Dahlin, Tom. "A Pitcher in His Prime" (Essay from Magazine)

A Pitcher in His Prime


5 Pages 
This is an article on why the Detroit Tigers star Justin Verlander should be considered for the American league MVP.

Summary
   Tom Dahlin Starts off by stating Justin Verlanders' incredible stats for the 2011 season. He has 22 wins, an ERA of 2.44, 231 strikeouts,  a WHIP of 0.91, and batting average against of .191, all first in the American League.  "In other words, Justin Verlander is having a season to please old-school and new-school number crunchers alike---the result, [Verlander] says, is a long  accumulation of knowledge that has suddenly all clicked into place."  That is what Justin Verlander's season has been like. He has been absolutely dominant in almost all of his starts this year, and is currently in line to win the AL Cy Young and Triple Crown, and possibly the MVP.  The strongest argument against Pitchers winning the the MVP is that they play only every five games, and thus do not have as big of an impact as day-to-day batters.  However, Justin Verlander has been the Tiger's most valuable player because of the huge relief it is knowing that your bullpen going to get the day off, and your batters are only going to need a few runs. If the Detroit Tigers get in to the World Series, it will be the combination of a good batting order, and outstanding starting pitching by Justin Verlander.

Reactions
     I completely agree with Tom Dahlin and his belief that pitchers, if deserving, should be considered in MVP voting. I think that Justin Verlander has had a season for the ages, and with 24 wins and a no-hitter this year, I think that he has the record to persuade voters to give him the AL MVP.  If he were to win the MVP this year, he would be the first pitcher to win since 1992 when Dennis Eckersley won. This was a very well written article and gives good defense for the best pitcher in baseball right now.

Duhlin, Tom. "A Pitcher in His Prime." Sports Illustrated Sept. 2011: 62. Web