Yeah, I know the production is important, but if the same job could be done by another player ont the team (not as well, granted, but not badly either), what makes them so valuable? Bonds is an example of being the best and the most valuable, whis as i said is often the case, but they aren't synonymous.
[The following exampls assume a line-up consisting of average players, and the three named stars]
If 3 of your players are Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Ty Cobb, it seems blindingly obvious to me that Cobb is the most valuable. The other two would all be doing more or less the same thing to produce runs, without a huge gap in ability, whereas Ty would be doing something completely different. Similarly if you had Ty Cobb, Rickey Henderson and Vladimir Guerrero, Vlad would be worth more to the team.
I'm probably explaining this really badly and making myself look like a moron in the process, but i know what i mean and it's sound logic
