Thread: Howard for MVP, WTF!!!!

YAY!!!!

Yeah that was some tight voting. How many games did Pujols miss with his hamstring injury.

Howard was really the only reason that the Phillies were fighting for a wildcard come september.

Pujols on the other hand has some pretty impressive support, that makes that team more then just an MVP.

Either way would have been a good winner though.

Sheesh, first they want Cris Carpenter to win the Cy Young, then they want Tony LaRussa to win Manager of the Year, then they want Pujols to win the MVP. These damn Cardinal fans just want everything.

Haha....get off me IAB. You know we are glory hogs.

Well Puljos really didnt have any help at all Ian. Edmonds was hurt for a good part of the year, eckstein went out for a long while, Rolen was average, but thats about it. There wasnt another guy in that lineup that hit over 20 home runs (atleast I dont think). Pujlos missed about 2 weeks with an abdominal injury. He was on a crazy pace to hit over 70 homers. And this injury definitly slowed him down. He never did fully recover from this.

And with Carpenter not getting the Cy young, well I really cant see giving it to anyone else this year. Brandon Webb was solid, but didnt stand out. Carpenter is such a strikeout pitcher. I believe Larussa hurt his chances coming down the stretch with leaving him in to long to try and get extra work out of him. And he wore down and ended up losing the game.

All in all though I think Puljos got hosed, but Carpenter didnt have the year that it took (On a normal year). Pitching this year just kinda sucked in general. No 20 game winners at all. Thats crazy.

Damn, Its about time some good news comes for us Philly sports fans

Seyone Lives!

The fact that the Phillies were in the playoff chase right until the end helped Howard. Had the Phillies finished a dozen or so games back, the vote probably would have gone to Pujols.

Originally Posted by seyone

Damn, Its about time some good news comes for us Philly sports fans

Sey what? Looks who's back.

Originally Posted by I Are Baboon

Seyone Lives!

yeah, im still alive. today is my first post in a long long time

Originally Posted by Triple Threat

Sey what? Looks who's back.

He probably doesn't know who you are since you've changed your name like 62 times.

Originally Posted by I Are Baboon

He probably doesn't know who you are since you've changed your name like 62 times.

Originally Posted by I Are Baboon

He probably doesn't know who you are since you've changed your name like 62 times.

yeah, you got me

Originally Posted by Double D

PHILADELPHIA -- The sheer force of Ryan Howard's gargantuan home runs cannot accurately be measured in speed or total distance, only by the gasps from those watching such a spectacle.
The Baseball Writers Association of America collectively gasped, then stood and applauded on Monday, selecting the Phillies first baseman as the National League's Most Valuable Player.

"I tried to treat this like any other day," said Howard, who turned 27 on Sunday. "I wasn't consumed by it, because it was out of my hands. But to finally get to this point ... to get the call ... it's definitely a relief. It is a good birthday present, and an honor to be named NL MVP."

With 20 first-place votes and 12 second-place votes, Howard defeated last year's NL MVP, the Cardinals' Albert Pujols, by a total of 388 to 347. The Astros' Lance Berkman (230) and the Mets' Carlos Beltran (211) finished third and fourth, respectively.

"It definitely means something special," Howard said of beating Pujols. "He's a great player, and to be able to get in that company, that's a feat in itself. It's an honor, because of what he's done for his team and the game of baseball itself."

Howard becomes the second player in Major League Baseball history to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards in consecutive seasons, following Cal Ripken in 1982 and 1983. Fred Lynn (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001) have the even sweeter distinction of winning both awards in their first seasons.

Still, Howard had a calendar year that he'll never forget. The start came in January, when Howard was officially presented with his Rookie of the Year Award at the Baseball Writers dinner in New York City. His first full season included his first All-Star appearance, where he slammed his way to a victory in the CENTURY 21 Home Run Derby.

He added 30 more homers in the second half of the season, shattering Mike Schmidt's franchise record of 48 along the way. In September, Schmidt marveled, "I've never seen anyone in the Major Leagues who is treating the game almost like an oversized kid in the Little League World Series. All he's got to do is get a ball out over the plate and it's a home run."

Now, Howard is the first Phillie to be named MVP since Schmidt won the last of his three awards in 1986.

