON… Joey Votto Vs Albert Pujols… Runs: Pujols 52. Votto 32. Hits: Pujols 68. Votto 58. 2B: Pujols 16. Votto 18. HR: Pujols 18. Votto 10. RBI: Pujols 46. Votto 41. AVG: Pujols 337. Votto 320. BB: Pujols 37. Votto 31. IBB: Pujols 14. Votto 6. Strikeouts: Pujols 25. Votto 42. OBP: Pujols 443. Votto 426. SLG: Pujols 683. Votto. 586. OPS: Pujols 1.126. Votto 1.012……. Team Results: Reds 29-23. Cards 27-29…………..Clearly, down the stretch Albert Pujols was the best and the MVP on the NL… but Joey Votto had a much better supporting cast than Albert Pujols. …………………………….The Reds Finished 4TH in BATTING AVERAGE. and the CARDS 9TH. The Reds Finished 4TH in RUNS, and the CARDS 14th. The Reds Finished 5th- ON BASE PERCENTAGE, and the CARDS 13th. The Reds Finished 4th- on SLUGGING PC. and the Cards 16……… Finally, no matter what happen tomorrow…. Albert Pujols is the NL MVP.
November 22nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Wins Above Replacement Baseball-Reference
1. Pujols (STL) 7.2
2. Halladay (PHI) 6.5
3. Jimenez (COL) 6.5
4. Gonzalez (SDP) 6.3
5. Votto (CIN) 6.2
6. Wainwright (STL)6.1
7. Johnson (FLA) 5.9
8. Huff (SFG) 5.9
9. Hudson (ATL) 5.7
10.Tulowitzki (COL) 5.6
November 22nd, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Albert Pujols had less strikeouts (76) than Joey Votto (125) in more at bat than Joey Votto. Pujols had more EXTRA BASES, WALKS, RUNS, HR, RBI, BB, IBB, HITS, 2B, TOTAL BASES, RUN CREATED, AT BAT P HR, MORE SACRIFICE FLIES, TIME ON BASES …. MADE LESS ERRORS, MORE PUTOUTS, MORE ASSISTS, MORE DOUBLE PLAYS, BETTER FIELDING PERCENTAGE, BETTER RANGE FACTOR, ETC. ETC……….. In other WORDS, Joey Votto got ESPN and the MEDIA, but Albert Pujols got the NUMBERS…. WHAT AN IRONY!
November 22nd, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Didn’t Albert once comment that the MVP should come from a playoff bound team?