The way the MVP is voted for has always bothermed me a little. Its the same reason why the BCS bothers me. When the voting takes place at the end of the season, then the last games have the most impact on the voting. For example, a player like Delgado in my mind should never have been debated for MVP, because he started the season bad. The MVP to me is the best consistent player on the field that no matter the month is going out there and contributing. I am glad Pujols got it this year because he was one of those players. Wright was one of those players, not #1, but defintely not #7.
This is not me being bitter about Howard finishing number 2 either, even though he shouldn't have. What it comes down to is your definiton of MVP. I have already stated my defintion. There are a good number of people that explain the MVP is the player that gets the team to the next level. That spells clutch to me. While being clutch is important to being the MVP (which is why Wright should not, and was not the MVP of 2008), one cannot weigh the entire vote on being clutch, which is how Howard got votes.
Another important factor in being a MVP is the being the best player on the team. Or the team would look terrible without that player in it. That has been the argument used against the Mets in the last few years. Wright could not be the MVP in 2007 or 2008 because there is Reyes, Beltran, etc. My personal opinion is that while its important for the MVP to be a major factor in his team's lineup, it should not have to much weight as well. (In other words, I think that this argument is bogus as well).
How would I change the MVP voting process? Well I would make the MVP voting process a monthly event. April, May, June, July, August and September. There would be votes cast at the end of each month for the MVP and they votes would not be released until the end of the season. I am sure that many of you out there will find flaws with this system. But in a way it does take out the beign the best at the end of the year situation and turns it to being the best during the whole year.
