Why we would currently vote for Cal Raleigh over Aaron Judge for AL MVP | The Show - video Dailymotion

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00:00Why is Cal Raleigh the American League MVP with a quarter of a season left?

00:04We should know a lot to still accomplish for both teams and both players.

00:08Yeah, I didn't even look at the odds.

00:10Apparently, Judge is a slight favorite.

00:12I'm just giving my opinion that right now, to me, Raleigh is slightly ahead.

00:17You know, the reason I believe that he's the MVP is, you know, I know everybody looks at

00:22the stats and they're comparing and Judge is ahead and all these little other categories,

00:26not little, these are the big categories.

00:30But, you know, it's partly about the narrative, too.

00:33We're talking about a catcher, you know, and you can't always, you know, people are now

00:38picking on the defensive metrics aren't as great as they usually are.

00:42To have a catcher with those kind of stats is an amazing advantage.

00:46It is so valuable because the average catcher, I know it's a little bit up this year, thanks

00:52to him and Will Smith, the average catcher has an OPS plus well below 100, well below,

00:57is it 90?

00:58It's somewhere in that 90 category, usually year after year or even a little bit lower

01:02than that, right?

01:03So to have a catcher who's having not only an excellent year, a record-breaking year to

01:08me is a compelling case to have him slightly in front.

01:13I'm not criticizing Aaron Judge.

01:16He is fantastic.

01:18I know it's not his fault that he was out for a couple weeks.

01:21He is having a typically incredible season.

01:25If someone tells me the MVP, he's the MVP, I'm okay with it.

01:29You know, I think it's very, very close.

01:31And as I said, it's currently, currently, to me, Raleigh, having that catcher with those

01:38kind of numbers.

01:39He's going to break the record for home runs by a catcher.

01:43At least when I wrote it, he was leading in RBIs in the major leagues.

01:46To me, that is just so, so valuable.

01:49I also think the Yankees, to me, they're having, I know they're both, both teams are

01:53in playoff position right now, having similar records, but the Yankees have been slightly

01:57disappointing.

01:59It's not his fault.

02:00Judge is the best.

02:02I think he's the best position player in baseball, but MVP right now, to me, I would

02:07vote for Raleigh if I had that vote.

02:08You know, John, this always is easy when you deal with, for me, people who are angry about

02:14this.

02:14It's usually fan bases, right?

02:16And I'll always just say, well, let's just act like Cal Raleigh was doing this for the

02:20Yankees and Aaron Judge was doing this for the Mariners.

02:23If you were a Yankee fan, you'd be screaming, how can you not make a catcher with 46 homers,

02:27the MVP, right?

02:28This is just progressives and conservatives.

02:31You know, whatever side of the divide you're on, you see it through those lenses.

02:35If you're going to make it a war argument and judge leads in war, I always start with

02:41what war?

02:43You know, baseball reference.

02:44He's 6'9", Raleigh's 5'7".

02:46Fangraph's war, 7'4", to Raleigh's 7'.

02:49So, like, we can't even agree what war is.

02:52I know what batting average is.

02:53I know what on-base percentage is.

02:55But, and again, if you're going to go by war and you're a Yankee fan, so you look at

02:59the war and say, okay, let's go look at the war.

03:00We need to revoke Thurman Munson's MVP.

03:05He didn't even lead the Yankees in war.

03:07Mickey Rivers did in 76, and George Brett was way ahead of him.

03:11We have to revoke all three of Yogi's catching MVPs because, again, Mantle almost always led

03:17him on his team in those years where Ted Williams led the league in war.

03:20So, like, if you're going to make strictly a war argument, it's going to be hard probably

03:24for a catcher to win it.

03:25I know you said, you know, Raleigh, I think, has won the Platinum Glove in the past, I think,

03:30last year, right?

03:31He's still fourth in, whatever Fangraph's war defense is, he's fourth in it among catchers.

03:38And his durability is spectacular.

03:42Like, he catches, you know, he catches every game.

03:45Do you know he actually has 14 stolen bases?

03:48Judge has seven.

03:49Look, Judge, there's a great argument for both.

03:52And, John, I actually think you made a key point, which is the two teams, as we're speaking,

03:56are tied.

03:57There's three teams tied for the three wild cards.

04:00There are a couple of games ahead of Kansas City and the Guardians.

04:04You know, like, what happens down the stretch here is going to matter for this race.

04:09I think it's very close.

04:10I think a compelling case, your word, I think was a good word, could be made for both sides.

04:15But to act like this is a runaway one way or the other is ridiculous.

04:19Raleigh is clearly in this race.

04:22Yeah, I mean, there's no question about it.

04:26You know, again, I don't think the catching war is fair.

04:30You know, if a guy's catching, first of all, it's very difficult to hit when you're catching, right?

04:35That's part of the reason that catchers historically have had far worse numbers than certainly right

04:42fielders, but every other position.

04:44So I think it's debilitating catching, but just historically, catchers do not do that well.

04:51So if you have a, offensively, so if you have a catcher with big numbers, it is immensely valuable.

04:57Look how many games Mike Piazza's teams won because of his numbers.

05:01I think Will Smith, now obviously Ohtani is way in front and MVP, but Will Smith has been exceedingly valuable to the Dodgers

05:09and certainly has a case in the top group.

05:12Well, Ohtani's probably going to win that one or certainly is going to win that at this point.

05:17But I think people are undervaluing the idea of catcher, and your point is excellent.

05:21Yogi Berra's career war was like 65 or something like that, right?

05:25There are a ton of players who've never won an MVP.

05:28You have comparable war, Buddy Bell, Willie Randolph.

05:31There are a lot of players.

05:33War does not properly judge catching defense and the value of it.

05:39The value is enormous.

05:41It's judging it versus other catchers and how is he replacing other catchers, whatever.

05:46It's not fair to Raleigh to say that his war is only 5-7 or 7.

05:52I don't think it really underestimates his value to that team.

05:57Take him off that team.

05:58See what the Maras look like.

05:59Certainly, they have a better offense now that they've acquired Naylor and Suarez,

06:02but their lineup didn't look that great before.

06:06Now it does.

06:08But, I mean, he is – I think it's partly the narrative, and that's why at this moment –

06:13and things can change.

06:14It's obviously very, very close.

06:15Judge has been, as usual, amazing player.

06:20To me, I'd vote Raleigh.

06:21Where would you go?

06:22Where would you go?

06:23I mean, you said compelling.

06:24I think I'm with you.

06:27I think right now with a quarter of a season left and both teams in position to either –

06:33you know, both teams could make a run and win their divisions.

06:35Both teams could be the top wild card.

06:38And both teams could fall out of it.

06:40And so I think what happens and what these two guys do the rest will wait.

06:43If I was forced to vote today, I'd vote for Raleigh.

06:46And I guess this will be one of those places where people talk about the New York bias, right?

06:51Here's two people based in New York who are talking about Cal Raleigh from –

06:55as far away as you could get on our map and still play Major League Baseball.

07:00And we think with three-quarters of the season done, he's the American League MVP by a sliver.

Why we would currently vote for Cal Raleigh over Aaron Judge for AL MVP | The Show

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