TOWER GROVE — Cardinals first baseman and MVP candidate Albert Pujols is a finalist for two of the most prestigious Player Choice awards handed out by the MLB Players Association after a vote of his peers, the union announced Friday afternoon. Pujols is one of three finalists for the Player of the Year Award, and he is also the only National League player who is a finalist for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award.
The former is for peformance on the field. The latter for dedication and community service off of it.
In a vote of other players, Pujols will compete with Cleveland Indians pitcher Cliff Lee and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez for the Player of the Year Award. The Miller award finalists are New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Texas shortstop Michael Young. The Player Choice Awards — the official name of the MLBPA’s awards, which run somewhat parallel in theme to the BBWAA awards that are more recognizable (the MVP, the Cy Young, etc.) — will be announced in a series of webisodes on Yahoo! Sports, starting next week, a release from the union stated.
Here is the official announcement from the association about the Player of the Year finalists:
Finalists for Player of the Year are Cliff Lee (Indians), Albert Pujols (Cardinals) and Manny Ramirez (Dodgers). Lee helped an injury-depleted Indians team get through a disappointing season by putting up career numbers, finishing the season with a record of 22-3 and a 2.54 ERA – both AL bests. Pujols, who entered the season facing questions about a balky elbow, answered his critics by finishing second in the NL batting race with a .357 average, hitting 37 homers and setting career highs in walks (104) and OBP (.462). Ramirez found himself involved in a July 31, deadline trade to the Dodgers and he landed in L.A. with a splash, hitting .396 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI in just 53 games with the Dodgers and finishing the season with a .332 average, 37 homers and 121 RBI.
Pujols won the Player of the Year award in 2003. In 2006, he received the Miller award. Since 2000, the only previous two-time winner of the Man of the Year award was Atlanta pitcher John Smoltz. Former San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds and Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez are the only two players to win the Player of the Year more than once since 2000.
Despite some grassroots conversation for Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick as “comeback player of the year” candidates, Pujols is the only Cardinal to be a finalist for Player Choice awards. A couple former Cardinals are finalists for the Comeback Player of the Year awards in the two leagues — Mets outfielder Fernando Tatis and Tampa Bay closer Troy Percival, whose comeback technically came last season as a member of the Cardinals’ bullpen.
The complete list of finalists for all of the awards, as provided by the union:
AMERICAN LEAGUE:
Outstanding Player: Josh Hamilton (Texas), Justin Morneau (Minnesota), Dustin Pedroia (Boston)
Outstanding Pitcher: Roy Halladay (Toronto), Cliff Lee (Cleveland), Francisco Rodriguez (LA Angels of Anaheim)
Outstanding Rookie: Mike Aviles (Kansas City), Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay), Alexei Ramirez (Chicago)
Comeback Player of the Year: Josh Hamilton (Texas), Cliff Lee (Cleveland), Troy Percival (Tampa Bay)
NATIONAL LEAGUE:
Outstanding Player: Ryan Howard (Philadelphia), Chipper Jones (Atlanta), Albert Pujols (St. Louis)
Outstanding Pitcher: Tim Lincecum (San Francisco), CC Sabathia (Milwaukee), Brandon Webb (Arizona)
Outstanding Rookie: Geovany Soto (Chicago), Edinson Volquez (Cincinnati), Jair Jurrjens (Atlanta) per MLBPA correction at 2:20 p.m., Joey Votto (Cincinnati)
Comeback Player of the Year: Jorge Cantu (Florida), Fernando Tatis (NY Mets), Kerry Wood (Chicago)
EITHER LEAGUE:
Player of the Year: Cliff Lee (Cleveland), Albert Pujols (St. Louis), Manny Ramirez (LA Dodgers)
Marvin Miller Man of the Year: Derek Jeter (NY Yankees), Albert Pujols (St. Louis), Michael Young (Texas)
Pujols planned to lead another mission this November into the villages of the Dominican Republic with medical professionals. That mission has been delayed as he recovers from elbow surgery. When it happens, it will be the third such mission — and possibly the second this year — that Pujols has directed as part of his charitable organization, the Pujols Family Foundation. It was in the early stages of that Foundation’s work that he last won the Miller award. Jeter’s “Turn 2″ raised has raised more than $7 million in its 10 years of establishing and funding programs that promote fitness, leadership and academic strength in youth, the union said. Young is an ambassador for “Wipe Out Kids Cancer” and is a member of the Players Trust’s Action Team, a group that encourages youth to volunteer in their communities.
Each winner will recommend a charity to receive a grant from the Players Trust.
