| I think one thing that's interesting is the whole "You can't win the MVP if you're a pitcher because you only play 20% of the games" thing. First of all, that's total horsehit.
Each hitter, on average gets about 4 at-bats per game. That's 4 chances to do something to contribute to the offense. However, a starting pitcher faces something like 25 batters a game. So, even though he may not play every game, when he is in there, he contributes significantly more than a position player in that same game.
This year, Johan Santana has pitched 225 and 2/3 innings. That means that he has recorded 677 outs. That's more plate appearances than Derek Jeter has this year (653), and Jeter has only reached base 265 times. That's only 25 more than Johan's number of strikeouts.
The Twins are 26-7 (.788 winning percentage) in games that Johan starts. In those 7 losses, they've been shut out twice, scored 1 run once, and scored 2 runs twice. So, only twice this year have they lost a game in which Santana had 3 or more runs of run support.
Their record in all other games: 64-55 (.538 winning percentage)
Without Santana they are an 87-win team. With him, they are competing for the best record in baseball |