Is Albert Pujols the NL MVP?

The answer is yes. Isn't it? It seems like a no brainer: the Cardinals are in first place, definitely going to make the playoffs, Pujols is their best player and he's having a normal great season. The problem is, there is someone out there on another playoff contending team who is more valuable.


The Florida Marlins are only 4 games in the NL wildcard race at the time of this post, due in large part to the play of Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez leads his team in BA, H, 2B, TB, OBP, RBI, SB, SLG, and OPS. For good measure, he plays the difficult and important defensive position of shortstop.

Since Pujols leads the Cards in all of those categories as well, I will need to look at the relative value of each player when compared to their peers (or lack thereof) in the league. Lets take the stat of runs created per 27 outs. A team of 9 Hanley Ramirez would score 9.04 runs per game. The next closest SS in the NL? Troy Tulowitzky at 5.95 runs per game. That is a difference of 3 runs per game. Over the course of the season, Hanley has 108 runs created to Tulowitzky's 78. The rest of the SS position is slim pickings as well.

By comparison, 9 Albert Pujols would score 9.94 runs per game, and has created 125 runs this season. While his numbers are a bit better than Hanley's, so is his competition. Within the same gap of 3 runs per game that Hanley has opened up on his 2nd place competition, Albert has the friendly neighbors of Prince Fielder, Joey Votto, Adrian Gonzalez, Todd Helton, Lance Berkman, Derek Lee and Ryan Howard. While it is undeniable that Albert is the best at his position, he certainly isn't the upgrade over #2 Prince Fielder that Hanley is over #2 Troy Tulowitzky.

Hanley Ramirez, so far this year, has meant an astonishing 6.9 wins above replacement level for the Florida Marlins. Fangraphs has his value at $30.9 already this year, and it will only go up as he adds to his totals. Albert is no slouch himself, with a solid 6.6 wins above replacement level, and a $29.9 value.
But there are four first basemen in the top 15 for Fangraph's value, and only two shortstops. In fact, if you cut it to top 14, you lose the SS but still keep four 1Bs.

The only other player even comparable to Hanley is Chase Utley, but he has a teammate in the top 15. Utley is the better defender, but even Hanley is posting a positive UZR rating this year for the first time in his career (Pujols is actually even so far in 2009, though he has been a plus defender most of his career).

So, while many appear ready to hand the award to Albert, Hanley deserves a bit more facetime. He plays the harder position, as is having every bit as impressive an offensive season as is Pujols, and even more so when compared to what the rest of the NL shortstops are doing. Not to mention, the second best player on his team is Chris Coghlan (who?). At least Albert has some help now, come in the form of the torrid Matt Holliday (1.126 OPS since joining the Cardinals).

So there you have it. While it is usually the statheads lamenting that Pujols has been robbed of the MVP, this year could be the year that Pujols himself does the thieving, and steals the award from a more deserving Hanley Ramirez. Because without Hanley, the Marlins aren't even within shouting distance of a playoff spot.