Burroughs was followed in the vote by three Athletics (Joe
Rudi, Sal Bando and Reggie Jackson). I'm a little surprised that Rudi was
placed ahead of Jackson; Reggie was the MVP the year before, and followed up with an equally good season. Jackson was caught stealing only five times,
giving him fine numbers in the stolen base department. Rudi won a
Gold Glove, but I doubt his defense was good enough to make him a
better player than Reggie.
Jackson and Burroughs were the two best hitters in the league,
and had very similar numbers. Jackson was a better baserunner and
defensive player, but Burroughs had more RBI and the league's best OPS. Jackson helped the
Athletics win their third consecutive World Series; his numbers were also
hurt by playing in a great pitcher's park. I think Jackson was a little
better, and I'm putting him ahead of Burroughs.
As for Burroughs, his career was derailed by
a complete lack of consistency. He followed up his MVP Award with two
awful seasons, and was dealt to Atlanta. In 1977 he hit 41 homers with
the Braves, a fine comeback season, but a couple of years later he was
struggling again. Burroughs played for 16 years, and belted out 240 lifetime
home runs.
Sal Bando finished third in the MVP vote; he produced a lot of
runs, and helped his team win the pennant, but I have to put him
behind both Rod Carew and Bobby Grich. Carew had far superior
hitting numbers, and was a better defensive player. Grich also had
slightly better offensive numbers, and was a great defensive
player.
There were two parts to Rod Carew's career;
the first half was spent at second base, the other at first base. Put it
all together, and you've got 3053 hits, seven batting titles, and a lifetime
.328 batting average. In 19 years of play, Carew was an All-Star 18 times.
As a second baseman, he was a tremendous force who dominated the position
like few other players ever have; his only flaw was his inability to stay
healthy, which eventually led to his move to first.
This was one year when Carew was healthy
all the time, and he didn't disappoint with the bat. I think Carew was
the American League's best player, and I think there was a fairly large distance
between him and the rest of the league. Though he only finished seventh
in the actual voting, Carew is my choice for the MVP.
Bobby Grich didn't hit for a high
average in his career, but he always contributed with power,
walks, and brilliant defense. This year he was the best player on the
Orioles, who led the league in wins. He gets my vote behind Carew
and Jackson.
