Mr. Tom Haudricourt of the Brewers Blog (hint!) had quite the ballot, which he exposed (foolishly) for all to see. It's as follows:
Here's the way I voted:
1. Ryan Howard, Phil
2. CC Sabathia, Mil
3. Manny Ramirez, LA
4. Carlos Delgado, NY
5. Aramis Ramirez, Chi
6. Prince Fielder, Mil
7. Albert Pujols, Stl
8. Ryan Ludwick, Stl
9. Ryan Braun, Mil
10. David Wright, NY
Howard is whatever. "Carried his team into the playoffs." "Had a great September" and whatever other stupid axioms writers use to vote for inferior players. But let's look at number seven.
7. Albert Pujols
That's not the same guy who garnered 18 of 32 first place votes and finished with 369 total points, is it?
Shit.
He was the seventh most valuable player in baseball according to Mr. Haudricourt. This man, who writes about baseball for a living, placed Pujols seventh on his MVP ballot.
Prince Fielder, the Brewers first basemen (although I am sure that has nothing to do with it), was a more valuable player in Haudricourt's warped mind. Why you ask? Well, you won't get a good answer.
With the Cardinals finishing fourth, I voted Pujols seventh on my ballot. I don't consider MVP to be "the most outstanding player" award and therefore don't just go by who had the best stats. I like to credit players for lifting their teams to the post-season or at least keeping them in the race until the very end.
That last sentence is humorous. "At least keeping them in the race until the very end."
The Cardinals finished 86-76, while your mighty Brewers finished 90-72. That's four games. Care to respond?
I understand that the Cardinals would not have been even close to the wild-card berth without Pujols,
Argument undermined.
but I still like players who elevate their game in crunch time and lift their teams to new heights. And I thought Ryan Ludwick had just as much to do with keeping the Cards in the hunt as Pujols did.
Sept./Oct. splits for Pujols/Ludwick:
Pujols - 1.130 OPS/8 HR/8 2B/17 BB/7 K
Ludwick - .941 OPS/5 HR/9 2B/9 BB/30 K
So "just as much to do" becomes "not nearly as much to do."
St. Louis did stay in the wild card race until mid-September,
That was nice of you to undermine yourself again.
but mainly because the Brewers and Mets were gagging at the time.
Nothing to do with the Cardinals you know, winning while they were "gagging."
It's a subjective vote and every writer has his own preferences. That's why I voted for Sabathia second and Ramirez third because even though they played in the league only half a season they were primarily responsible for putting their teams in the playoffs.
I voted for them because I like them.
This is an inexact science. With 10 names on the ballot, you could move guys around and drive yourself nuts putting them in the spot you feel is best. But that's the way I voted. In sheer offensive numbers, Pujols certainly is tough to beat, which is why it's understandable that he got so much support.
What's not understandable is how the hell you have an MVP vote.
