Fielder for MVP?

When I sat down to write my first blog post, I was looking to start off with a bang — or at the very least, write something you couldn’t find in Sports Illustrated.

So with the MLB season a mere two-fifths of the way done, I thought, why not swing for the fences and speculate on what could be the first Brewers MVP winner in 20 years.

Though Ryan Braun is putting up his usual studly numbers and Hoffman might be the Crew’s best closer since Rollie Fingers, Milwaukee’s MVP and the biggest (literally) reason they are still in first place is Prince Fielder.

Through 66 games I thought the case for Fielder’s worthiness of being crowned the National League’s best player would be strong. For the archaic, worthless statistics that old baseball writers value so much, Fielder ranks among the senior league’s best. The 25-year-old first baseman is batting at a .302 clip, leads the majors with 64 RBI’s and has jacked 16 home runs. He also has the strong intangibles of good leadership — which as far as I can tell means he smiles a lot and gets really emotional during comeback wins.

For us Bill James types, however, Fielder’s season is even more impressive than the initial statistics would imply. The youthful hitter has learned to take his walks resulting in a .430 on-base-percentage. And of course, the portly first baseman hasn’t forgot how to mash the ball leading to a superb 169 OPS+.

Finally, the Brewers are currently in first place, everyone loves the story of a talented young star finally putting it together to ascend to the next level (as Fielder has done by taking walks), and the media vote for people who smile at them. Seriously, never discount the impact of a winning smile.

All in all, the Fielder-for-MVP-post looked like it had some major credibility…except for one nagging fact.

Fielder isn’t even the best first baseman in his division.

Doing his best Barry Bonds impression (but without the expanding head size…I hope), Albert Pujols is on a different level than any other hitter in the majors. The Cardinal’s slugger leads the league in homers with 23 and OPS+ with a ridiculous 199. Oh, and he also is carrying an offense with that boasts Skip Schumaker as its second best hitter.

Not that Pujols is underrated, but even in this age of advanced statistics, we still might not appreciate just how good he is.

Just think of the comparison: Fielder, the No. 7 overall pick and former all-star at his very best, can’t touch Pujols in an average year, batting in a lineup with Schumaker/Yadier Molina/Ryan Ludwick protecting him.

Ridiculous.