I’m getting off the fence- NL MVP

Just a few days ago, I said my piece about my thoughts on the race for the National League MVP award.  Now, I am allowed to change my mind before the season is over…everyday if I want to.  A few days ago my stance was as follows:

In today’s MLB, MVP does not necessarily mean the best player in the league.  Now it comes with layers.  It has been ages since the award was given to someone NOT on a winning ballclub.  That means, since Bud Selig is the commissioner, the award should come with an asterisk.  So, while I believe that Matt Kemp should win the award, I do not think he will.  Ryan Braun will win NL MVP because he plays on a (fingers crossed) division winning team.  I do not personally believe that the award should be this way.  It should go to the player who was the most valuable to his team, regardless of how many games they win.

At that point in time, Ryan Braun had not yet put together his highlight reel weekend.  Sometimes you need to see a man play out of his mind to truly appreciate his abilities.  After watching this past weekends games, I realized that Ryan Braun IS the best player in the NL and maybe in all of baseball.  Yes, I am flip-flopping.

No one can argue with Matt Kemp’s numbers; .324 BA, 37 HR, 120 RBI, 112 R, .400 OBP, and .581 SLG%

I do not even remember the last time a baseball player was this close to the Triple Crown, this late in the season.  It would be unfortunate to not reward Kemp for his performance on the field this season.  Kemp has not made it easy on the writers who vote for this award, because of his amazing season on a lackluster Dodgers team.  The truth of the matter, Kemp will win a Gold Glove Award and probably the Silver Slugger to go along with his All-Star appearance.  These two men could become the standard in the MVP voting for the next few seasons, with a different outcome every time.  But Mr. Kemp, this time it is going to be Braun.

In Ryan’s case, I feel like a lot of national experts think he is a liability in the outfield.  After doing some research on the subject, Brauny has only committed 1 error this year and thus has a .996 fielding percentage.  Matt Kemp has 5 errors and a .986 fielding percentage this season.  If you saw what I wrote earlier, the odds are really good that Kemp will win a Gold Glove.  Braun probably will not win a Gold Glove, but I doubt he will care.  Our Ryan Braun (we can say that) is one of the finest baseball players in the land and he will win the NL MVP trophy.  Here are the two plays that pushed him over the edge:

If you watched those, it probably sent a chill down your spine right?  Who in their right mind could watch these two plays and not jump out of their chairs in excitement?  Who I ask you?  These two plays made me realize that we have the best player in baseball.  That is not the homer in me talking, Ryan Braun is going to be the best player in the history of this franchise and maybe the league for the next 5-10 years.  Milwuakee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun, will be the first Brewer since Yount to win an MVP award.  There is no doubt in my mind any more.

As a lover of baseball, I admire what Matt Kemp has done in Los Angeles.  Apart from Clayton Kershaw (probable NL CY Young winner), Kemp was the best thing going for that club this season.  We may never see another season quite like this, but he lacks that big game resume.  Braun has been playing in meaningful games for the last month and came up clutch during a playoff race.  Most voters put a huge weight on that and in that department Braun wins hands down.

Hope you all had a safe and exciting weekend.  This week we will find out who our first October opponent will be.  Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for the Braves.  They are weak and it would be easy for the Brewers to take advantage of Miller Park against them.  However, the Cardinals continue in their efforts to get into the club.  Should that happen, we will be playing the D’Backs either 4 times in their place or 4 times in ours.  As soon as we have a clearer picture, you can bet that we will have some major series previews with some of the other FanSided joints.

On the subject of FanSided joints, Nate Gilmore over at Puckett’s Pond, asked me why Twins fans should root for the Brewers this October.  Here is what I told him.  Thanks for having me on Nate.  Also, since we have such a great relationship with the guys over at Puck’s Pond, here is the link to Eric Pleiss’ article posted on our site yesterday.  I love to hear about the “non-fan” experience.

Go Brewers!!!!