"Moneyball" Grabs 2012 Best Picture Oscar Nomination, but does it Deserve A Best Baseball Picture Nomination?
There has always been a special connection with baseball fans and baseball movies. They can bring out every emotion from tears to laughter. "Moneyball" came out in October 2011 after years of uncertainty of even being released. Brad Pitt portrays Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane as the team has lost star players Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi to free agency following the 2001 season. How can Beane replace two great players on such a small-market budget? Enter Jonah Hill's character Peter Brand (the real-life Paul DePodesta) to show off a new way of analyzing how to score runs and get wins on a shoestring budget, creating Moneyball. Pitt grabbed a Best Actor nomination for his role and Hill nominated for Best Supporting Actor. "Moneyball" received 4 other nominations including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, and of course Best Picture. Where does "Moneyball" rank among the all-time great baseball movies? I'm sure everyone's list is different, but these are my nominations for the Best Baseball Picture Oscar.
10) "Pride of the Yankees"-1942
I love that this movie actually has Babe Ruth in it. It chronicles Lou Gehrig's career, leading up to the culmination of his "Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth" speech. It may be the saddest of the movies on this list, watching the crippling disease ALS take over the body of one of the greatest players of all-time. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won one. Gets some bonus chuckles for Gary Cooper batting right-handed in the movie, even though Gehrig was a lefty.
9) "Bull Durham"-1988
This is where I'm going to get in trouble. A lot of trouble. I don't really like "Bull Durham" as much as everyone else. Which is surprising because 90% of the time when I have the choice I'll choose the comedy over the dramatic film. Kevin Costner is great as minor league player Crash Davis, but they movie just doesn't do it for me. The movie in general is well received and was named the #5 Best Sports (not just baseball movie) by the American Film Institute.
8) "Moneyball"-2011
I've already gone to great length talking about the movie, but this seems like the right spot for it. I may feel differently in a decade after 50 more replays of it.
7) "Rookie of the Year"-1993
Please humor me. I'm not saying that "Rookie of the Year" is the 7th best baseball movie of all-time, it's probably far from it. However, it's the movie that hardly ever left 10 year-old Bryan's VCR. Thomas Ian Nicholas plays Henry Rowengartner, a middle school afterthought who by a freak injury becomes the flamethrowing pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Super bonus points for the only time the Cubs have won the World Series since 1908. Plus, if you're a baseball fan from ages 21-35 and you have uttered the words "funky butt-loving" or "pitcher's got a big butt" you haven't lived. Don't worry this one wasn't nominated for anything.
6) "Baseball"-1994
The perfect movie for any baseball history lover. Ken Burns documentary that chronicles the evolution of baseball through 18.5! wonderful hours. Each film goes over a different era in baseball history from the origins of the game through 1993 and was sadly released during the 1994 baseball strike. The film gave baseball fans a much needed baseball fix during the absent 1994 playoffs. A new film was released in 2010 called "The Tenth Inning" which chronicled the game from 1994-2010. Plus the 9-part VHS tapes, looked so awesome sitting on the bookshelf in the family room growing up. "Baseball" won an Emmy for Best Informational Series.
5) "A League of Their Own"-1992
A movie that I don't think gets enough respect over the years. Tom Hanks entering his acting prime, this movie came out right before "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump". This movie had entertaining performances from Geena Davis, Madonna, and Rosie O' Donnell. The film tells the story of the short-lived All-American Girls Professional Baseball League through the team the Rockford Peaches, while MLB is shut down for World War II. The slew of storylines from player-manager, to husband-wife, to sister-sister weaves together wonderfully. The final scene is one of the few where you didn't see it coming. Jimmy Dugan's famous line "There's no crying in baseball" is still uttered 20 years later.
