2nd Annual (2017) Rex Knight MVP Award Nominations

[Z]

Last chance to nominate but it probably comes down to two candidates: C Voodoo Davilla (MAI) and LF Stu Stark (BAT).

Davilla was arguably the best hitter in the DL. According to voting, many GMs are split on if he was better than LA's Jamie McPherson. However, no one can deny that Davilla was far superior to McPherson as a defender, played a position scarce of good hitting and lead the entire BLB in WAR. He was very solid in the field as Davila lead the BLB in runners thrown out and throw out %.

Stark is the nearly unanimous best hitter in the IL. His HR and RBI numbers were BLB best by a lot. He also lead the IL in runs as well as SLG and OPS. He was very solid in the field too but did play a position with a lot of hitting talent.

Both teams made the Wild Card round and clearly wouldn't have done so with even average production at those positions.

Good breakdown.

I want to add a couple things in making the case for Davila. (And I'll probably copy and paste this into the new thread with the poll tomorrow.)

1. Stu Stark may not play in Baltimore, but he benefited from a massive home field advantage.

At home in Batavia, he hit .331 with 77 RBI and a .996 OPS
On the road, he hit .264 with 50 RBI and a .859 OPS

Voodoo Davila, on the other hand still hit .301 with a .912 OPS on the road while actually hitting more home runs away from home.

Voodoo was the more consistent hitter from park to park.

2. The fact that Stark was a solid defensive left fielder while Voodoo produced extraordinary offensive numbers while excelling at his regular catching duties should count for something. (Indeed, no catcher was better at throwing out potential base stealers than Voodoo in 2017.)

Wins above replacement helps underscore this fact, as Davila earned a BLB-best 8.4 best while Stark was worth 6.8 WAR.

[Pat]

Good breakdown.

I want to add a couple things in making the case for Davila. (And I'll probably copy and paste this into the new thread with the poll tomorrow.)

1. Stu Stark may not play in Baltimore, but he benefited from a massive home field advantage.

At home in Batavia, he hit .331 with 77 RBI and a .996 OPS
On the road, he hit .264 with 50 RBI and a .859 OPS

Voodoo Davila, on the other hand still hit .301 with a .912 OPS on the road while actually hitting more home runs away from home.

Voodoo was the more consistent hitter from park to park.

2. The fact that Stark was a solid defensive left fielder while Voodoo produced extraordinary offensive numbers while excelling at his regular catching duties should count for something. (Indeed, no catcher was better at throwing out potential base stealers than Voodoo in 2017.)

Wins above replacement helps underscore this fact, as Davila earned a BLB-best 8.4 best while Stark was worth 6.8 WAR.

To play Devil's Advocate...

1. Both players had an advantage playing at home. Actually, Davila is the one who was aided more by park factors, while Stark was actually hindered. Stark plays in an almost 100% neutral park. LHB AVG is just 1.010 and LHB HR is 1.020. However, Davila plays in a very RH friendly park: RHB AVG 1.133 and RHB HR 1.060. Maine's stadium is actually the most RHB AVG friendly park in the entire BLB. If you take a look around the IL parks, there are more pitcher friendly parks than hitter friendly parks. Some which are devastating on power hitters (DAV, NY, LAM, DVS). However, in the DL there are much more hitter friendly parks than pitcher friendly parks.

2. Not to take anything away from Davila's ability to throw out base runners because that is very, very impressive but he was pretty pedestrian otherwise. His fielding %, Zone Rating and defensive efficiency were all below average (outside of the DL top 10). He also played nearly 1/4 of his games at DH.

Stark was only slightly better in those categories, finishing 8th or better in the IL at LF fielding %, range factor, Zone Rating and defensive efficiency. However, he did finish 3rd in the entire BLB in innings played at the position. He also played CF in 21 games when the Muckdogs needed runs and PH for CF Pete "Two Shoes" Hartell (.201, .565 OPS).

***

With all that said, I still think Davila takes home his 2nd MVP.

[Z]

To play Devil's Advocate...

1. Both players had an advantage playing at home. Actually, Davila is the one who was aided more by park factors, while Stark was actually hindered. Stark plays in an almost 100% neutral park. LHB AVG is just 1.010 and LHB HR is 1.020. However, Davila plays in a very RH friendly park: RHB AVG 1.133 and RHB HR 1.060. Maine's stadium is actually the most RHB AVG friendly park in the entire BLB. If you take a look around the IL parks, there are more pitcher friendly parks than hitter friendly parks. Some which are devastating on power hitters (DAV, NY, LAM, DVS). However, in the DL there are much more hitter friendly parks than pitcher friendly parks.

2. Not to take anything away from Davila's ability to throw out base runners because that is very, very impressive but he was pretty pedestrian otherwise. His fielding %, Zone Rating and defensive efficiency were all below average (outside of the DL top 10). He also played nearly 1/4 of his games at DH.

Stark was only slightly better in those categories, finishing 8th or better in the IL at LF fielding %, range factor, Zone Rating and defensive efficiency. However, he did finish 3rd in the entire BLB in innings played at the position. He also played CF in 21 games when the Muckdogs needed runs and PH for CF Pete "Two Shoes" Hartell (.201, .565 OPS).

***

With all that said, I still think Davila takes home his 2nd MVP.

I agree Voodoo's park is objectively tailored more for him than Stark's is for him.

I'm merely pointing out that strictly in terms of 2017 performance, Voodoo was much more of a consistent producer away from home than Stark was, and I think that should count for something.

I also concur that Davila isn't an elite defensive catcher all-around, but throwing out base stealers is important and he was excellent at it this year.

[Pat]

I agree Voodoo's park is objectively tailored more for him than Stark's is for him.

I'm merely pointing out that strictly in terms of 2017 performance, Voodoo was much more of a consistent producer away from home than Stark was, and I think that should count for something.

I also concur that Davila isn't an elite defensive catcher all-around, but throwing out base stealers is important and he was excellent at it this year.

There's a reason Davila is #1 on the Top Players list.

In a couple years, we will probably name this award after him. The "Voodoo Doll."