There are certain things in sports that are guarantees. The Browns are going to give their fans stomach problems. Joe Buck is going to be obnoxious. The Yankees versus the Red Sox will be on national television 20 times during the regular season.
Add one more to the list. Alex Rodriguez is the 2007 American League’s Most Valuable Player. In 2007 A-Rod hit 54 home runs, brought home 156 RBI, had 31 doubles, an OBP of .422 and an OPS of 1.067. Those numbers are pretty good. They’re good enough to guarantee that A-Rod wins the AL MVP for 2007. He very much so deserves it.
A-Rod wasn’t the only great player in the American League this past season. Several other players had fantastic seasons. If Alex Rodriguez hadn’t produced the monster stats he put up in 2007 who would be the American League MVP?
First candidate for 2007 American League MVP not named Alex Rodriguez: Carlos Pena
Talk about a breakout season. Carlos Pena shocked practically everybody by putting up career best numbers in just about every category. Pena hit 46 homers, drove in 121 RBI, had a batting average of .282, 29 doubles, an OBP of .411 and an OPS of 1.038. All of those statistics were career highs for Pena. The bad news for Pena is that he plays for a perennial loser, the Devil Rays. At 29, Pena needs to get out of Tampa Bay while he still has some good years left in him. I hear the Mets could use a new first baseman.
Second candidate for 2007 American League MVP not named Alex Rodriguez: Victor Martinez
Victor Martinez proved in 2007 that he is without a doubt the best hitting catcher in all of baseball. With Travis Hafner having a down year Martinez emerged as the offensive leader for the Cleveland Indians, slugging 25 homers and bringing in 114 RBI. Martinez hit for a .301 average in ’07, down a little from ’06 when he batted .316. Martinez also had 40 doubles, an OBP of .374 and an OPS of .879. He also improved defensively behind the plate in 2007 and even played a little first base, a very good sign for fans of the Tribe.
Third candidate for 2007 American League MVP not named Alex Rodriguez: Vladimir Guerrero
While the nation concentrated on the surging Yankees and A-Rod’s incredible season, Vladimir Guerrero quietly had an outstanding 2007. Guerrero only hit 27 home runs in ’07, his lowest since 2003. Ordonez still had 125 RBI, a .324 batting average and equaled his career best with 45 doubles. What’s amazing to me is Guerrero’s ability to come up with a clutch hit when his team needs one. Guerrero is without a doubt one of the most clutch hitters in all of baseball and has been for the last couple of years.
Fourth candidate for 2007 American League MVP not named Alex Rodriguez: David Ortiz
Ortiz was spectacular once again in 2007. Big Papi finished with a career best .332 batting average, 35 homers and 117 RBI. He had an OBP of .445, an OPS of 1.066, and 52 doubles, all of those career bests for Ortiz. Ortiz was injured for a small portion of the 2007 season as well. Imagine the stats Ortiz could have produced had he been healthy all season long.
Fifth candidate for 2007 American League MVP not named Alex Rodriguez: Magglio Ordonez
Want to know how you can win your fantasy baseball league? Pick up Magglio Ordonez in the sixth round, sit back and watch him have the best year of his career. Thanks, Mags. Ordonez batted .363 with 139 RBI, 216 hits, 54 doubles, had an OBP of .434 and an OPS of 1.029. All of those were career highs for Ordonez, who also hit 28 home runs. Ordonez was quite possibly the biggest reason why the Tigers were in the playoff hunt up until September. He’s also the biggest reason why I won my fantasy league.
As good as the five players I mentioned above were in 2007 none of them can compete with the season A-Rod had. In my opinion it will be David Ortiz and Magglio Ordonez fighting it out over who will be second for American League MVP behind A-Rod.
