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Need Another Race?
Last
season they had themselves another race of their own. Two athletes,
cut from different molds, battling for a title only one could hold.
Today, it's nearly a year after the final decision was made, and
the same two guys are at it again, battling for a different title
that again, only one can hold. And
like last year, outside opinion on which of these two should win
the award will vary greatly, and in all likelihood vary evenly.
So
who do YOU think should win the 2002 Most Improved Player of the
Year award, if you were to vote now: Ian Byrd or Dean Evans?
With
each passing gameday, it's becoming harder and harder to come to
a conclusion. Each player has their own case for why the award should
be theirs, and the argument (for me) helps little on shedding light.
If anything, it only makes it more confusing. If you've already
got your mind made up, then you might want to skip this column,
for I am moments away from delving into those very thoughts right
now and possibly forcing a person or two to suffer from a mild headache.
Why
you should vote for Ian Byrd
One
of the main arguments for Ian to NOT win the Rookie of the Year
award in 2001 was that he only showed a fraction of the dedication
to the league that eventual winner Dean Evans showed. He seemed
to play only when needed, while Dean Evans was at the field every
Sunday, calling his teammates, rearing to go four games if for some
reason that was necesarry. Today, this is a non-issue. Both guys
are dedicated. Ian's got nine games left, and he's already surpassed
his AB totals from last year and will pass his 2001 IP totals at
the next gameday. So let's see what he's done with those ABs and
IPs now, huh?
To
start, he's increased his batting average from an unremarkable .250
in 2001 to a remarkable .374 in 2002. When trying to think of a
bigger turnaround, only Casey Sylvester's .235--.413 comes to mind
from '99 to '00.
Secondly,
his homerun production. He has more than doubled his power numbers,
improving from 6 HRs in 2001 to his current 2002 total of 15. This
has in turn led to a slugging percentage that jumped from .473 to
what it is now: .797. His RBI totals, you ask? Twelve in 2001, currently
has 27. Runs? Seventeen in 2001, 33 right now.
His
pitching numbers were already impressive last year, but he's managed
to improve them as well. A 2.67 ERA has dropped to a 2.14 mark.
Opponents are hitting abut 25 points lower and he's striking out
batters about 1.6 more times per four innings.
However,
it's not so much about stats for Ian. You look at the below-average
.313 average from teammate Scott Carmichael, the "nice knowin'
ya" season from Kyle Archibald, and the "Where the hell
are ya?" season from Mike Walsh, and you have to wonder where
the Whites would be standing in the playoff hunt if Ian either a)
played like last year b) showed up like last year or c) both. Scott
can beat most teams by himself, but he can't play without teammates,
and Ian has been sure to keep Scott out of the "forfeit"
column too much this season. The result is a 17-10 mark, which could
easily be something like 12-15 if Ian was showing up at last year's
pace, or even just playing at last year's pace.
Why
you should vote for Dean Evans
One
of the main knocks on Dean is his (lack of) homerun totals. But
let's face it people, he's NOT a homerun hitter, nor is it likely
he ever will be. It's like knocking Ichiro for the same reason.
You need to look at whether or not he does well the things he tries
to do. Dean is doing that and then some.
He's
a hair under Ian in terms of batting average, hitting .372 a year
after hitting .275. His power numbers aren't off the charts (only
13 extra-base hits to Ian's 22) but his slugging is up from .404
to .587. His on-base is also about 100 points higher.
His
runs and RBI totals aren't huge either, but it's not fair to fault
Dean. I don't even want to know what kind of numbers he would have
if teammates Jeff Morrison and Casey Sylvester were hitting the
way they were last year. Dean's leading the team in average by almost
100 points and would definitely already be above 30 runs and 20
RBIs if his teammates had been playing at their usual level. Instead,
.355 Jeff Morrison is now at .280 while .342 Casey Sylvester is
at .257. Dean's job is to get on base and be knocked in. Can't blame
him if no one's knocking him in.
Then
there's his pitching, which is up there with Clint Wattenberg's
turnaround from '99-'00 in magnitude. Dean's nearly cut his 2001
ERA in half (6.13 -- 3.11), dramatically dropped his opponent's
average (.381 -- .245) while jacking up his K/4 ratio (3.60 -- 5.48)
and pitcher rating (3.73 -- 33.29). He throws much harder and with
much more accuracy. Just ask Seth Yoder.
Again,
you need to ask yourself where the team would be with the 2001 Dean.
Wiffolution had great seasons from Jeff Morrison and Casey Sylvester
last year and still only finished 15-20. This year, Dean is basically
the only one holding his own (so far) and the team is 15-13. In
2002, Dean has officially done what no thought he could do: he played
on a team with both Jeff Morrison and Casey Sylvester, and he became
the best hitter on his team.
Why
you should vote for someone else
James
Vassar and Eric Christensen are the only other guys improving their
numbers, but they're not doing it at the rate these two are, and
they're not really generating many wins.
Once
again, it's a show between the two surviving rookies from 2001.
In my estimation, it will come down to the wire. Teammates of Ian
will vote for Ian, teammates of Dean will vote for Dean, and all
other voters will split roughly 50/50.
Just
let me make it crystal-clear: There will NOT be co-champions. Someone's
going to win this thing, doggone it.
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