The Players Choice awards are unreliable indicators of baseball’s more recognizable awards. Of the eight winners of the NL Outstanding Player Award since 2000, only Bonds and Ryan Howard have also won the league MVP. The Player of the Year is no more reliable: Since 2000, four of the eight winners did not win their league MVP awards, including Pujols in 2003 and Andruw Jones in 2005, when Pujols won the MVP award.
Pujols is also a leading candidate for the National League MVP award, which will be announced in mid-November, around Nov. 17. He finished second in the majors with a .357 batting average and was one of only two players to slug better than .600 this season. Ramirez was the other, though his .601 slugging percentage was dwarfed by Pujols’ .653. Pujols had his eighth consecutive season of at least a .300 average, more than 30 home runs and more than 100 RBIs. He also scored 100 runs for the seventh time in his career and walked 100 times for the first time in his career. As columnist Jayson Stark recently pointed out in Baseball America, Pujols drove in 116 runs despite having 116 fewer runners on base than Minnesota’s Justin Morneau.
Pujols had more RBIs (116) than at-bats with runners in scoring position (114).
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RIFFS: A couple quick notes from the Peavy Pursuit. … San Diego front-office exec Paul DePodesta outlines some reasons for trading a player like Jake Peavy in his personal blog. … Atlanta Braves beat writer David O’Brien, who gets 700 comments at the drop of a Hold Steady lyric (blog envy, I tell you), presents Atlanta’s aggressive plan to land Alabama native Peavy. … Love the fact that if the Cardinals get knee-deep into these discussions, they will be playing three-way chess with Walt Jocketty’s close friend, Padres GM Kevin Towers, and Atlanta GM Frank Wren’s assistant, former Cardinals Farm Director Bruce Manno. … Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton hit their sixth home runs of the postseason Thursday night and now each is one shy of tying the American League record of seven — set by Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus in 2002 when he was with the Angels. … That Rays duo also tied a homer total held by a couple Cardinals. The top slugging tandems in the playoffs are:
- Rich Aurilia, Barry Bonds … SF, 2002 … 14 HR
- Albert Pujols, Larry Walker … STL, 2004 … 12 HR
- Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton … TB, 2008 … 12 HR+
- Troy Glaus, Tim Salmon … ANA, 2002 … 11 HR
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If the Cards give up some relief pitching in a Peavy deal, I would hope they trade Chris Perez rather than Jason Motte. I’m reluctant about giving up Perez, but would rather keep Motte.
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There’s little doubt that there was some internal frustration with Rasmus this season — the comments on another site’s message boards strummed a nerve (mainly because of the Reyes mention), and the club was hoping Rasmus would go find his lost at-bats during the winter league. But, one thing we’ve seen from La Russa, year-in and year-out, is talent rules. Give him a guy who can play and he’ll play him, he’ll protect him, he’ll praise him and he’ll eagerly promote him.
But if he goes and plays for the Cubs someday … well, then …
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Perhaps I am biased, but I think Pujols should be a slam dunk for the NL MVP for 2008. The numbers DG pointed out are telling.
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Good job a always Derrik. Maybe you would get more comments if you dropped a few Wilco lines in your blog; better writing than Hold Steady. Call me crazy, but I don’t care as much about Rasmus as I do about Perez, Motte, and McClelland. Anything besides the 3 I named to get Peavey would make me happy.
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I respect Tony’s opinion although he’s clearly a “short-timer” and all short-timers should be required to wear a “Beware of Me” sign around their neck. I do fear Rasmus could be the next J. D. Drew to covet a spot on the Cardinal’s DL. I vote Peavy.
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DG,
Thanks for all the good work, as always. Do you know the size and shape of the beef that LaRussa has with Rasmus? I’ve heard some comments about things his dad said, and I know it doesn’t look good for him not to go play winter ball, but is it going to carry over to Spring Training? If LaRussa has labeled him a problem, he has proven to hold grudges in the past.
If that’s the case, then it makes all of the sense in the world to go ahead and trade him, especially if the Cards can get a guy like Peavy. I guess the other thought is, do you think LaRussa sticks around after this year? Do you think this issue with Rasmus could hasten LaRussa’s exit since the Cards are very high on him?
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The Cards don’t aquire Peavy unless they include Rasmus in the deal. There will be other pitchers of Peavy’s status become available to trade for in the future. But, before we trade a potential all-star player ,in Raz, lets give him a chance with the Cards at the big league level. This guy has a real chance, I think, at becoming a great player. Can we ,please, just see what he can do in the majors before we trade him?
Is there any way the Cards get Peavy without having to give up Raz? There are some good trading chips within the Cards system.
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