The last pitcher to win the National League MVP award was Bob Gibson in 1968. This year, C.C. Sabathia deserves to be the first pitcher in 40 years to take the honor. No, C.C. didn’t post a 1.12 ERA and win 22 games. No pitcher will ever do that again. But what Sabathia did do was bring a refuse to lose attitude to a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 1982—back when recently fired manager, Ned Yost was their backup catcher.
Of course, there are a number obstacles that stand in his way of winning the MVP. Albert Pujols. Ryan Howard. The fact that he was a mid-season acquisition. The widely held belief that starting pitchers don’t merit MVP consideration because they only play every fifth day.
The best way to measure someone’s value is to take that individual out of the equation. Without C.C. Sabathia, the Brewers would have played their last game of the season on Sunday and gone home for a long winter. Instead, they will face the Phillies in the NLDS on Wednesday. Without Albert Pujols, the St. Louis Cardinals finish in 4th place in the NL Central—oh wait. With the NL Wildcard as tight as it could possibly be, C.C. Sabathia pitched three games in the final nine days of the season—that’s three straight starts on only three days rest. And he did it without a let down in performance. Over that remarkable span, Sabathia posted a 0.83 ERA and collected two very important wins—the last being a complete game shutout. Down the stretch, every single win was imperative and he was always up to task.
Next in line is Ryan Howard. Howard had an incredible second half, yes, but when he was almost completely irrelevant in the early part of the season, the Phillies were still winning ballgames. Why? Because Philadelphia have two other MVP caliber hitters in their lineup in Utley and Rollins, and Pat Burrell who had the best season of his career. As tremendous a year Howard had at the plate, he actually hurt the Phillies in the field, making 19 errors, the most by any first baseman in baseball. With his poor glove work, Howard is no more valuable than a designated hitter, and no DH has ever won an MVP award.
Ever since Sabathia came to the Brewers at mid-season, he has never shied away from throwing as many pitches as it took to get the W for the Brew Crew. He only started 17 games in the National League, yet he still managed to lead the league with seven complete games. His 10 complete games (between the AL and NL) during the regular season are the most by any pitcher this century.
While it’s difficult to present a major award to a player who only played half a season in the NL, never mind the historic pitcher-bias when it comes to the MVP award, Sabathia’s presence has meant more to his team than any other NL team that is still in contention for the crown. Manny Ramirez’s monster second half is a close second, but he wasn’t enough of a difference maker to overcome the fact that he had only been with his club for half a season.
Just think we were one questionable “error-call” away from adding a no-hitter to C.C. Sabathia’s already impressive resume. A game where not only was he dominant with his pitching, but he also made the biggest “wow play” of the year—when he caught line drive off the bat of Nate McLouth with his bare left hand and still had the awareness to double off the runner at first. Wow.
The Sabathia trade may have been one of the most impactful deadline trades in baseball history. He’s already primed to sign a record-breaking contract this off-season, but if the Brewers can make a splash in the playoffs behind their big south paw, Sabathia may also get a statue in his honor in Brew Town—captioned, of course, as “2008 National League MVP.”
