Pujols’s Sabermetric MVP history
Albert Pujols won his third Most Valuable Player Award from the Base Ball Writers Association of America. He also won his third Sabermetric MVP, although they haven’t been in the same years. Following is a list of our NL Sabermetric winners alongside the writers’ choices (italics denotes where the two picks differed). Pujols’s Sabermetric score and rank is also shown. Year Sabermetric MVP score BBWAA MVP score Pujols MVP score (r

Sabermetric MVP (NL): Pujols wins, but not in a landslide
Albert Pujols is supposed to win the NL MVP award today in a landslide. Indeed, he won the Sabermetric Triple Crown and led the senior circuit in some of those "newfangled" stats like Wins Above Replacement and weighted OBA. He even gave something for dino-writers to like, leading in home runs and finishing third in batting average and runs batted in. Given that the winner is a fait accompli, the only real drama is who will finish second and third. Perhaps our Sabermetric MVP ran

Sabermetric MVP (AL): Mauer not best but good enough
With so much of society regressing these days, it’s encouraging that in a small area of American culture, things appear to be progressing: the voting record of the BBWAA. Today, they unveiled their pick for American League Most Valuable Player, Minnesota’s Joe Mauer. Was the Mauer win a validation of the writers’ continued acceptance of what is commonly (and sometimes derisi

2009 Cardinal Blogger Awards
[Note: The United Cardinal Bloggers are conducting their third-annual Cardinal Blogger Awards. Following are our ballot and explanations. If you have any questions or complaints, please contact our agent, Keith Law.] 1. Cardinal Player of the Year Matt Holliday Albert Pujols Brendan Ryan Write-in: __________ All three had outstanding campaigns in their own rights. But only one was the best player in baseball last year. 2. Cardinal Pitcher of the Year Chris Carpenter Ryan Franklin

Do strikeouts matter more to Cy Young voters now?
Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum (who, incidentally, was our pick) have now won this year’s Cy Young Awards. Neither led his league in wins; each was either first or second in strikeouts. Does that mean that wins don’t matter to the voters of the BBWAA anymore? Perhaps it at least signals a trend. Let’s look at the league rank in wins and in strikeouts for starting-pitcher Cy Young winners in the NL over the years: