Outside the Box

Right Player Wins Wrong N.L. Award NY Times (reg. required)

The Baseball Writers Association, whose members vote for the major postseason awards (members from The New York Times do not), does not define M.V.P. That is as it should be, though the absence of a definition has prompted some misguided observers to complain at times about the winner. It seems that those people, mostly television sportscasters but also some new self-anointed experts who appear on the Internet, mistake the M.V.P. award for the player of the year.

What a bunch of hooey! In one breath, Mr. Chass states that there is no definition and then exhales and states that folks whose definition is different than his are plain wrong. I'm guessing Rob Neyer is in here as Rob has been less than complimentary of Mr. Chass.

I'm not sure how this Player of the Year not equal to Most Valuable Player crap started, but it is just plain crazy. Here is how I view the MVP.

What player would I most want on my team for that season?

I think that is a pretty good definition of value. In the AL would you honestly have taken Jason Giambi's 2000 over Pedro Martinez's 2000 or even Alex Rodriguez's, for that matter? Would any manager say, "Well I'd rather have Giambi than Martinez?"

The other thing that annoys me is Mr. Chass's belief it is his birthright to comment on baseball, and that the unclean masses without an NY Times byline should shut up and learn from him. The only reason folks listen to writers like Neyer, BP or BBBA is because Mr. Chass isn't doing his job, and isn't growing and learning and improving his writing with more viewpoints. I really don't like people who don't listen to other points of view. They feel like they've got everything figured out. I've felt that way before and then about two months later I find out I'm a moron.