2011 Start Wedman MVP Voting

Time to show our support for the democratic system around here again and decide who ultimately deserves the MVP. Since our opinions are just as dumb as those of the typical BBWAA member, I like to think that last year's winners, Jose Bautista and Joey Votto, were more honored to receive our first inaugural MVP award. And once again, shenanigans are about to be had.

The process remains the same as last year with the writers of this great site contributing their votes and Fangraphs offering a WAR buffer vote to counteract any Steve Bartman-esque nominations. The only difference is that there were only four voters instead of five this year. First place votes will be in parentheses next to the player.

We pride ourselves in being gentlemen through and through here at Start Wedman, so we will allow the oldest (and worst) of the two leagues to go first. And the 2011 Start Wedman NL MVP award goes to...

1	Matt Kemp (4)	47
2	Ryan Braun (1)	43
3	Justin Upton	27
4	Roy Halladay	25
5	Albert Pujols	19
6	Joey Votto	17
7	Jose Reyes	15
8	Clayton Kershaw	12
9	Lance Berkman	12
10	Troy Tulowitzki	8
11	Bruce Chen	8
12	Cameron Maybin	6
13	Dan Uggla	5
14	Cliff Lee	5
15	Prince Fielder	5
16	Starlin Castro	5
17	Emilio Bonifacio	3
18	Logan Morrison	3
19	Brandon Phillips	2
20	Michael Morse	2
21	Nyjer Morgan	2
22	Shane Victorino	1
23	Rick Ankiel	1
24	Michael Bourn	1
25	Andrew McCutchen	1

After leading the Dodgers to a season one game above break-even, Matt Kemp has taken the award with his off the charts season. I was the only one who slotted Braun above Kemp, mainly because I believe that his season mattered more since he was on a playoff team not cleaning up against the scrubs of the NL West. Plus, I don't see Kemp as the type of person who would be able to endure this sort of joking around. And that's what I ultimately want in an MVP candidate - a bro with a sense of humor.

Although the biggest item to note is that Bruce Chen received 8 points despite never donning an NL uniform this year. But I allowed the vote to stand, unlike Fangraphs. Democracy rules!

Let's see how Chen fairs in the AL MVP vote. Could he take home the award?

1	Jose Bautista (2)	40
2	Jacoby Ellsbury (1)	39
3	Miguel Cabrera	34
4	Justin Verlander (1)	28
5	Curtis Granderson	25
6	Dustin Pedroia	18
7	Ian Kinsler	16
8	Bruce Chen	11
9	Josh Hamilton (1)	10
10	Michael Young	10
11	CC Sabathia	7
12	Melky Cabrera	7
13	Ben Zobrist	5
14	Adam Jones	5
15	Adrian Gonzalez	5
16	Brandon Allen	4
17	Paul Konerko	4
18	Adam Dunn	3
19	Alex Gordon	2
20	Coco Crisp	1
22	James Shields	1

Well, fiddlesticks. Sorry, Bruce Chen; so close though with your 8th place finish. Instead, Jose Bautista takes home his second straight Start Wedman AL MVP award by another single point, over Jacoby Ellsbury this time.

And once again, the AL voting has been lampooned by our quality writers. First, Josh Hamilton received one single first place vote, which amounted to his only vote; I hope something similar happens in the real MVP voting sometime. Despite all the hype, Start Wedman clearly does not support Justin Verlander's bid to Eckersley the awards this year. Brandon Allen is flattered. Alex Gordon's vote is actually not a joke vote; he was tenth in WAR this year in the American League. And finally, Adam Dunn probably did have the greatest impact of any one player on his team's season, so he receives his deserving points.

Congratulations once again to Jose Bautista as well as newcomer to the MVP posse, Matt Kemp. I would love to get you two awards and send them your way, but this blog kind of fails to create revenues for itself.

Better luck next year, Bruce Chen!