Baseball Primer’s 2001 American League MVP Award

Our picks.

The MVP is debated all the time. Often the MVP is a clear choice. Most of the   time there is a good pick along with some other mentionables. From time to time,   there will be no right answer ? or many right answers, depending on whom you   ask. The 2001 AL MVP will be one of the races that falls into the latter category.??

Among the Primer voters, the top choice was clear   ? Jason Giambi won handily, getting 8 of 11 first place votes. In a submission   reminiscent of 1941, Giambi was left off one voter?s ballot entirely. The voter   swears it was an oversight, but I think it is more deeply rooted in his passion   for Doug Mientkewicz. Three players got first place votes: Giambi, Alex Rodriguez   and Bret Boone.??

Giambi?s season was marvelous. He was the best hitter   not named Barry Bonds. Giambi hit .?? 342/.?? 477/.?? 660, leading the league   in slugging and on-base percentage. He did that while playing in one of the   league?s toughest hitting parks. He also outpaced other first basemen at the   same rate that Alex Rodriguez outpaced the other shortstops. Giambi?s offense   was that dominant. Practically every measure of players has Giambi at the top   of the list, and the Primer contingent concurred. There is no defensive component   to most rankings, outside of position comparisons on offense. Giambi has his   detractors for his defensive work, but this season, he was solid with the glove,   and in the top two or three in the AL at first base.

Alex Rodriguez received two first place votes. He   posted offensive offensive numbers at shortstop. He dominated his position again.   ARod finished second in most offensive rankings, about 10 runs behind Giambi   (adjusted for position). Rodriguez signed a huge contract and came through on   his end of the bargain. He also played an outstanding shortstop. ARod, in my   estimation, is underrated. How that can be when he is considered one of the   top two or three players in baseball is based mostly in just how much better   he is than his peers. Rodriguez is a great hitter. He?s top five in the AL without   positional adjustments. His production as a shortstop is unheard of. He has   already posted three of the top eight seasons for a shortstop ever. On top of   that dominance, Rodriguez is an excellent fielder at the most difficult position.   When a shortstop hits as well as a first baseman and plays stellar defense,   he?s the MVP ? usually.

Bret Boone has really gotten the shaft in Seattle.   His excellent season was oft recognized, but Ichiro Suzuki?s press overshadowed   his MVP candidacy. Suzuki had a good season, and garnered a few votes, but Boone   turned in a season that was incredible. Boone?s production from the second base   position was one of the top three seasons in the league. Boone was the MVP of   the Mariners? incredible season. It?s definitely a function of alien possession,   but Boone deserves recognition for an awesome season.??

Ichiro finished 8^th on our ballots, and   third on the Mariners? team.