Why baseball’s MVP Award shouldn’t be the most presigious
Ignoring, respectfully, the Roberto Clemente Award.
Major League Baseball has three sexy awards to give out for exceptional performances during the regular season. Baseball also has three distinct on-field excellence in performance awards named after legends of the game. These awards do not entirely coincide, as one of them is shunted to the background.
The Cy Young Award – All baseball fans, avid and casual, know about the Cy Young Award. Named after the man who holds nearly every career pitching record, it honors the best pitcher in each league, bar none. Here is how a pitcher wins the Cy Young Award: “Was he the best pitcher in his league? He was? Okay, he gets it.” Done.
The Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award – If you didn’t know that the Rookie of the Year Award was named after Jackie, now you know. The best rookie in each league, pitcher or position player, gets to hoist it. Works for me.
Here’s where things fall apart.
The third on-field performance award named after a legend is the Hank Aaron Award, given to the best hitter in each league. This award, which sounds like it should be a high honor, particularly since it honors one of the most respected men (and one of the most feared power hitters) in all baseball history, is virtually ignored.
Instead, the spotlight shines down on the Most Valuable Player Award, thereby causing a domino sequence of problems:
1) Certain writers and pundits argue that pitchers have their own award while hitters do not, and so they will vote only for hitters to win the MVP Award. (Just because they haven’t heard of the Hank Aaron Award does not mean it doesn’t exist.)
2) Whenever a hitter does something spectacular, such as Miguel Cabrera’s Triple Crown, voters, pundits and baseball fans want to see him honored for such a feat – and as he cannot win the Rookie of the Year Award or the Cy Young Award, they jump directly to the Most Valuable Player Award.
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No.
The Most Valuable Player Award honors more than that, taking into account all of the different things a player can do in order to help his team win.
Mike Trout helped his Angels win thanks to his baserunning skills (leading the Majors with 49 steals and 129 runs scored), his fantastic defensive play in center field, and, yes, by having a fantastic offensive season.
Miguel Cabrera did not help out the Tigers with his baserunning or defense. His offense, however, was historic. This is what the Hank Aaron Award is specifically for: honoring the very best hitter in each league.
Henry Aaron was a relatively unappreciated man during his playing career, overshadowed by Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. It was only his pursuit and eclipsing of Babe Ruth’s career home run record that brought him into the national consciousness. Our collective memory of The Hammer, unfortunately, is of the old veteran in the bright white and blue Braves jersey, trotting triumphantly around the bases while two crazy Atlantans accosted him on his way to home plate. That was home run number 715. Forty more roundtrip tours followed, with the final 22 with the Milwaukee Brewers when he was past 40 years old.
Now he’s a mild-mannered senior citizen who voices his honest opinions anytime the media comes bothering.
The Aaron we don’t remember was nicknamed “Bad Henry.” He was long and lean and he terrorized pitchers right from the time he entered the National League as a quick-wristed 20-year-old. The next year, he started his string of 13 consecutive 100-run seasons. Two years later, he put together his first 200-hit campaign and lead the league in that category. By the time he was done, he led the league in either runs, hits, doubles, homers, RBIs, or batting average on 19 different occasions. Hank still owns the Major League career records for both RBIs (2,297) and total bases (6856).
How can we forget this man? We can’t. That’s why Major League Baseball named its greatest hitting award after him.
Honor his memory. Honor Miguel Cabrera with the 2012 American League Hank Aaron Award and name Mike Trout as the American League MVP.
Don’t pity Trout. He’s young. He will get his chance to win the Hank Aaron Award again next year.
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