No, but Pedroiaestrian is.

Didn’t three writes leave Pedro off their ballots entirely because they didn’t want to vote for a pitcher? I remember hearing that those three guys pretty much kept Pedro from winning the MVP. So I doubt writes would vote for a pitcher from a losing team, no matter how great his numbers are. Remember, in voter’s eyes, if you’re not on a winning team then you’re not “valuable.”

Not disputing your larger point, but Pedro did get 8 first-place votes to Pudge’s 7.

Pedro would win that race, I think, in part because a lot of voters barely know who Kinsler is.

There have been nine such pitchers, and none since Eckersley in 1992 (the only one you missed). Every one of them was on a division winner. With one exception, they all won at least 93 games. The exception was Rollie Fingers in 1981, but that was the strike year, in which the Brewers finished 3rd in the first half and first in the second. I doubt we’ll see a pitcher as MVP any time soon, and certainly not one from a fourth-place team.

It IS a joke. But, he’s the “name brand” hitter on that team (the guy people know) and the Twins have exceeded expectations. So, a lot of voters are likely to try to figure out who was the difference maker and will know one guy on the team — ergo, Morneau.

It isn’t as crazy as you think. If they make the playoffs, ask yourself if they would have without CC’s wins and with those of a replacement-level player.

I was just pointing this out to a friend of mine who was bemoaning trading Sabathia in our fantasy league — if you take out his first four starts, (see this), Sabathia has a 1.93 ERA in his last 23 games. Sigh.

Interesting point. I think it’s less tainted by intangibles (division winner, clubhouse leader, good guy, clutch). Or to put it another way, under Cy Young-like standards, Albert Belle would have won unanimously.

I don’t think it’s more prestigious, though. Now if pitchers were officially excluded from MVP, the two awards would be considered equal.

Interestingly enough, the same year that Sutcliffe won the Cy with the Cubs after starting the year with the tribe, Bert Blyleven was 3rd in the Cy voting in the AL for the tribe. Blyleven was the highest finisher among AL starting pitchers with only Hernandez and Quisenberry ahead of him.

So just like this year, in 1984 the tribe started with the best starting pitcher in both leagues. In another parallel in 1984, the tribe finished 75-87 despite almost outscoring their opposition. Hopefully this is where the parallel ends, as in 1985, the tribe went 60-102.

Including 30 complete games. Yes, it was a different era back then. But consider this: from July 19 to August 21, Carlton threw nine complete games in a row, including two of 11 innings. The Phillies won eight of them, losing the last one 2-1 in 11. He gave up a total of 9 ER over those 85 IP, and in the five games between July 23 and August 9, he gave up one unearned run in 45 IP, striking out 37 and walking 5.

David Huff, there’s your benchmark.