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Ichiro for MVP In AL's snooze of a stretch, Mariners' star shines bright
Sports Illustrated's Stephen Cannella checks in with his baseball thoughts every week throughout the season on CNNSI.com. I'll admit it: Over the last few weeks I've almost completely forgotten about the American League. What has there been to hold our attention? Pennant races? There's been no excitement since the Twins and Red Sox folded in mid-August. It's likely that every AL division will be won by at least seven games, something that hasn't happened since the three-division format was instituted in 1994. The wild card? The A's locked that up with a dozen games left on the schedule. Statistical races? Ichiro Suzuki is all but certain to win the batting title and the Rookie of the Year award -- and anyone who cares about home runs is watching Barry Bonds. This will all change once the playoffs start. There's no clear October favorite among the Mariners, A's, Yankees and Indians. As one AL scout says, "Any one of the four can win it all, including Cleveland." The one bit of regular-season drama left is the MVP race. I don't have a vote, but in my mind Ichiro's name should be engraved on that hardware as well. Unlike the Rookie of the Year race, though, it's not a complete no-brainer. There are other worthy candidates, including Ichiro's teammate Bret Boone, Cleveland's Roberto Alomar and Juan Gonzalez, and Oakland's Jason Giambi. Plus, the debate is complicated by the fact that Ichiro is not a classic power-hitting, run-producing MVP candidate. Not counting pitchers who have won the award, only five AL MVPs have failed to hit 20 home runs or drive in 100 runs. No one has won the award without reaching those marks since 1965, when Twins shortstop Zoilo Versalles had 19 homers and 77 RBIs. Versalles did lead the league, however, with 126 runs and 308 total bases. He also won a Gold Glove, and was one of the main reasons Minnesota sprinted to the best record in the majors and the AL pennant that season. It would be a huge understatement to say that Ichiro is one of the main reasons the Mariners will challenge the AL record for wins in a season. He may not match the power and production numbers of Gonzalez (the league leader in RBIs with 140 going into Thursday's games) or Boone (who's second with 135), but his contribution to Seattle's offense has been just as key. Through Wednesday's games Ichiro led the AL with a .348 batting average, 231 hits and 120 runs scored, and he was second in steals with 53. He had seven home runs and 66 RBIs, more than any other leadoff hitter in the majors, but a figure that pales next to the gargantuan numbers put up by Gonzalez, Boone, Giambi (109) and Alomar (100). Ichiro does produce when given the chance, though -- his .465 average with runners in scoring position leads the majors. Ichiro's job is to give the behemoths behind him RBI chances and no leadoff hitter has done a better job. His .381 on-base percentage tops all other leadoff hitters except the Rangers' Frank Catalanotto, who has had more than 300 fewer at-bats in the No. 1 slot. But Ichiro's effect on Seattle's offense goes beyond numbers. From Opening Day, when he went 2-for-5 and scored a run, he has set the tone for the Mariners' relentless success this season, even as he's adapted to a new country, a new culture, new pitchers, a grueling travel schedule the likes of which he never saw in Japan, and media scrutiny that the Beatles might have found intrusive. Would the Mariners' offense pack the same punch if Boone wasn't also having an incredible year? Of course not. But this is an instance where stats don't tell the whole story. I have a nagging feeling the Mariners wouldn't be where they are without Ichiro. To me, that makes him the MVP. Tough oddsThe Braves (22-24 since Aug. 1) and Phillies (24-22 in that span) are staggering toward the end of the season, and if it seems that neither team wants to win the NL East, well, there might be good reason. If history is any indication, the only thing a division title will get them is a shorter winter vacation. Through Wednesday Atlanta, with a record of 82-70 and a .539 winning percentage, led Philadelphia by one game. Whichever team ends up as division champ will almost certainly finish with a winning percentage lower than .550, meaning its chances of going far in the playoffs are slim. Since divisional play began in 1969, 16 such teams have won a division title. Just six have won a postseason series. Two, the 1987 Twins and last year's Yankees, have won world championships. Here's how each has fared.
Sports Illustrated's Stephen Cannella checks in with his baseball thoughts
every week throughout the season on CNNSI.com.
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