David Ortiz

[steve B]

Originally Posted by bravos4evr

If said DH is at or near the top in WAR then yeah I can ignore defense, but 23rd????

I tend to think that the entire concept of MVP has been twisted over the years. It was supposed to mean "player who had the best season" now it means "player who had the best season ,and the best narrative ,on the team that made the playoffs" so it seems that MVP is now contingent on other people too. (which makes no sense)

I was just reading a bit about WAR, and as I'm understanding it they count six different categories including fielding, which leaves any DH a bit short since they basically get 0 for fielding. (Maybe a bit of a toss up, some would probably lose points some would gain. )

Checking offensive WAR, he's currently 9th, at 3.7 tied with Bradley and Betts, and behind Bogaerts who is at 4.2 (Not sure just how that works, since Ortiz is ahead in most of the categories)He's ahead of anyone on the team in most of the traditional stats, usually by a lot. So realistically not in the running for MVP, but hardly a "bad" season. For someone at age 40.

All in all, it's just a really great season to enjoy watching. He's doing very well for a 40 year old guy, and is leading in a few categories for that age.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/le...s_40_bat.shtml



I get the "player with the best season" view. I don't think that can be done considering the players as isolated from the team. So much of the things a player can do are affected by the players around him. Especially in the lineup, where the presence or absence of a solid hitter in the spot following can change the approach a pitcher takes. A power hitter without at least a solid hitter behind him won't see as many good pitches, since the risk of a walk leading to a run is lower if the following hitters are weak. (Either for power or average or worse, both. ) Not that I entirely agree, the chances of a double or better aren't really all that good, even for the best hitters.

Steve B