Ex Trapper AL MVP

[Andrew]

In one of the closest votes in history, New Westminster, B.C. native Justin Morneau has been named the 2006 American League MVP.

[gizmo fan 2]

Re: Ex Trapper AL MVP

And he beat Jeter, to boot.

Way to go, Morneau!

[Opus]

Re: Ex Trapper AL MVP

Is that our second or third?

Giambi.........did Tejada play here....ICR......?

[gizmo fan 2]

Re: Ex Trapper AL MVP

Tejada played here for all of one game in 1998 (think I might've seen that one). 3 at-bats, 1 walk, 1 strikeout.

Regardless, still counts.

Dave Eckstein (this year's World Series MVP) also played here for fifty games or so.

Lots of Trapper connections recently.

[Esks4ever]

Re: Ex Trapper AL MVP

Is that our second or third?

Giambi.........did Tejada play here....ICR......?

Yep, but the first Canadian to win the honors

[Andrew]

Re: Ex Trapper AL MVP

Yep, but the first Canadian to win the honors

First to win the AL, Walker won the NL in 98 I think.

[KnuckleChucker]

Re: Ex Trapper AL MVP

Yup....Walker did win it!!

[Esks4ever]

Re: Ex Trapper AL MVP

First to win the AL, Walker won the NL in 98 I think.

ya i know.. I was just refering to the AL

[Esks4ever]

Re: Ex Trapper AL MVP

N.Y. papers decry Morneau's MVP win
New York Post headline

TSN.ca Staff

11/22/2006 1:00:08 PM

The day after Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau was named the American League MVP, the debate continues to rage.

Nowhere is that debate the loudest, perhaps, than in New York City, where the New Westminster, B.C. native beat out that city's favourite son, Derek Jeter, by 16 votes for the honour.

"JEETED" screamed the front page headline in the New York Post as columnist Mike Vaccaro blamed a Bronx bias against the Yankees shortstop for his failure to win the award.

"This time, it was an MVP Award, one that he deserved, one that should have his name on it, one that was taken from him primarily because of the team he plays for and the city he plays in," wrote Vaccaro. "The voters will tell you differently, but know this: If Derek Jeter had the season he had playing for the Minnesota Twins, and if Justin Morneau had the season he had playing for the Yankees, it would be Jeter who would be reserving space on his shelf for the MVP plaque.

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Twins' Morneau named AL MVP
"But Jeter doesn't play for the Twins. He plays for the Yankees. He plays in New York City. He makes a lot of commercials, and he dates a lot of starlets, and he makes a lot of money, and if you think that doesn't count in the minds of the people who cast these votes, you're a greater believer in the purity of human nature than I am."





Vaccaro does grudgingly concede that Morneau is indeed an MVP-worthy candidate.

"Jeter may have outhit him by 23 points and had the better on-base percentage by 42 points, but the Twin had 20 more homers and 33 more RBIs, and his .559 slugging percentage dwarfed Jeter's .483. It isn't an outrage that Morneau won."

Fellow Post writer George King was equally as baffled by the decision.

"Derek Jeter hasn't had to swallow much garbage in his career," writes King. "But finishing second in the AL MVP race to Justin Morneau likely required an ocean of flavored water to get it down the Yankee captain's throat."

Daily News columnist Mike Lupica reasons it was simply the baseball gods putting things right in the universe following last year's announcement.

"This year, somebody beats out the star Yankee. David Ortiz couldn't do it one year ago, even though Ortiz deserved the award more than Alex Rodriguez did. Now Morneau beats out Jeter. It is funny how these things work out, because Jeter deserved the MVP this year a lot more than A-Rod did last year."

Anthony McCarron of the Daily News says Morneau is very deserving of the award and that numbers are only part of the equation.

"Jeter, some voters say, is hurt by the talent around him in the Yankee lineup. and the perception that his team would have made the playoffs without him. Without Morneau, however, the thinking went, the Twins would have gone nowhere."

Wallace Matthews of Newsday says the baseball writers probably did Jeter a favour by not giving him the award.

"For the Twins to produce an MVP, their first in nearly 30 years, is a stupendous accomplishment," writes Matthews. "For Morneau, a 25-year-old, third-year player making $385,000 a year, winning the award may turn out to be the highlight of his career.

"For Jeter, it would have only served as one more reminder of what has gone wrong with the Yankees over the past six years. Too many MVPs. Not enough rings."

Across the river in New Jersey, Star-Ledger columnist Dan Graziano writes that Jeter is "really not an MVP-type player".

"Jeter is only a 'great' player because he plays on great teams. He has never, since arriving in the major leagues, played for a team that failed to qualify for the postseason.

"Is he the kind of player who could have done for the 2006 Phillies what Ryan Howard did? Is he the kind of player who could have done for the 2006 Twins what Justin Morneau did? He is not.

"There are good players. There are very good players. There are great players. There are MVP players. Jeter falls somewhere in between the second and third categories - very good, sometimes great."

[esks4life]

Re: Ex Trapper AL MVP

Cry me a river. Jeter can go **** himself.

[Andrew]

Re: Ex Trapper AL MVP

No kidding. They both had great seasons but too say Jeter was screwed is BS. He didn't even reach 15 HR and 100RBI. He also struck out over 100 times.

[gizmo fan 2]

Re: Ex Trapper AL MVP

Indeed.

Jeter had a good avg and OBP - but Morneau beat him significantly in homers and RBIs. If you can't produce (knock in) runs when your team needs you to, getting on base means nothing.

Lot easier to get a single with no one on than to get a single with runners in scoring position, IMO.

[mAD~mOD]

Re: Ex Trapper AL MVP

Please if it was going to go to a Twin it should have gone to Mauer, he was a better player at a harder postion.