4) "The Natural"-1984
When I first visited the Baseball Hall of Fame when I was an early teen, what the most exciting piece of baseball history for me? Not the plaques chronicling baseball greats, not the exhibits on the 500 HR club, 3000 hits, etc. it was the baseball movies exhibit. The piece that I still remember seeing this day? The Wonderboy bat and Robert Redford's New York Knights jersey. I even debated buying a Knights jersey in Cooperstown before I left, before settling on a Brooklyn Dodgers one. The Roy Hobbs character was just so fun from striking out The Whammer to appearing as a 35 year-old rookie for the Knights completely knocking the cover off the ball. The climax is still one of the most memorable for not just a baseball film, but any movie. Imagine if a player like Hobbs came around today in the world of around the clock sports news and social media, it'd be Tebow and Lebron wrapped into one. The movie was nominated for four Oscars, sadly none of them for Redford's role as Roy Hobbs.
3) "The Sandlot"-1993
From this list you can pretty much guess my baseball movie peak was from 1992-1994 (there's even another one on the list coming). "The Sandlot" was what I was when I was nine, a kid who went out every day and wanted to play some baseball. I was very much like Smalls, not the best player, but a kid that grew to love the game. The only difference is I actually knew who The Great Bambino was. The characters were all fun from Benny, to Ham, to Squints (and Wendy Peffercorn), to Yeah-Yeah. The story with the beast was great and was the quintessential baseball family movie.
2) "Major League" AND "Major League 2"-1989 and 1994
Please don't throw things at me for what I'm about to say. I like "Major League 2" more than the original. "Major League" is a great movie in its own right, but the young teenage silliness in me enjoyed the more ridiculous "Major League 2". The movie shows the lovable loser Cleveland Indians as they turn from a ragtag group of nobodies into a bonafide contenders. Find another baseball movie that has fans of the team actually wearing the jerseys from the movie rather that the teams own players. You know you own a Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn #99 jersey Indians fans, don't try to deny it. But why do I prefer #2? Except for the slight downgrade from Wesley Snipes to Omar Epps as Willie "Mays" Hayes, the entire cast is back, plus the hilarious editions of Rube Baker and Isuro Tanaka, just make the rare preference for the sequel. I still ask people if they "have no marbles", but I don't quote anything from the original.
1) "Field of Dreams"-1989
1989 was a great year for baseball cinema, with arguably the best baseball drama and comedy being released in the same year. "Field of Dreams" is based on the book "Shoeless Joe" by W.P. Kinsella. Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer who hears a mysterious voice telling him "if you build it, he will come" Kinsella turns his crops into a homegrown baseball field in the middle of nowhere, while the ghosts of baseball greats like Shoeless Joe Jackson appear to play the game they loved while they were alive. The fantasy story continues as Kinsella travels to find Terence Mann (the always entertaining James Earl Jones) and "Moonlight" Graham. The ending where people will always come for the game of baseball, helps show why it is America's pasttime. It's one of the few movies that any time it is on TV, the channel doesn't get changed.
Honorable Mention:
61*, The Bad News Bears, Eight Men Out, Cobb, Little Big League, The Rookie, Catching Hell, Bang the Drum Slowly, For Love of the Game, Angels in the Outfield and Little Big League
There you have it. My personal Best Baseball Picture Oscar nominations. This no doubt is always one of the most controversial baseball topics. What's on your list? Feel free to pick apart mine, there should be no one that completely agrees with me.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Jorge Posada by the Numbers
Long-time Yankees catcher Jorge Posada will according to reports retire on Tuesday. The member of the "Core Four" along with Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, and Mariano Rivera helped the Bronx Bombers to a dynasty at the turn of the millenium. Even more underrated is Posada's charitable work. The Jorge Posada Foundation has become one of the leading charities for craniosynostosis, a disease that harmed his son. The debate among Yankee fans for the next five years will be is Jorge Posada a Hall of Famer, if you ask any fan in the Bronx, they will overwhelmingly say yes. If you ask any Yankee hater, they answer will be overwhelmingly no. Where does the truth lie? Let's take a look at the numbers and find out.
13
The current number of catchers in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Adding Posada in here is where he would rank among catchers in the Hall of Fame in major statistical categories.
