Awards Preview: AL MVP

Awards voting has been made available and, with the help of your friend and mine Ralph Bedwell, we'll preview the MVP and Cy Young races. Why not Rookie of the Year you say? Eh, no one cares about freshmen.

Ralph picks up the slack with the AL MVP Race:

Pat Saunders Kansas City Monarchs Age: 28 B/T: S/L Born: Auburndale, FL Position(s): LF/1B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Poor Pat Saunders of the K.C. Monarchs. All he did was hit .382 with 25 homers, 106 RBIs, and 161 runs scored as the leadoff hitter for a team that won 114 regular season games and smoked the rest of the field for the second consecutive year. That got him on the MVP list, but does he have any real chance of winning the prestigious award? Not as chancee! In fact, two of his teammates figure to finish ahead of him in the voting.

Henry Cust Kansas City Monarchs Age: 30 B/T: R/R Born: High Point, NC Position(s): 2B/1B/LF/CF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Henry Cust is a similar story. The Monarchs' All-World second sacker is on the MVP list for the second year in a row, and with good reason: .323, 41 homers (for the second consecutive season), 143 RBIs, 162 runs scored, not to mention 118 walks and great defense at 2B. But does he have a chance to crown his career with the MVP? No way!

Andy Porter Milwaukee Malt Liquors Age: 23 B/T: L/L Born: Millen, GA Position(s): LF/RF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Dario White New York Chechakos Age: 27 B/T: S/L Born: Phoenix, AZ Position(s): CF/1B/OF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Andy Porter of Milwaukee (54 bombs, 143 RBIs, 122 runs, .305) and Dario White of the Chechakos (1.005 OPS and 7 plus plays in CF) must be similarly frustrated. If they have MVP bonus clauses in their contracts, they will NOT get paid this season.

Al Mendoza Kansas City Monarchs Age: 27 B/T: S/R Born: Central Alara, CU Position(s): 1B View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The reason? Al Mendoza, of course. Setting new standards for the mythical Mendoza Line, Big Al hit .366, crushed 54 homers, scored 133 runs, and plated 182 RBIs (yes, 182 -- that's not a typo!) in just 138 games for the Monarchs. Imagine what his numbers would be if he hadn't been rested so much. But looking deeper, Mendoza's season was even more extraordinary than that. It turns out that K.C.'s cavernous ballpark hurt Mendoza's numbers -- a lot. On the road his numbers were simply unbelieveable: 36 homers, 103 RBIs, 70 runs, and an .801 SLG, all in just 66 road games. Yes, that's right: if Mendoza had played his entire season on the road, his numbers might well have been 72 homers and 206 RBIs!

Whatever angle you take, it looks pretty clear: whether he actually wins the vote or not, Al Mendoza is your AL MVP for season two.