2017 AL MVP

it's linked to my mvp vote fuck if i'm gonna be on the wrong side of history

that's why i vote for future hall of famer jose altuve every year

Altuve reminds me of Ryne Sandberg, except probably better hitter. Sandberg's range seemed to me to be huge playing second watching him as a kid.

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i think judge has a chance

i find in favor of Judge

Altuve's MLB stats look like Ichiro's stats from Japan. He's like an upgraded version of Ichiro (at the plate at least)!

I don't have an issue with consistency counting for something in a close MVP race. I don't care when you have your best month -- April is no different from September -- but six great months counts for a bit more than four great months and two OK ones.

or the non-Yankee tiebreaker

During the time that Correa was out--July 18 to Sept. 2--Altuve was at his best:

40 games, .384/.418/.597, 18 XBH, 7 HR

Houston was so far ahead at that point (15.5 up when Correa went down), you could say it's a moot point. In a close contest, I'd give that a little weight.

It's not his fault he played in a weak division/year with only four good teams in the entire league. I don't believe in added MVP value if your team wins by one game rather than 20.

My last sentence was ambiguous there; I meant that in a close MVP race, which this one is, I'd give Altuve a little extra credit for his excellence during Correa's absence.

Kluber 1.62 ERA from when he came back (June 1) until the end of the season - 23 starts.

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xpost to clem, OK I see your point but still don't agree!

I hereby nickname you "The Death of Narrative."

I like individual narratives as the tiebreaker in a close vote, like Stanton having a ridiculous 2nd half and chasing 60 HR. But team-based narratives are just that -- they're about the team, and shouldn't affect the voting for an individual award.

My A.L. ballot would go 1) Altuve, 2) Judge, 3) Kluber, 4) Trout, 5) Ramirez.

Altuve ephemera from the internet:

At 5'6", Altuve is the shortest player in the majors since the 5'5" Freddie Patek, who retired after the 1981 season.

And at year's end, he may well become the shortest player to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award since the New York Yankees' 5'6" Phil Rizzuto in 1950.

This year he became the first player in history to lead either league outright in hits in four consecutive seasons, according to Elias Sports Bureau. And during his seven-year career, Altuve has more multihit games (358) than oh-fers (239).

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2735785-once-ignored-by-mlb-56-superstar-jose-altuve-may-now-be-its-mvp

Alexi Amarista is also 5'6"!