mvp revisited tim shippert recently posted summaries of last year s defensive average stats in terms of the linear weights estimated run value of defensive performances compared to league average i ve combined those with my position adjusted mlv numbers to come up with first approximation total run values for players last year we can use these as a springboard for reconsideration of the mvp award major caveats these numbers include no defensive park adjustment so if san diego really is just a question of odd scoring or gopher holes in the infield that will cause some inaccuracies the offensive numbers are position adjusted but not park adjusted so we have to deflate some and inflate others to be fair finally we still don t know what to do about catchers and i have no idea how to evaluate the defensive contributions of tony phillips and bip roberts having said that there are still some surprises let s look national league first all numbers in total runs contributed over the season player offense defense total sandberg bonds walker justice daulton larkin grace as i see it these are the legitimate mvp candidates from last season if you deflate sandberg s offense a wee bit for playing in wrigley you get essentially a dead heat had bonds been his usual defensive self it wouldn t have been close but that apparently wasn t the case darren daulton needs or more defensive runs to make up the offensive difference and i couldn t tell you whether that s easy or impossible a good case could be made for any of sandberg bonds or daulton as top dude my personal vote bonds sandberg daulton walker justice in the american league player offense defense total ventura martinez b anderson thomas r henderson raines tettleton ok let s see a show of hands how many of you picked robin ventura as top player in the al last year i certainly didn t but i d have a hard time arguing against him at this point yes i know these numbers are only approximate but that s a big gap between him and the guy also those of you who thought rickey henderson stank last year are out of your minds once again there s a catcher in the ointment if calling a game is as important as it might be runs is easy to make up or give away take a guess folks i don t think we can do any better than that my personal vote excluding pitchers ventura tettleton anderson martinez henderson i m a big frank thomas fan but i have to admit to a bias in favor of balanced offensive defensive contribution which should have a higher leverage in w l record than an equal shift that is lots of offense with negative defense for the record carlos baerga roberto alomar forget it it s a wash let me also take this opportunity to admit that i was grossly wrong regarding don mattingly s defense this past season don recovered brilliantly from his weak and to end up with mattingly runs which is clearly an above average first baseman however it s still runs behind mark mcgwire runs behind frank thomas and runs behind john olerud on the other hand it s ahead of rafael palmeiro cecil fielder and every other al first baseman not yet mentioned david m tate dtate pitt edu greetings sir with bat not quick member iie orsa tims sabr hands not soft eye not discerning and in denver they call you a slugger the big catullus galarraga and compare you to my own mattingly
