As mentioned yesterday, Tom Gage of the Detroit News was one of two voters who didn’t consider Alex Rodriguez’ otherworldly 2007 campaign worthy of a first-place MVP vote, instead opting for the Tigers’ Magglio Ordonez. Facing a firestorm of ridicule, Gage writes, “As long as you follow your conscience, as long as you vote the way you think you should, and what your heart and eyes tell you — even if it’s in a lopsided minority — then that’s the way you need to vote.” But enough about your support for Lydon LaRouche, Tom, what about the vote for Maggs?
I did it because I thought Ordonez was more valuable to his team than A-Rod was to his, but also for specific statistical reasons: such as the wide disparity between Ordonez’s batting average (.363-.314) and more so because Ordonez hit .429 with runners in scoring position compared to .333 by A-Rod.
To me, that was the separating proof of value right there. The Tigers were able to depend on Ordonez with runners in scoring position far more than the Yankees were able to depend on A-Rod. Yes, Rodriguez had all those home runs, the glamour stat. Plus he had 17 more RBIs than Ordonez, but only 17.
I think a 49-point difference in batting average and a 96-point difference in their averages with runners in scoring position, the clutch stat to home runs’ glamour, more than offset the obvious reasons to vote for A-Rod.
Rest assured, I did not do it for ‘homer’ reasons. If that were the case, I would have voted for Tigers every chance I had through the years.
What bothered me most, however, was what Keith Law, one of ESPN’s baseball insiders said. He called the vote for Ordonez ‘ridiculous’ — which I didn’t mind. He’s entitled to that opinion. But he also said that when he heard Ordonez had received two first-place votes, he immediately knew the two were cast by Detroit writers because of the pressure on beat writers to basically vote along party lines.
Besides, Ordonez doesn’t talk to us at length anyway. And that’s no slam on him. He’s polite, easy-going, friendly, but never has wanted to be a go-to guy for quotes — and never has been.
If you want to find writers worried about the repercussions of their votes, sir, the ranks of the Baseball Writers Association is not the place to look. Therefore, take your superficial reasoning and upload it.