In almost every other scenario, if a player leads the league in hits (216), RBIs (147), batting average (.372), OBP (.463), slugging (.698), OPS (1.162), and WAR (8.9) for an entire season, he’d almost certainly run away with the MVP award. Well known former Rockies first baseman Todd Helton did exactly that in the 2000 season, so why did he finish not 1st, but 5th in NL MVP voting?
San Francisco Giants pair, Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds, finished 1 and 2 respectively in the NL MVP voting, Mike Piazza finished 3rd, Jim Edmonds 4th, and amazingly, Todd Helton 5th. Is it the Coors Field thin air that the voters took largely into consideration? Did they feel that Kent, Bonds, Piazza and Edmonds were more valuable and important to their teams, in contrast to Heltons importance to Colorado?
The Rockies certainly had plenty of talent around Helton to be able to be successful with him not playing on a given day. Kent and Bonds seemingly carried that Giants offense for weeks on at times. Piazza was undoubtedly the major cog in that Mets lineup at the time, and Jim Edmonds was one of the very, very few 5 tool star players in 2000, so a case can be made that in the definition of “most valuable”, Helton wasn’t as desperately needed in Colorado, as the others were to their clubs.
If we’re to go off strictly stats and performance, Helton would’ve ran away with it. He had an OPS .168 higher than Edmond’s .994. He had 48 more runs scored, 60 more hits, 34 more RBIs, and 45 more walks, than Piazza. Outslugged Barry freakin’ Bonds, and largely outperformed MVP winner Jeff Kent in every statistical category besides stolen bases (12 to Helton’s 5)
Does baseball need to reassure that the MVP award goes to not the best performing player, but who’s performance is most valuable to their clubs success? it seems there’s a major gray area between the two that fans, writers, and voters alike often ponder. Who’s really to say who’s most valuable to their teams? The Yankees needed Bernie Williams, the Red Sox needed Jason Varitek. We’re they in the MVP race? certainly not. Was Helton the best player that year? You betcha. It creates an argument that Silver Sluggers, determine how good a player really is, over the MVP. Whatever the case, Helton’s 2000 season performance deserves to be on a pedestal with the greatest single season performances in the history of the game.
Travis Landes, 2seamsports.com.
