Posted on July 8th, 2008 by Ryan Metcalf
Kinsler For MVP
Each year the debate continues on what constitutes an MVP season. In my view it should always be the player most valuable to the team, not who puts up the best numbers. On the Texas Rangers and across baseball everyone is talking about Josh Hamilton. That is a fair choice, but one needs to look deeper to really find the MVP for the Texas Rangers this year. That player is without a doubt Ian Kinsler’s.
The first thing to look at must always be numbers. Kinsler’s currently leads the American League in batting average by more than 10 points at .338. Hamilton, who is considered by many to be the MVP, is currently batting .308 after a terrible June.
Kinsler’s is leading the league in runs scored, no doubt because of the help of Young, Hamilton, and Bradley batting right below him. Ian Kinsler’s helps himself in this category because he has 23 stolen bases, well enough for a tie in 5th place in the league. The Texas Rangers haven’t had that many stolen bases at this point in the season in a very long time, if ever. Kinsler’s success rate is crazy too. He has only been thrown out once in 24 attempts.
Kinsler’s creates runs for himself just as much as scoring on a home run. Combine Hamilton’s and Bradley’s home run totals and that only equals 36. Kinsler’s has 80 runs scored, more than double the home runs between the two power hitters.
Kinsler’s leads the league in hits by a healthy margin and is near the top in terms of doubles and extra base hits. Kinsler’s is even in the top 5 for triples.
So what about RBI’s? Kinsler’s only has 53, but factor in he hits leadoff. He has some help no doubt from a good bottom of the lineup with hitters like Ramon Vazquez. It still isn’t easy for a leadoff hitter to get high RBI totals.
Kinsler’s only major weakness in terms of numbers is home run totals. He sits at 14 home runs right now, well enough for a tie in 18th place. Hamilton currently has 19 though which is tied for 2nd. That’s not a major difference in number of home runs. His slugging percentage is actually better than Hamilton because home runs aren’t the only thing put into the equation.
If you want to make a case for putting fielding into the equation, then I would say that has never been a factor in determining MVP. Kinsler’s is not the greatest fielder, but he does touch the ball a lot and is part of the team that turns the most double plays. His numbers will naturally be off because of more chances here as well.
You still think Hamilton is having the best season on the Rangers? Then factor in if Kinsler’s wasn’t on base and having such a good season would Hamilton be having such a good season. Kinsler’s is in the top 10 with an on base percentage of .396. There is no doubt Kinsler’s success is inflating Hamilton’s numbers some. I’m not trying to make Hamilton’s season sound bad, but just merely put more in a scope compared to some other hitters. Kinsler’s is in the top 10 in every statistic you can measure, in many he is in the top 5. It is time to start giving Ian Kinsler’s some attention for his great season.