This is going to get ugly. I know it is. Honestly, I don’t care, it’s got to be said. Red Sox morons – not only does David Ortiz look like Shrek, but by no means should he have been the MVP of the American League.
Alex Rodriguez is clearly the better player – his batting average was 21 points better, he had one more home run, and he got on base 42.1 percent of the time, as opposed to Ortiz, who got on 39.7 percent of the time. Even his slugging percentage was better. Oh, by the way, did I mention that A-Rod is the second best third baseman in the AL? Oh, and did I mention he’s really a shortstop?
The only major stat that Ortiz was better than A-Rod in was RBIs. This is because A-Rod batted fourth most of the season, behind potent run-producers like Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui, and Jason Giambi. Meanwhile, Ortiz had Johnny Damon and Edgar Renteria getting on base at a very high clip, setting the table for him the the No. 3 hole. And after batting, Ortiz didn’t run out onto the field, he chilled in the dugout which Terry Francona.
And I know all the arguments Red Sox fans. Yes, A-Rod’s value to the Yankees is just as high as Ortiz’s for the Sox. Yes, A-Rod’s supporting cast is slightly better than Ortiz’s, but not by much. Damon, Renteria, and Manny Ramirez aren’t exactly slouches.
And, I know what’s next in your foul New England mouth – but Ortiz is clutch. He carried the Red Sox when it counted. Well then what happened in the playoffs? I know the MVP is a regular-season award, but come on, Ortiz disappeared.
Why wasn’t it clutch when A-Rod belted three homers and 10 RBIs against the AL Cy Young winner, Bartolo Colon, in a game at the Stadium? I think that’s pretty clutch.
While I’m on th topic of Colon, I’d like to unvail my conspiracy theory. Something that will make Peter Gammons and all the other Boston fans cringe when they hear it.
Out of the top-10 vote-getters on the MVP ballot, four were Yankees – Sheffield (8th), Mariano Rivera (9th) and Jeter (10th).
Not that these guys aren’t great players, but the only one that actually deserved to be on this list is Sheffield. I mean, if Jeter is on the list, so should Damon, and how can Rivera be on this list if Colon, who edged him out for the Cy Young, isn’t? What exactly am I getting at?
I think that all of the voters who wanted to see Ortiz win put the New York guys on the ballot to make the case that A-Rod was just one of many superstars on the Yankees. Sounds crazy, but I think it’s true. There’s a Yankee bias out there and frankly, it’s garbage.
I understand why it’s out there. The Yankees, especially A-Rod, are viewed as “soft” players. To be honest, A-Rod is a soft player. His white batting gloves look like they should by in Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” video, not on a baseball diamond. And sure, it’s absolutely ludicrous that he makes $25 million to play a game – but honestly, can you really say he’s not a great player? The guy is unreal. When all is said and done, he will be the home run king. He already has 429 homers and he’s only 30. Just like he was the fastest to 400, he’ll be the fastest to 700, and there’s no juice in him – and nobody can say anything otherwise.
The bottom line is that he is already a surefire Hall of Famer and when all is said and done, he’ll most likely be one of the greatest players in baseball history.
The only thing he’s missing is a ring, but don’t worry about it Sox fans – red and white – No. 27 is on its way to the Bronx next season.
Chris Mascaro is the Sun Sports Editor. He May Be Tall will appear every other Friday this semester.
Archived article by Chris Mascaro