Who Wins the MVP

[David Watts]

player #1
145 runs, 169 hits, 33 doubles, 5 triples, 56 home runs, 170 RBI, 109 BB, 179 SO(lead league) .287 avg, .399 obp, .645 Slg and 4.5 WAR plays 1B. Wins Gold Glove

player #2
108 runs, 144 hits, 33 doubles, 6 triples, 24 home runs, 75 RBI, 117 BB, 72 SO, 48 stolen bases, .324 avg, 466 obp, .588 slg and 10.0 WAR. plays CF

Both players team made won their divisions.

[darkcloud4579]

Why is this a debate, 10 WAR? .466 OBP? Centerfielder? My god. This is an old school v new school debate. If you wanna vote like its the 1980s, vote #1, if you're watching baseball right now? #2

[David Watts]

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

Why is this a debate, 10 WAR? .466 OBP? Centerfielder? My god. This is an old school v new school debate. If you wanna vote like its the 1980s, vote #1, if you're watching baseball right now? #2

Those stats are from 1987, but I get what you mean.

[BirdWatcher]

This seems like a reasonable question to me, looking at this through a 1987 lens.
Of course, from a 2024 perspective, the difference in WAR is so great and it is a no-brainer. But if you are looking to mirror how these numbers would have been perceived in 1987 and especially given that the first baseman actually won a Gold Glove award, I think an argument could be made that he would have been chosen for the MVP award. That gaudy RBI total alone would have likely made the difference in voting in this historical context.
Sure, I would much prefer to have player #2 on my team. (Hey, I'll take them both and be very happy for having them. )

I think I might also consider their overall popularity, reputation, personality traits, etc. to get an idea whether the voters might have had an intangible reason to favor one over the other.

[darkcloud4579]

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

This seems like a reasonable question to me, looking at this through a 1987 lens.
Of course, from a 2024 perspective, the difference in WAR is so great and it is a no-brainer. But if you are looking to mirror how these numbers would have been perceived in 1987 and especially given that the first baseman actually won a Gold Glove award, I think an argument could be made that he would have been chosen for the MVP award. That gaudy RBI total alone would have likely made the difference in voting in this historical context.
Sure, I would much prefer to have player #2 on my team. (Hey, I'll take them both and be very happy for having them. )

I think I might also consider their overall popularity, reputation, personality traits, etc. to get an idea whether the voters might have had an intangible reason to favor one over the other.

Yeah there was no context for the year in the first post. Agreed in 1987 this was an easy debate, for the RBI leader.