AL MVP vote reeks of Yankees bias
Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh had a season for the ages. He broke records left and right, including most home runs by a catcher, most home runs by a Mariner (passing Ken Griffey Jr), and most home runs by a switch-hitter (passing Mickey Mantle). He led MLB in home runs and RBIs and fell just short of the American League’s single-season record.
And he did all of this while playing the most physically demanding position on the field, not allowing a single passed ball all season, playing half his games at the hardest to hit at stadium in baseball, and powering the Mariners to their most successful season ever. And yet, despite all that, he lost to Aaron Judge for American League MVP.
“What were the voters thinking?” you might wonder. Well, wonder no more.
It comes down to this: Judge plays for the Yankees and Raleigh doesn’t. Yes, it’s true the Yankees slugger had an impressive season at the plate, but he spent most of it at DH. Judge barely played defense.
And because of that, frankly, I don’t give a damn what Judge’s numbers are. Because all he had to do was hit. He didn’t have to chase down fly balls. He didn’t have to catch. He didn’t have to throw. All he had to do was walk to the plate and swing his bat.
Get The Baseball Guy’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Enough of the BBWAA voters did give a damn, though. Judge got 17 first-place votes to Raleigh’s 13. And I call bullshit. They didn’t pick Judge for any reason other than the jersey he wears. If Raleigh played for the Yankees, I guarantee he would’ve won.
Instead of voting fairly, those 17 writers who picked Judge threw what little professional credibility they had out the window all because they didn’t wanna vote for a Seattle player.
And that’s not all.
They broke the BBWAA’s voting rules that say an MVP is judged by “actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense.”
Actual value to their team. Strength of offense and defense. Not the best hitter. Not the best catcher. Actual value. There’s no denying Judge’s offensive production dwarfed Raleigh’s, but he didn’t have anywhere near the all-around impact Raleigh did.
But here we are. The voters made their choice…but it was the wrong one. It was wrong based on journalistic integrity. It was wrong based on their own organization’s rules. And the whole process reeks, at best, of Yankees bias…and at worst serious professional misconduct.
They should be ashamed of themselves.
