Donovan McNabb Campaigns for Ryan Howard to be NL MVP
By Larry Brown September 24, 2008 - Posted in Baseball

I briefly touched on my postseason award picks when I argued for Tim Lincecum to win the NL Cy Young. Incidentally, it looks like Brandon Webb will win it because he’s now at 22 wins while Lincecum has tacked on two losses to go 17-5, though I still would choose Lincecum. Anyway, in the comments section we had an argument for Ryan Howard as NL MVP over my pick of Albert Pujols who has been by far the most superior player in the league. Seems as if commenter Gene is not alone in his choice; Donovan McNabb argued in his blog that Ryan Howard should be MVP:

I can’t believe that some people are dismissing Ryan Howard for the 2008 Most Valuable Player Award. I can’t think of anyone more deserving.
…
I’ve heard people say that Ryan’s batting average may hurt him and that he strikes out too much. What? His job is to drive in runs and he has done a better job at that than anyone in baseball. He has 10 more home runs and 20 more RBIs than anyone in baseball. He gets hits when it matters most.

The Phillies – who are in first place – are there because Ryan has put this team on his back and carried them through September. Isn’t that the definition of valuable?

McNabb makes it clear that he’s a Cubs fan who’s picking Howard. He also discredits Manny Ramirez and CC Sabathia because both players have only been there half a season. While I agree with everything McNabb says about Howard, it still doesn’t sway me from Pujols who is by far the most dominant, game-changing batter in the National League. If the Phillies make the playoffs while the Cardinals don’t, it’s not for a lack of production from Albert. That team’s bullpen is horse manure, and they lost their shot at the postseason when Adam Wainwright went down and missed several starts. Take Pujols away and they’re several games under .500. Put Pujols on any other team and you can easily add 7 or more wins to their total. Isn’t that value? As an aside, thought-provoking discussions like this is the exact reason why athletes having blogs and a forum to espouse their opinion is awesome.

About Larry Brown:
Larry Brown has over nine years of professional sports media experience, working in online, radio, and TV capacities. He recently was a nationally syndicated sports radio host. Follow him on twitter @LBSports
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6 Comments
  • http://housethatglanvillebuilt.blogspot.com Joe B

    I think it all has to do with the definition of MVP. Is Pujols the best player in the National League? Aboslutely. In fact, he’s the best player in baseball in my opinion. But this year, the most valuable? Hard to say.

    Now, I am a Phillies fan, but I actually would vote for Pujols. However, if you want to look at it this way, in a value sense, if you take Pujols off the Cards, they still are a team that won’t make the playoffs. You take Howard off the Phils, especially in September, and they are in third place in the division, not in the driver’s seat for the playoffs. Interesting argument that happens every year. But I’d trade Howard for Pujols in a second. But not many other players.

  • Gene

    I agree with you. Like reader Joe B., I think Pujols is the best player in baseball. He cannot help it that he doesn’t pitch, and he cannot help it that he gets intentional walks and is pitched around in key situations. Pujols is also a much more accomplished fielder than Howard, and that should count for something.

    Howard has had a great September, but so has Manny. If McNabb discounts the fact that Manny was only there half a season, then he should subtract many points from Howard for being there for the first half season, but not really “showing up”.

    Bottom line is that there are no real guidelines for MVP and the media votes for their favorite player or for the “flavor of the year”. For example, Ernie Banks won back to back MVP’s for the second division Cubs in the late 1950′s, but the media did not give Ted Williams the MVP either time he won the triple crown (1942 and 1947). In fact, they gave the 1947 MVP to Joe DiMaggio, who missed the first half of the season with a foot injury. Go figure.

  • SpinMax

    Howard bats .250, Pujols bats .350.
    Enough said.

  • Alan

    I have to agree with McNabb that Howard is far and away the best power-hitter in the league. It’s astounding how much more pop that man has than ANYONE else. But, I’m for Pujols too. The difference between Pujols’ and Howard’s OPS (1.086, .872) is like the difference between Howard and Juan Pierre. Think about that.

  • Gene

    Another way to look at this issue is that the Cardinals will make every effort to keep Pujols under contract for his whole career. When I was in Philadelphia a month ago, even after Howard’s hot streak had begun, there was speculation in various quarters that the Phillies would not attempt to re-sign Howard in the off season. Enough said.

  • Anonymous

    bull crap joey votto is hands down the mvp this year and if not it is fixed. and joey is a 20 time better hitter than howard