Battle of the ages, literally. - NL MVP Race

[GonzoStyle]

Barry Bonds is at the age where most players are at the twilight of their careers and see their numbers fall to mere shadows of what they once were.

Albert Pujols is at the age when most players are still in AAA ball or rookies who should still be fine tuning their game and not putting up Veteran numbers as if he had been playing for 10 years in the majors.

So who do you go with, the youth who is having the best career start in the history of the game. Or the not so old man who is defying any and all sense by putting up career numbers on a constant basis when he should be dwindling?

Pujols Leads the NL in Batting Avg with .370, Bonds is in 3rd with .341

Bonds leads the NL in homers with 37, Pujols is 2nd with 34

The largest difference is in RBI's, Pujols is 2nd in the NL with 108, 6 behind the leader Preston wilson. Bonds is 13th with 77 RBI's. But then again Bonds has walked more than twice as many times as Pujols and we know how Bonds gets pitched to with men on base.

Bonds leads the NL in on base percentage once again with an over .500%, Pujols is 2nd.

Pujols is tied for 1st in Runs scored with 108, bonds is 5th with 88.

Naturally Pujols leads in Hits with 170

Pujols is also in 1st place in Doubles with 43.

As far as slugging %
1 Bonds .751
2 Pujols .691

Both players are Valuble on their teams and are keeping them in the Race. BUt Pujols also has more protection in his line up.

It's a tough choice, Pujols is still in very close contention for the triple crown but Bonds can keep him from it with the homers.

As of Today my vote would have to go to Pujols cause of how young he is and it being his 3rd year in the majors.

[Sir O]

If I were to choose one player, right now, to win me a title this year, I'd choose Bonds first.

If I were to choose a player to build a dynasty around, I'd choose Pujols.

I think Bonds is the better player as of this moment, his OPS is still out of this world. But he can't keep it up, even though he seems to defy every law of baseball...he just can't keep it up while pushing 40.

Meanwhile, Pujols is putting up numbers that rival the most legendary players ever. His first three years are comparable to those of Joe DiMaggio. If that isn't an endorsement, nothing is.

[Galt]

Pujols: no question.

He's produced almost 50 more runs than Bonds. Bonds gets on base, but there is no one there to knock him in. Bonds hits home runs but there is no one on to get knocked in. For all his power and patience at the plate, it doesn't result in a lot of runs.

Bonds gets pitched around because he's too patient sometimes. Pujols will swing at the first strike he sees and double in a run rather than the at bat ending in a walk. Or he might swing at ball four and knock in a run with a sacrifice fly. Bonds in those situations, walks to first base and ends the inning there. You may say "it's not his fault if the rest of his team sucks". That's true, but Pujols makes more stuff happen because he puts the ball in play more often. When someone hits .250 that might not be a great thing. But this guy does so at a .370 clip.

[diceisgod]

So Pat Burrel will not be an MVP candidate this year????

[diceisgod]

Pujols was about fifty feet short of the cycle last night. Pat Burrell looks so cute with his yellow hair. If you're a man and you dye your hair (or anything other than wash and comb it) you are a faggot. We booed Rolen heavily but Drew didn't play or he would have gotten it worse. My friend sitting next to me got a foul ball, because the faggot sitting me the other side of me couldn't catch it. AND he had a glove. The ball popped out like it hit a spring and went into the empty seats behind us. And yes I am rambling.

[GonzoStyle]

If you're a man and you dye your hair (or anything other than wash and comb it) you are a faggot.

This should be put on a t-shirt.

[diceisgod]

How ironic would it be if we wound up t-shirthell.com t-shirt consultants?

[GonzoStyle]

Maybe they have a suggestions section.

[Sir O]

Bonds.

Period.

Today's game was just another example of the greatness of Barry Bonds.

[Velociti]

dig.... the sad thing is people still cheer burrell emphatically. Guess they dont realize that his average is hovering around .190

[Keyser Soze]

What is their Win Shares this year?

[Sir O]

What is their Win Shares this year?

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Bonds is slightly ahead of Pujols as of 8/19.

Bonds has also missed 21 games this year, and to this date has played in 17 fewer than Pujols. I'm sure the gap would be a bit wider if they'd both have played in the same amount of games. Another interesting thing I noticed, is that as far as I can tell, the Giants are have 9 wins and 12 losses this year with Bonds out of the lineup (or a .428 clip.) With him in the lineup, they are a .631 team (65 wins and 38 losses.) So, with Bonds in the lineup, the Giants are one of the best teams in baseball. Without, they are the Mets or the Indians. Pretty big difference if you ask me. With the Cards, even if you take Pujols out of that lineup, you still have Edmonds, Renteria, Drew, Rolen, etc. I am sure that the presence of those players in the lineup has had a hand in Pujols' admittedly excellent numbers, but it also goes to show that if Pujols is gone, they still have a very strong offensive team. With Bonds out, you are looking at a team with Marquis Grissom, Edgardo Alfonzo, and Benito Santiago as the primary offensive threats.

[Keyser Soze]

MVP, most valuable player, the player whose contributions were most signifigant towards helping his team win. Bonds wins hands down. Sir O pretty much won the case with his closing arguments.

[Hoon]

I think Ozzy Osbourne should get it for his rendition of
"Take me out to the ballgame" in Cleveland, I believe.

[Velociti]

My vote goes to Pat "The Bat" Burrell after his two homer performance last night

[diceisgod]

I'm still not sold on him. I might hate him. I hope he proves me wrong.

[HollywoodJewMoses]

yeah ozzy was wearing a cubs hat and uniform in cleveland.