Boston Red Sox: Mookie Betts in good company as MVP runner-up
By Sean Penney
Pedro Martinez
Who could forget the controversial 1999 ballot that saw Pedro Martinez finish second? In his second season with the Red Sox, Pedro delivered one of the most dominant performances by a pitcher in the modern era. He went 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA and 313 strikeouts, giving him the coveted Triple Crown of pitching to run away with the first of the two consecutive Cy Young Awards he would capture as a member of the Red Sox.
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When it came to the MVP, Pedro received the most first-place votes, but fell short of winning when two writers left him off their ballot completely. Their logic was essentially that pitchers had their own award and shouldn’t be eligible for the MVP since they don’t play everyday.
Personally, I typically lean toward hitters for that very reason, but that doesn’t mean I would omit a pitcher that had a historically great season. If they felt these reasons were sufficient to give their first-place vote to Ivan Rodriguez, fine, but to not have Pedro on their ballots at all was an atrocity.
How did Pedro handle being snubbed by these voters? By following up with what was arguably an even better season, producing a 1.74 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and league-leading 284 strikeouts.