Something the Dodgers haven't had since Adrian Beltre in 2004, and something they haven't had on a consistence basis since Mike Piazza's run of dominance from 1993 to 1997 is a legit Most Valuable Player candidate.
Piazza hit no lower than .318 in that stretch and batted as high as .362 in '97. He only hit less than 30 homers in the strike-shortened 1994 season.
In 2004, Beltre hit 48 home runs and batting .334, finishing second to Barry Bonds in the MVP race, but Beltre's season was a flash in the pan.
Now Dodger fans have another serious candidate.
You might be thinking, "wait a minute, we had Manny Ramirez last year and he finished fourth in the National League MVP voting."
To that, I say he was never going to win the award last year, despite batting .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBI in just 53 games in a Dodger uniform. His reward for taking over a team and leading them to the playoffs was always going to be a top five vote, but he certainly wasn't going to finish first or second.
C.C. Sabathia was stuck in the same situation. Dominant for a half of the season, but the award, more than likely, wasn't going to somebody that didn't play a full season in the National League.
But now Ramirez is going to be a Dodger for a full season and something Red Sox and Indians fans know well is that this guy is an MVP candidate every year.
From 1998 to 2005, Ramirez finished in the top ten in the American League's MVP voting. In 2006 he finished 18th despite batting .321 with 35 homers and 102 RBI. He probably should have finished higher, especially when you consider guys like Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, Jim Thome, Joe Nathan and Justin Verlander finished ahead of him.
With Ramirez still searching for that huge contract to ride off into the sunset with, I would expect him to replicate his 2008 numbers where he came out with a .332 average, 37 home runs and 121 runs driven in.
These will be MVP caliber numbers, putting him in the running with guys like Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, Ryan Howard, David Wright, etc...
Last year, Los Angeles adopted Manny very quickly, but now Dodgers fans, he's truly our Manny and will be a legitimate contender to win the NL MVP.
I remember the first time Manny came to the plate last year, and it was such a rush. It was a feeling I hadn't had since Mike Piazza was in LA. Not even in that 2004 season when Beltre went off did I get the feeling that anything could happen. Right away, with Manny, I did. I stopped everything when he came up. I watched almost every at bat with my eyes wide open with anticipation. I really, really am looking forward to a full season of him in the lineup.
I agree he is always an MVP candidate....but he has never won it despite putting up some of the most consistent numbers over the last decade that I have ever seen...Manny always seems to fall short, probably because of personality conflicts. If he keeps the clubhouse loose like he did the last two months of the season that will help him the most IMO, because that isnt what he is known for.
manny is awesome. that is all.