Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Braun Wins NL MVP; Kemp Finishes Second

Dammit.

NEW YORK -- Milwaukee's Ryan Braun has won the NL Most Valuable Player Award after helping lead the Brewers to their first division title in nearly 30 years.

Braun earned the MVP on Tuesday, receiving 20 of 32 first-place votes and 388 points in voting announced by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Los Angeles center fielder Matt Kemp, who came close to winning the Triple Crown, received 10 first-place votes and finished with 332 points. Braun's teammate Prince Fielder finished third with 229 points, and Arizona's Justin Upton finished fourth with 214 points.

Brutal. More later.

22 comments:

Steve Sax said...

I blame Frank McCourt.

Fernie V said...

That's bullshit! What does he have to do win the triple crown.

Fernie V said...

Braun, Serenity NOW!

Orlando Zepeda said...

lets see his numbers next year when baby cecil is out of the lineup

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Braun had a great year. He deserves it.

Fred's Brim said...

What idiot voted for Kodos?

Fernie V said...

Mr LASC he had a great year but Kemp had a spectacular year. This is BULLSHIT, I am still pissed.

Nostradamus said...

Unquestionable bullshit, but not unexpected. Meanwhile, I still struggle with the concept that we sucked as much as we did, given we had both the best pitcher and the best hitter in the National League.

Fernie V said...

Unfortunately Mr C, that is all we had. I think Braun's dad paid off the voters with all that napkin money.

Nostradamus said...

Putting a decapitated electric razor in a few voter's beds can be surprisingly persuasive, it seems.

karina said...

I don't know guys, but I'm OUTRAGED with baseball's new labor agreement, all in the players in the union are a bunch of selfish, greedy, discriminatory and cheap Scrooge McDucks. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid to inform you that if the next Miguel Cabrera lives in a remote place, like, let's say Tucupita-Venezuela, he might not ever been scouted or signed. Lots of young multi-sport American athletes will migrate to other sports other than baseball, just because the players want all the money for them.

Baseball, as a sport and a SHOW, will suffer and therefore, the fans, who in the end maintain the sport, will have less new players to be excited about, not to mention this agreement is another obstacle to the globalization of the sport.

Shame on you, MLB and MLBPA. SHAME ON YOU.

Nostradamus said...

@Karina

The CBA discussions really seem to have been kept surprisingly quiet this time around. They seem to be taking a page from the NFL, which is a little odd, since player development is VASTLY different in the football world.

I agree that it extremely short-sighted. It's hard to imagine modern baseball without Latin America, and there is a LOT of incentive for teams to search out talent. Without knowing all the details, I can only hope that the market will find a way to adjust to keep the game progressing.

Jason said...

There are some bright spots in the new CBA:

* Elimination of low-density maple bats
* Many international players' dependents are now eligible for health coverage outside the US

I don't see the creation of an international signing pool as the worst thing, especially since they will allow teams to trade portions of their pools. This means teams with significant investments in international academies can acquire larger signing pools.

On the other hand, the elimination of major league contracts for drafted players will certainly chase off two-sport athletes (hello, Matt Kemp) that prefer the larger payday of a sport without an established minor league system. This probably works in the favor of international players, at least short term.

They're also allowing the trade of certain sandwich-round draft picks though I wish they would open up trading of any pick.

I also chuckled at the presence of "Frank McCourt Rule (a)" specifying that debt incurred by the owner must be included in the debt service rule calculation for the team if that debt is serviced by club funds; and "Frank McCourt Rule (b)" specifying that new ownership will have the rule "FMcC(a)" applied as part of the screening process before sale approval.

Jason said...

A pissed off Matt Kemp takes losing the MVP personally, predicts 50-50 in 2012 because "y'all created a monster."

Dusty Baker said...

I feel like Zen Dusty today. I'm amazingly calm and at peace with the MVP decision. While of course I wanted Kemp to win and can easily justify it, Braun did have a great year and there is an argument for him to have won, too (apparently, a successfully persuasive one). It's not a travesty of justice, so I can live with it. Hope Kemp will use it as a psychological springboard with which to base his next record-breaking season.

Dusty Baker said...

Just noted Kemp's tweet from earlier today:

"Big Big S/O 2 my homeboy Mr. MVP Ryan Braun. Where we partying at?"

Top class, Matty, top class. You're our MVP!

Dusty Baker's Toothpick said...

@DB how does Kemp always seem to say the right thing? Who's coaching him in the PR dept, and why isn't that person coaching Ethier?

Kemp cleaned up on every other award this off season, so I have no issue with Braun winning MVP since the role of playoff team weighs in on the decision making. Every baseball fan out there knows who the best player in 2011 was, and that player proudly wears Dodger blue.

Dusty Baker said...

Well said, DBT.

Who is coaching you?

MR.F said...

I seriously blame Frank.

Neeebs (The Original) said...

I'd rather have a World Series Trophy than an MVP or Cy Young.

Nostradamus said...

@Neeebs

Every day of the week and twice on Sunday, but being MVP still beats a kick in the ass.

Fernie V said...

Needs I think you can only say that if you win the world series and your best player lost the MVP and cy young.