Ripken Baseball

Strike it from the lexicon. I’m tired of hearing about so-and-so being a tremendous asset to his team and somehow being deserving of an MVP award, even though his numbers don’t shine. Let the award go to whoever has the most terrific statistical season and let’s stop looking through the lens of intangibles.

Let me do the math for you.

.365 avg + 28 home runs + 96 runs batted in + defensive excellence as a catcher = MVP, no doubt.

Joe Mauer deserves this year’s AL MVP because he had a tremendous season, regardless of any time missed to injury, and especially regardless of the record the Twins finished with. His offensive performance definitely helped the Twins win a few games, but had Mauer thrown those numbers up and the Twins managed to only go 70-92 on the season, I still think he’s the MVP.

But many of the critics out there would have denied him the hardware had the Twins’ actually finished 70-92. And that’s just wrong.

Since the Yankees won their 27th World Series Championship earlier this month, the debate about a salary cap has started all over again. My take on the whole thing: if you’re going to put a cap on, you need to establish a floor as well.

If there was any year to make the argument about the Yankees buying a World Championship, this would be the one. The Yankees bought up all three of this year’s top free-agents. They got CC, Teixeira and Burnett, all on their way to victory. Now, I’m not going so far as to say the Yankees didn’t earn it – they won hard fought games all year long – but the argument is definitely there. The Yankees spend way more money on salaries than any other team.

There were nine teams in 2009 with salaries over $100 million. The Mets were the second most at $135 million. The Yankees? Their payroll exceeded $200 million. A $65 million gap just isn’t going to create parity in the long run. Sure, teams at the bottom of the payroll mountain make their runs and win championships, sometimes downing titans like the Yankees in the process. The Marlins for example (last in 2009 payroll at $36.8 million), who rose up and took the crown from the Yanks in 2003.

Winning a World Series is no easy task, like having lightning strike twice. But the Yankees have the funds and the will to buy up all the precious metals they can get their hands on, and they are standing alone in the middle of an electric storm.

If you’re going to try to inhibit teams like the Yankees and Red Sox by capping salaries, you have to also create a floor. Several teams are happy coasting in cheap mediocrity. A cap will drive down the salaries of the best players on the best teams, but a salary floor will force mediocre teams to re-invest in their talent, giving fans the type of quality team they deserve to have.