There may not be 100% agreement on how to fix the issue, but there is something very close to that when it comes to agreement among us that there is something wrong with the requirements to be considered for MVP. Jesse Walsh and Pedro Zorrilla are certainly very valuable assets and great guys to have on the field for your team, but are they really the Most Valuable Player in Happy Jack's AL & NL? I decided to find out.
In order to do so, I used the spreadsheet that I talk about here to determine a Wins Above Replacement value for every single player in Happy Jack. This way, all of the variables that people discuss in MVP voting can be accounted for and quantified into a comparable statistic. Here's a slightly more in-depth look at what this stuff really means:
For hitters, the spreadsheet uses Plate Appearances, OBP, SLG%and Position Played to generate an initial number. I then created a formula that takes into consideration the home ballpark & base running ability to supplement the initial number and create a final one. The end effect is that each player gets credit for playing more and a harder position where appropriate, all in a neutral park.
For pitchers, a simpler yet equally effective strategy was used. To start, the spreadsheet generates an initial value using the pitcher's role (starter vs. reliever), Innings Pitched and ERA. I then adjusted these numbers to account for their home ballpark as well.
In the end, I came up with the following Top 5 for each league:
American League
1. Russ Fitzgerald, C-Salem, 6.8515 WAR
2. Jesse Walsh, RF-New Britain, 6.8510 WAR (actual MVP)
3. Donaldo Lee, RF- El Paso, 6.84 WAR
4. Matty Rodriguez, DH-Arizona, 6.56 WAR
5. Marc Mattingly, SP-Fargo, 5.83 WAR
National League
1. Hector Johnson, ?-Buffalo, 7.47 WAR
2. Lonney Perez, ?-Jacksonville, 6.76 WAR
3. Pedro Zorilla, 1B-Cheyenne, 6.23 WAR (actual MVP)
4. Daniel Rey Knowles, SP-Norfolk, 6.07 WAR
5. Calvin Brown, CF-Oklahoma City, 5.79 WAR
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