Sox Therapy: Sign Mike Napoli (to a reasonable contract)

It’s been twitter-reported by Jim Bowden that the Sox are in on Mike Napoli but he wants a fourth guaranteed year before he’ll sign.  I assume Napoli is looking for a contract in the range of $10-15M per season.  I’m not so much sold on that fourth guaranteed year, as Napoli is a bad body hitter with old player skills.  But I’m going to get to the part where I contradict myself later.  I begin with the case for Mike Napoli.

First, he’s one heck of a hitter.  Napoli has hit ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1977 Results

Congratulations to Rod Carew, 1977’s Most Meritorious Player. Although not unanimous, Carew led the voting throughout.

             1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   Pts
Carew        9               1   1                                   156
Schmidt          3   4   1   1   1       1                           135
Foster           3   3   1   1   2   1                               133
Fisk                     6               1   1    1                   93
Parker ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 2012 Discussion

Jumping ahead to the most recently completed season. I remember it as if it were last week.

Player			SH WS		BBR WAR
Mike Trout		37.9		10.7
Buster Posey		36.6		7.2
Andrew McCutchen	37.5		7.1
Robinson Cano		34.4		8.2
Miguel Cabrera		34.2		6.9
Ryan Braun		29.9		6.8
Yadier Molina		28.6		6.8
Ben Zobrist		27.9		5.6
Adam Jones		28.1		3.4
Melky Cabrera		26.3		4.7
Joey Votto		24.3		5.6
Chase Headley		32.9		6.0
David Wright		31.3		6.8
Aaron Hill		27.0		4.6
Darwin Barney		14.0		4.7
Prince ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1977 Ballot

Here are the specific rules for this election:
Candidate Eligibility: Any North American professional baseball player is eligible for the Most Meritorious Player (MMP) award including players in the top Negro Leagues or independent teams. Voters should consider the player’s on-field contribution to Major League Baseball (MLB) team(s) in that season only. If part of the season was spent outside MLB, that value may be considered as well. However, the player’s on-field contribution should be ...

Hall of Merit: Orlando Hernandez

Eligible in 2013.

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1977 Discussion

1977 is an expansion year as the American League welcomes the Blue Jays and Mariners. The Yankees defeated the Royals in the ALCS. The Dodgers prevailed over the Phillies in the NLCS. The Yankees won the World Series in six games.

In other news Dave Kingman becomes the only player to play in all four divisions in one season.

MMP voting will end on November 8 2012.

Player			SH WS		BBR WAR
Carew, Rodney		37.7		9.5
Morgan, Joe		30.0		5.6
Schmidt, Mike		32.8		8.7
Parker, ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1976 Results

Congratulations to Joe Morgan, winner of the 1976 Most Meritorious Player award! This was Morgan’s fourth year in succession as either first or second in the voting.

            1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  Pts
Morgan     11  1                                   179
Schmidt        9  2  1                             164
Brett             7     2     2  1                 139
Fidrych     1  1  1  3     4            1          124
Blue              1  1  2  3  1  1              1 ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1976 Ballot

Here are the specific rules for this election:
Candidate Eligibility: Any North American professional baseball player is eligible for the Most Meritorious Player (MMP) award including players in the top Negro Leagues or independent teams. Voters should consider the player’s on-field contribution to Major League Baseball (MLB) team(s) in that season only. If part of the season was spent outside MLB, that value may be considered as well. However, the player’s on-field contribution should be ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1975 Results

Joe Morgan, who was pipped at the post by Mike Schmidt in 1974, is a unanimous selection as Most Meritorious Player for 1975.

		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pts
Morgan		10												150
Palmer			5		1	2	2							124
Carew			2	1	1	1		1		2	1			 93
Lynn			2	2		1			1	1		1		 85
Harrah				1	1		3	1		1	1		1	 81
Mayberry			2	1	2		1			1		1	 79
Seaver				3	1		1		1			1		 74
Bench					1	1		2	1	1	1	2		 72
Hunter					1	1	1	2	2				1	 71
Randy Jones							1	2	2		1		 44
Gossage			1			1					1	1	1 ...

Hall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1976 Discussion

1976 is another big year for the Big Red Machine as they sweep the postseason. In the American League the Bird is the word as Mark Fidrych has everyone a-twitter.

Voting will end on October 4th 2012.

Player			SH WS		BBR WAR
Morgan, Joe		36.7		9.5
Schmidt, Mike		35.7		7.9
Rose, Pete		29.8		7.2
Grich, Bobby		30.3		5.7
Nettles, Graig		27.8		7.6
Concepcion, Dave	23.3		4.2
Brett, George		33.0		7.2
Foster, George		25.2		5.8
Cey, Ron		28.0		5.9
Harrah, Toby		23.6		3.2
Belanger, ...