If Ryan Howard won NL MVP, I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. But it wouldn’t be the right decision.
Sometimes I wish fans could get past total homeruns because there is so much more to the game.
If you look at Pujols’ and Howard’s stats, let’s face it, they are essentially equal. Not the same but equal. Howard gets the edge on HR and RBI. Pujols has it in runs, doubles, BA, OBP, SLG. Howard also gets a nod in playing time due to Pujols’ injury.
But what you don’t hear are the clutch stats. Pujols has the big edge here.
RISP
Pujols: .397/.535/.802
Howard .256/.426/.518
Game Tied
Pujols: .305/.433/.640
Howard: .315/.466/.726 (slight edge to Howard)
Score Trailing by one
Pujols: .453/.562/.922
Howard: .325/.389/.738
On top of that, Pujols leads the league with 19 homers that account for game winning rbis. That, I think is unprecented.
On top of THAT, Pujols is a better fielder.
This is no news to Cardinals fans who will tell you all this ad nauseum.
This has no bearing on the MVP race but is interesting anyway. Pujols, who is in his 6th season and just hit his 250th homerun, is actually younger than sophomore Ryan Howard.
There’s one more stat: TV cameras and newspaper writers on the East Coast vs. those located everywhere else. :-(