Howard likely would have become the sixth player to reach 60 homers in a season, but pitchers stopped throwing him strikes, especially in September. That resulted in just two homers in his final 23 games.

The fear Howard evoked in opposing managers can best be illustrated in an Aug. 11 game against Cincinnati, when the slugger was walked three times in extra innings. The final time came in the bottom of the 14th, to load the bases with no outs.

Yes, you read that correctly. Reds manager Jerry Narron would rather have the winning run 90 feet away with no outs than dare challenge Howard.

"When he comes to the plate, he's already in scoring position," Narron remarked.

Howard's season of 58 homers and 149 RBIs is made more impressive by his .313 batting average. The award also signals that the player's team doesn't have to make the playoffs in order to be considered the Most Valuable Player. The Phillies had a better record than the World Series champion Cardinals, but finished second in the NL East to the Mets and three games back of the Dodgers in the NL Wild Card race.

Howard followed up his rookie season with an even more brilliant sophomore campaign. He tied for the 10th best single-season mark for homers, and his 58 were the most by a second-year player. His 149 RBIs were the second-most for a sophomore, behind Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio.

Howard's legend began well before becoming a fifth-round pick in 2001 out of Southwest Missouri State. People in the St. Louis suburb where he grew up still remember the 400-foot home run he smacked as a 12-year-old -- and the Red Lobster across the parking lot likely still has the dent to prove it.

Nervous in his first callup in May 2005, Howard stuck the second time around, when he was recalled in July. Now, he's just being unfair.

The MVP is his crowning individual achievement, trumping his Rookie of the Year ('05), Home Run Derby win ('06), and earning MVP of the Japan All-Star Series.

On what he'll for an encore in 2007, Howard said, "I have no clue. If I'd been told all this would happen, and so fast, it would've been kind of hard to swallow. Only thing I can do is keep working hard, get ready for next season, and help my team make another run at the championship."

Another sterling performance came on June 20 against the Yankees, when he hit three long balls and drove in seven runs in a loss. One of those drives christened the upper deck at Citizens Bank Park and clanged off a seat that now bears a white "H" to mark the spot. It is the only ball hit up there in the park's three-year history.

"Yeah, I hit that one pretty good," Howard recalled at the end of the season. "I hope there are more like it."

If there are, more awards will likely follow


Oh dont get me wrong hes an excellent ball player and had a great season, but there is no way Puljos shouldnt have gotten it. Unbelievable! Hell the Philies didnt even make the playoffs.

You beat my Mets!! You won the freaking World Series!!

What more do you want, world domination!!!

Originally Posted by I Are Baboon

Sheesh, first they want Cris Carpenter to win the Cy Young, then they want Tony LaRussa to win Manager of the Year, then they want Pujols to win the MVP. These damn Cardinal fans just want everything.

I didn't see that, but my thoughts exactly.

and I thought Boston fans were bad.............

Mino you knew I was going to raise some hell over this raw deal!

Hell even Puljos won a gold glove, so thats just another reason why he should be MVP. Not to mention Puljos only struck out like 50 times compared to Howard's 150.

Originally Posted by Double D

Mino you knew I was going to raise some hell over this raw deal!

Manager Tony La Russa expressed his support for the ultimate decision, but he couldn't hide his disappointment that another one of his Cardinals missed out on some postseason hardware. "I would never want to disrespect players who have had outstanding seasons," said La Russa. "I'm not surprised -- not just Howard, but [Arizona Cy Young winner Brandon] Webb, I'm not surprised that they won. They both had outstanding years. But I'm disappointed, because I thought our two guys [Pujols and Chris Carpenter] ... I was hoping, and I was disappointed that they didn't get the awards."

Odd? He forgot to include himself there.

I didnt think Larussa should get it. He made alot of bonehead calls throughout the season. Until he got to the playoffs anyways, then he became a stud. But the awards should be voted on due to what happened in the regular season.

Originally Posted by min0 lee

Odd? He forgot to include himself there.

Why should LaRussa have gotten it? The team just made it into the playoffs. The award is based on the regular season, not the playoffs.

He is a egomaniac so I am suprised he didn't include himself.