Batting Average: .273-10th
Home Runs: 275-5th
Runs: 900-6th
Runs Batted In: 1065-7th
Slugging %: .474-7th
On Base %: .374-5th
Hits: 1664-9th
176
The number of games Posada got to play at designated hitter in his career, just over a full season of games. Only Carlton Fisk played games at DH in his Hall of Fame career, with 158, Fisk played seven more seasons than Posada.
5
The number of World Series rings Posada won in his career. This number is probably the best ammunition for Posada to be enshrined. Five is also the number of All-Star appearances and Silver Slugger awards for Posada during his tenure.
0
The number of Gold Gloves in his career. Partly, because he ran into Ivan Rodriguez for most of his career, but Posada was not a great, or at times even a good defensive catcher. He led the league in errors by a backstop twice and was in the top 5 in the category seven times. He also had a defensive WAR (wins above replacement) of -2.9 over his career.
984
The number of stolen bases allowed in his career. He was among the worst 5 in stolen bases allowed in 11 of his 16 seasons as a full-time catcher.
44.7
Posada's total WAR for his career. For comparison, the last catcher to get into the Hall of Fame (Gary Carter) had a career war of 52.6, while the presumed next catcher in the Hall of Fame (Mike Piazza) had a career WAR of 59.1. Posada never finished higher than 10th in the ML in single season WAR in his career.
9.6
The percentage of votes that former Yankee teammate Bernie Williams received in his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2012. Williams has similar if not better offensive numbers than Posada, but didn't come remotely close to the 75% of the vote needed to enter the Hall of Fame. This is the most telling number against Posada ever getting in.
Jorge Posada has earned every right to be revered by Yankee fans. He helped them win five World Series titles and was a career Yankee, which is quite the feat in today's game of free agency and trades. Posada, Rivera, Jeter, Chipper Jones, and possibly Todd Helton may be the only players baseball fans see that length of time in one uniform for a while. In the future, Posada will probably join Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey, Thurman Munson, and Elston Howard as Yankee catchers with their numbers hanging from the rafters of Yankee Stadium. Looking at the numbers though, that's all that Posada will be. A Yankees great, not an all-time one.
Long-time Yankees catcher Jorge Posada will according to reports retire on Tuesday. The member of the "Core Four" along with Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, and Mariano Rivera helped the Bronx Bombers to a dynasty at the turn of the millenium. Even more underrated is Posada's charitable work. The Jorge Posada Foundation has become one of the leading charities for craniosynostosis, a disease that harmed his son. The debate among Yankee fans for the next five years will be is Jorge Posada a Hall of Famer, if you ask any fan in the Bronx, they will overwhelmingly say yes. If you ask any Yankee hater, they answer will be overwhelmingly no. Where does the truth lie? Let's take a look at the numbers and find out.
13
The current number of catchers in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Adding Posada in here is where he would rank among catchers in the Hall of Fame in major statistical categories.
Batting Average: .273-10th
Home Runs: 275-5th
Runs: 900-6th
Runs Batted In: 1065-7th
Slugging %: .474-7th
On Base %: .374-5th
Hits: 1664-9th
176
The number of games Posada got to play at designated hitter in his career, just over a full season of games. Only Carlton Fisk played games at DH in his Hall of Fame career, with 158, Fisk played seven more seasons than Posada.
5
The number of World Series rings Posada won in his career. This number is probably the best ammunition for Posada to be enshrined. Five is also the number of All-Star appearances and Silver Slugger awards for Posada during his tenure.
0
The number of Gold Gloves in his career. Partly, because he ran into Ivan Rodriguez for most of his career, but Posada was not a great, or at times even a good defensive catcher. He led the league in errors by a backstop twice and was in the top 5 in the category seven times. He also had a defensive WAR (wins above replacement) of -2.9 over his career.
984
The number of stolen bases allowed in his career. He was among the worst 5 in stolen bases allowed in 11 of his 16 seasons as a full-time catcher.
