2007 Awards
Here are my 2007 top-fives based on marginal revenue product estimates.
AL Cy Young
Player Team MRP C.C. Sabathia Cleveland Indians $18.04 Roy Halladay Toronto Blue Jays $16.13 Joe Blanton Oakland Athletics $15.76 Josh Beckett Boston Red Sox $15.42 John Lackey LA Angels of Anaheim $14.91
NL Cy Young
Player Team MRP Brandon Webb Arizona Diamondbacks $17.75 Jake Peavy San Diego Padres $15.60 Tim Hudson Atlanta Braves $15.22 Aaron Harang Cincinnati Reds $14.83 John Smoltz Atlanta Braves $13.73
AL MVP
Player Team MRP Alex Rodriguez New York Yankees $28.28 Magglio Ordonez Detroit Tigers $23.79 Vlad Guerrero LA Angels of Anaheim $20.55 David Ortiz Boston Red Sox $20.49 Carlos Pena Tampa Bay Devil Rays $20.32
NL MVP
Player Team MRP David Wright New York Mets $24.10 Hanley Ramirez Florida Marlins $23.55 Albert Pujols St. Louis Cardinals $23.52 Miguel Cabrera Florida Marlins $22.66 Chipper Jones Atlanta Braves $22.44
Estimates for position players include an adjustment for position. No time for commentary as I head out the door.
Happy Thanksgiving.
First off, I’m new to your site, enjoy it a lot, and my knowledge of economics is limited.
That said, Joe Blanton’s name is a surprising one on this list. Is the MRP a function, therefore, of cheap labor as it relates to output/performance? If so, it seems that some expensive players still perform well enough to overcome that cost, while inexpensive players offer more revenue without the cost(?).
Conspicuous in their absence from this list are Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels. I am not afraid to admit that I funnel the Phillies Kool-Aid but am curious to see as how close they were too the top five in each of their respective categories. By the way, I see these numbers support your man-crush on Aaron Harang. I still haven’t figured that one out.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Ed
Curious that only in the NL MVP race did the top two vote-getters not appear at all in your list.
And now that I take another second to look at the list, the NL MVP race also has the smallest variation between spots 1 and 5 on your list and was also the closest vote for the actual awards too. Hum.
Wow, so the Braves scored the third most runs in the NL AND had two of the top five most valuable starting pitchers and still failed to make the playoffs. I guess that show just how bad the back of the rotation truly was last year.
Utley (8) and Howard (10, and just barely) ranked higher than Rollins (11). They were all close, but I do feel that Rollins was a bad choice.
Since you used “feel” in your response, there must be some qualitative reason, outside of what the data indicates, as to why Rollins was the wrong selection. Please elaborate.
Numbers do make me feel, so no there is no qualitative reason.
Rollins was neither the best at his position nor the best player on his team. I would not have voted for Rollins. That is all I meant.