Why Buster Posey Should Win the National League MVP Award
By zacklosel
This year’s MVP balloting will be one for the ages, as there are many teams who do have that one solid guy keeping their respective teams afloat. You have players like Ryan Braun, who won the coveted title last season, Andrew McCutchen, and even Matt Holliday.
But there is one player, however, who sets himself apart from the rest of the group, and that man is San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey. All-Star catcher this season, and Rookie Of The Year in 2010, this guy does it all.
No, he does not have the huge power numbers like Ryan Braun (though they are mighty close, batting .335 with 23 home-runs, 74 runs scored, and a whopping 95 RBI), or technically even the highest batting average in the league (thank you Andrew McCutchen), but there is something more about him. He represents his team more than any other player in baseball, and has an air of calm about him, something that is attributed to many of the veteran greats that have played this legendary game. He carries himself with a respect for the game and other players like no one we’ve seen, and is the most deserving candidate for MVP for this reason.
Sure, you could say the same about Braun or McCutchen, but do they really encompass the team and city’s collective drive and spirit? They’re both amazing ballplayers and probably deserve it just as much as Posey if you look at the numbers. But numbers don’t always tell the whole story.
Gaining MVP status is no easy task, and Buster Posey is more than accustomed to having to work hard for what he’s accomplished in his short career behind the plate. Only one year removed from being declared Rookie Of The Year and becoming a World Champion in his inaugural Major League season, Buster Posey was put on the shelf with a leg injury for the rest of the 2011 season as a result of a collision at the plate with Scott Cousins, a Bay Area native.
As mentioned before, his numbers aren’t the best in baseball, but his presence is something that you cannot find anywhere else around the league. He is that intangible force that cannot be measured, but rather admired. Sure he keeps his comments short and sweet (as witnessed tonight in his acceptance speech while receiving the 2012 Willie Mac Award), but the guy oozes greatness. What Posey has done this season is nothing short of remarkable, and the fact that he has come back less than a year after a broken leg and is putting up the numbers he is (surpassing his total estimated homerun mark of 18) is just un-heard of. It puts him in the same pond as the great Albert Pujols, which is something not many will accomplish.
Now, to say you must gel with your team to be viewed as an MVP isn’t always true. Last season, we saw Ryan Braun narrowly beat out Matt Kemp for the title, a decision that many disagreed with. However you look at it, you cannot sit there and tell anyone that either of those two carry themselves as well as Buster Posey has.
Another factor that greatly contributes to his case for MVP is the fact that he is doing all of this as a catcher. Yes, he plays 1st base every now and then, but he is a catcher first and foremost. A position that most consider to be the hardest to play, as it takes a huge toll on your body, something Mike Matheny would surely attest to.
If there is one player that represents his team, city, league, and the game, more than any, it is without a doubt Buster Posey. For these reasons, he will win the 2012 National League MVP.