Loading ...Poll: Who is Your Final 2012 Dodgers MVP?
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:04 pm 
by Ron Cervenka Loading ...
Posted in News 
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:04 pm by Ron Cervenka Loading ... Posted in News Welcome to ThinkBlue LA
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Not only is Kershaw the team MVP, he should win the NL Cy Young Award again in my opinion.
I love Cruz, but he wasn’t around for the whole season. Kershaw had a great season and even though he only played every fifth game, he was cheerleading and involved the other 4. Had Cruz been on the field all season and played at the level he did while while with the Dodgers, I’d have probably voted for him!
You all know about how I feel about Cruz. I completely agree with you Dick. Beings that Kersh was really the only true constant player this year, I think it has to go to him, and for the same reasons you said.
I found it very hard to pick an MVP, there are quite a few to chose from but, aside from Kemp I picked Kershaw because of how important pitching is to the game.
Luis Cruz was a total suprise and I mention Kemp because he’s so valuable (healthy), right now we could never do without him.
Kershaw, even with the hip problem is still the best pitcher in the game.
I voted A.J. for three reasons.
1) He was an offensive force for most of the year, he fell off during his 0-30 streak, but you could attribute that to the way Mattingly was playing him down the stretch. It used to be a 3-1 type thing for A.J. where he’d start 3 games in a row, then take a seat for Traenor. But once September came around, all of a sudden I saw A.J. play more games for longer stretches. To be honest, I was excited, but it obviously had a detrimental effect on his performance. However, for 5/6 months he was consistent more so than any other player, besides one Luis Cruz, whom I cannot consider given his late arrival.
2) He developed into quite the clubhouse leader. First instance was the infamous triple play against San Diego in April. Throughout the entire play, who’s yelling at players to complete the play? A.J. And what happens? They listen to him. Next you have to consider his position as catcher. Not only does he have to learn each pitcher’s tendencies and comfort zones,he has to be able to get them to adjust if what they are trying to do isn’t working. Now imagine that, but then add pitchers coming in from other teams and having to come up with a rapport in a matter of days. That and the amount of respect he received from players like Matt Kemp and Clubhouse officials like Ned, Stan, and Mattingly just shows the kind of man A.J. is. Also, being awarded the Roy Campanella award should be proof enough of the clout he has with this team.
3) He stepped up when it was required. Starting off the season, A.J. was considered a place holder. Someone to hold the ground until Fedex was ready to take over. We all knew he was a good defensive catcher, and that his offense was moderate to above average at best. So what did A.J. do? He exceeded expectations. Some people expected him to start off slow, he hit his first home run during the second game of the season. We don’t expect him to have a clutch gene. He gets a walk off walk, walk off single, and walk off home run (in which he trended worldwide). We expect him to get at most 10 home runs and some reasonable amount of rbis for a catcher. He reaches the total we predicted faster than we could anticipate. All this during a season when Matt Kemp missed a huge chunck due to hamstring issues, Our starting rotation didn’t solidify until August, and our offense was touch and go.
Ladies and gentlemen of the voting community. This is not a career minor leaguer who had a breakout season. This is the season of a man who’s character and perseverance finally showed us all what he is and should be: The Los Angeles Dodgers MVP.