Just now catching up on this. FoFB and all-around beat-writing stud Evan Grant is in the middle of a nationwide controversy regarding his ballot for American League MVP. Seems he left the winner, the Red Sox’s Dustin Pedroia, off his ballot entirely. (He named 10 who were more deserving, including the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton.) Because he is thoughtful, kind, and a gentleman, he has since reconsidered and suggested, in interviews and a blog post, that he made a mistake leaving him off his ballot.
My take? He should have done two things: one, reminded everyone his reasoning, which is valid and which you can read below:
Pedroia was 18th in OPS, 27th in RBIs, 30th in batting average with runners in scoring position and 53rd in on-base percentage with runners in scoring percentage. I am aware he tied for the league lead in hits, led in runs scored, and was second in batting average. But in the stats that to me suggest production and clutch hitting, he was dwarfed by the other players on the list.
And two, he should have slowly turned around in his chair, stood up tall, and raised two stubby middle fingers to the world while calmly saying, “Oh, I forgot, this is a crucial part of my analysis. Let me leave this up here for a minute or two so you can fully appreciate the complexity of my argument. You @$*clowns.”