44.7
Posada's total WAR for his career. For comparison, the last catcher to get into the Hall of Fame (Gary Carter) had a career war of 52.6, while the presumed next catcher in the Hall of Fame (Mike Piazza) had a career WAR of 59.1. Posada never finished higher than 10th in the ML in single season WAR in his career.
9.6
The percentage of votes that former Yankee teammate Bernie Williams received in his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2012. Williams has similar if not better offensive numbers than Posada, but didn't come remotely close to the 75% of the vote needed to enter the Hall of Fame. This is the most telling number against Posada ever getting in.
Jorge Posada has earned every right to be revered by Yankee fans. He helped them win five World Series titles and was a career Yankee, which is quite the feat in today's game of free agency and trades. Posada, Rivera, Jeter, Chipper Jones, and possibly Todd Helton may be the only players baseball fans see that length of time in one uniform for a while. In the future, Posada will probably join Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey, Thurman Munson, and Elston Howard as Yankee catchers with their numbers hanging from the rafters of Yankee Stadium. Looking at the numbers though, that's all that Posada will be. A Yankees great, not an all-time one.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Dave Duncan Announces He's Leaving the Cardinals, Why St. Louis Fans Should Panic
First, Tony LaRussa announced he was leaving the Cardinals after winning the 2011 World Series in near impossible fashion. Today, pitching coach Dave Duncan said that he would be taking time off to deal with family matters. This is a HUGE deal for the Cardinals as seemingly every pitcher that Duncan has touched has turned to gold since joined St. Louis in 1996. Numerous pitchers that were roughed up in their previous spot, were able to become relevant again under Duncan's tutilage. These pitchers since 2002 include:
Edwin Jackson: Career ERA 4.46, St. Louis ERA 3.58
Ryan Franklin: Career ERA 4.14, St. Louis ERA 3.52 (and that's with his terrible 2011)
Kyle Lohse: Career ERA 4.64, St. Louis ERA 4.27
Jeff Suppan: Career ERA 4.69, St. Louis ERA 3.94
Joel Piñeiro: Career ERA 4.41, St. Louis ERA 4.14
Todd Wellemeyer: Career ERA 4.83, St. Louis ERA 4.31
Jason Isringhausen: Career ERA 3.62, St. Louis ERA 2.98
Matt Morris: Career ERA 3.98, St. Louis ERA 3.61 (with a 22-win season)
Woody Williams: Career ERA 4.19, St. Louis ERA 3.53
Darryl Kile: Career ERA 4.12, St. Louis ERA 3.54 (Kile came to STL after a 5.84 ERA in 2 seasons with the Rockies)
And of course the biggest one.
Chris Carpenter
6 seasons in Toronto
49-50, 4.83 ERA, 1.51 WHIP
8 seasons in St. Louis
95-42, 3.06 ERA, 1.13 WHIP
Even 39 year-old Chuck Finley had a better ERA than his career mark in his one season with Dave Duncan! Plus, he guided the careers from the start of great SP Adam Wainwright who will be back in 2012 after missing last season with Tommy John surgery and solid pitcher Jaime Garcia.
The only players who seemingly got worse under direction from Duncan was Mark Mulder, who was fantastic with Oakland when they had him, Hudson, and Zito, but was derailed in St. Louis by injuries. Also, Braden Looper and Brett Tomko were considerably worse, but that's probably because they were Braden Looper and Brett Tomko.
With the returning Wainwright, Carpenter, Lohse, Garcia, and the immortal Jake Westbrook (full disclosure, Westbrook's ERA is slightly worse with Duncan) in the rotation there actually seemed to stability in the Cardinals rotation for 2012. There are no more retreads like Woody Williams and Jeff Suppan to try and pull something out of nothing. Instead, the defending champs are now without the the staff's leader to show them how to get it done.
My wishes go out to Duncan's family that everything will be fine and he'll return to the dugout sooner rather than later, but I'm sure the other 15 teams in the National League hope he takes all the time he needs.
