Friday, August 27, 2004
Barry For MVP...Again
Eric Nell of ESPN's Page 2 is absolutely correct: Barry Bonds is once again the MVP of the National League. People don't like Barry and are getting bored with his success as fast as Barry himself gets bored by being intentionally walked all the time and they want someone new to win.
Neel successfully outlines (although who couldn't, really? It's so obvious) why Bonds is far and away the MVP this year. Forget Rolen, throw out Pujols, dismiss Beltre and Edmonds.
Can somebody once again look at Kirk Gibson's N.L. MVP numbers and tell me how he could get MVP that year but Barry can't this year? In all of 1988, Gibson hit 25 homers and had just 76 RBIs, and he didn't even bat .300. This year, Bonds has 79 RBIs so far, in half as many at-bats as Gibson had. Gibson walked 73 times and struck out 120 times. Gibson's on-base percentage barely beats out Bonds' batting average. Not that Gibson had to beat out Bonds' numbers, but to look at the history of baseball and to think that Gibson could get an MVP with his season and Bonds might not with his is truly ri-donk-ulous.
Why do people not give Barry Bonds the MVP consideration he deserves, that is to say, all of it. One-hundred-and-eighty-two walks and just twenty-six strikeouts? The ratio there is incredible. Absolutely incredible. And the fact that he has been intentionally walked almost 100 times should make him the MVP all by itself. Think about that: That's fully one-sixth of a regular season's worth of plate appearances in which Bonds has been intentionally put on base by the opposing team. Two nights ago, the Giants won simply because the other team put Barry Bonds on base. Bonds is unreal.
And because we're Giants fans here at E.K. Nation, don't think bias clouds our thinking. It's obvious to anyone with any knowledge of the game of baseball in the year 2004. Barry's the MVP, end of story. Stop with the Rolen and Pujols and Beltre. Enough. ENOUGH. It's over. Barry gets number seven this year.
Neel successfully outlines (although who couldn't, really? It's so obvious) why Bonds is far and away the MVP this year. Forget Rolen, throw out Pujols, dismiss Beltre and Edmonds.
Can somebody once again look at Kirk Gibson's N.L. MVP numbers and tell me how he could get MVP that year but Barry can't this year? In all of 1988, Gibson hit 25 homers and had just 76 RBIs, and he didn't even bat .300. This year, Bonds has 79 RBIs so far, in half as many at-bats as Gibson had. Gibson walked 73 times and struck out 120 times. Gibson's on-base percentage barely beats out Bonds' batting average. Not that Gibson had to beat out Bonds' numbers, but to look at the history of baseball and to think that Gibson could get an MVP with his season and Bonds might not with his is truly ri-donk-ulous.
Why do people not give Barry Bonds the MVP consideration he deserves, that is to say, all of it. One-hundred-and-eighty-two walks and just twenty-six strikeouts? The ratio there is incredible. Absolutely incredible. And the fact that he has been intentionally walked almost 100 times should make him the MVP all by itself. Think about that: That's fully one-sixth of a regular season's worth of plate appearances in which Bonds has been intentionally put on base by the opposing team. Two nights ago, the Giants won simply because the other team put Barry Bonds on base. Bonds is unreal.
And because we're Giants fans here at E.K. Nation, don't think bias clouds our thinking. It's obvious to anyone with any knowledge of the game of baseball in the year 2004. Barry's the MVP, end of story. Stop with the Rolen and Pujols and Beltre. Enough. ENOUGH. It's over. Barry gets number seven this year.
