Pirates’ McCutchen, Tigers’ Cabrera good picks for MVP awards

Pittsburgh Pirates’ center fielder Andrew McCutchen and Detroit Tigers’ third baseman Miguel Cabrera won their league’s Most Valuable Player award last week, and deservingly so.

McCutchen’s speed and his ability to hit for power and average resulted in impressive numbers. McCutchen hit .317 with 21 home runs, 84 RBIs and a .404 on base percentage this season. His power stood out to me because he is only 5-10, 185 pounds. He also added 27 stolen bases to his stats.

McCutchen didn’t just produce offensively, his speed in center field enabled him to run down fly balls and cover a lot of ground in the outfield.

McCutchen finished ahead of Arizona Diamondbacks’ first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and St. Louis Cardinals’ catcher Yadier Molina in the MVP voting.

He also helped bring winning back to a city that has been longing for it for quite some time (at least in baseball). The Pirates qualified for postseason play this year for the first time since 1992 when Barry Bonds played for the team and won the MVP. Pittsburgh earned one of the Wild Card spots after posting a 94-68 record this season, finishing three games behind the eventual National League champion St. Louis Cardinals.

McCutchen deserved the MVP because he was the best player in the National League. However, I think his team’s success also helped propel him in the MVP race, which I don’t entirely agree with.

MVP awards should be based mostly on an individual basis with little attention being paid to the team’s performance. Some people overemphasize winning when it comes to analyzing MVP candidates. But one player can’t control his team’s destiny.

Success in team sports comes from all nine players on the field working together as a unit and knowing their roles. One player can’t carry a team even though it seems like that’s the case sometimes. Therefore, an MVP-caliber player can’t be faulted for struggling teammates.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, for example, may have received more MVP votes if his team played better. Losing teams don’t receive as much media attention as the winning teams. As a result, its players don’t receive the spotlight that they might deserve.

Cabrera was probably the right choice though for the American League MVP. Even though Trout had an amazing season, it would have been difficult to give the award to anyone else with the numbers Cabrera posted.

Cabrera made hitting MLB pitchers look easy and effortless. Like McCutchen, Cabrera hit for power and average. The Tigers’ slugger hit .348 and blasted 44 home runs. He also added 137 RBIs.

Some people say Cabrera stacks up against some of the greatest hitters of all time. With the past couple seasons he’s had and looking at his career statistics, it’s hard to argue that he isn’t one of the greatest hitters ever. However, the history of baseball has seen some excellent hitters like Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig just to name a couple.

This season, Cabrera did everything offensively for the Tigers and played some good third base as well showing off his strong arm.

Cabrera struggled through injuries this year as well, which shows how impressive his season really was.

Pitchers have been dominating in the Big Leagues the last couple years, but when McCutchen and Cabrera step inside the batter’s box, the tables turn.