First, Tony LaRussa announced he was leaving the Cardinals after winning the 2011 World Series in near impossible fashion. Today, pitching coach Dave Duncan said that he would be taking time off to deal with family matters. This is a HUGE deal for the Cardinals as seemingly every pitcher that Duncan has touched has turned to gold since joined St. Louis in 1996. Numerous pitchers that were roughed up in their previous spot, were able to become relevant again under Duncan's tutilage. These pitchers since 2002 include:
Edwin Jackson: Career ERA 4.46, St. Louis ERA 3.58
Ryan Franklin: Career ERA 4.14, St. Louis ERA 3.52 (and that's with his terrible 2011)
Kyle Lohse: Career ERA 4.64, St. Louis ERA 4.27
Jeff Suppan: Career ERA 4.69, St. Louis ERA 3.94
Joel Piñeiro: Career ERA 4.41, St. Louis ERA 4.14
Todd Wellemeyer: Career ERA 4.83, St. Louis ERA 4.31
Jason Isringhausen: Career ERA 3.62, St. Louis ERA 2.98
Matt Morris: Career ERA 3.98, St. Louis ERA 3.61 (with a 22-win season)
Woody Williams: Career ERA 4.19, St. Louis ERA 3.53
Darryl Kile: Career ERA 4.12, St. Louis ERA 3.54 (Kile came to STL after a 5.84 ERA in 2 seasons with the Rockies)
And of course the biggest one.
Chris Carpenter
6 seasons in Toronto
49-50, 4.83 ERA, 1.51 WHIP
8 seasons in St. Louis
95-42, 3.06 ERA, 1.13 WHIP
Even 39 year-old Chuck Finley had a better ERA than his career mark in his one season with Dave Duncan! Plus, he guided the careers from the start of great SP Adam Wainwright who will be back in 2012 after missing last season with Tommy John surgery and solid pitcher Jaime Garcia.
The only players who seemingly got worse under direction from Duncan was Mark Mulder, who was fantastic with Oakland when they had him, Hudson, and Zito, but was derailed in St. Louis by injuries. Also, Braden Looper and Brett Tomko were considerably worse, but that's probably because they were Braden Looper and Brett Tomko.
With the returning Wainwright, Carpenter, Lohse, Garcia, and the immortal Jake Westbrook (full disclosure, Westbrook's ERA is slightly worse with Duncan) in the rotation there actually seemed to stability in the Cardinals rotation for 2012. There are no more retreads like Woody Williams and Jeff Suppan to try and pull something out of nothing. Instead, the defending champs are now without the the staff's leader to show them how to get it done.
My wishes go out to Duncan's family that everything will be fine and he'll return to the dugout sooner rather than later, but I'm sure the other 15 teams in the National League hope he takes all the time he needs.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Where oh where will Prince make his new castle?
Washington seems to be new front-runner for Fielder's services, but I don't know how signing him to a long-term contract is what's best for the Nats. They already have a decent first baseman in Adam LaRoche, plus breakout player Mike Morse played 85 games at the position in 2011. The Nationals current depth chart has just Morse, Roger Bernandina, and Jayson Werth in the outfield. Why would adding another 1st baseman to the roster help that? The Nationals do have a great unknown advantage in signing Fielder. Washington D.C. is the #1 vegetarian city in America and Fielder is MLB's best-known veggie lover.
Washington seems to be new front-runner for Fielder's services, but I don't know how signing him to a long-term contract is what's best for the Nats. They already have a decent first baseman in Adam LaRoche, plus breakout player Mike Morse played 85 games at the position in 2011. The Nationals current depth chart has just Morse, Roger Bernandina, and Jayson Werth in the outfield. Why would adding another 1st baseman to the roster help that? The Nationals do have a great unknown advantage in signing Fielder. Washington D.C. is the #1 vegetarian city in America and Fielder is MLB's best-known veggie lover.
Monday, January 02, 2012
Here is my entry for the 2012 MLB Fan Cave. 500 glorious words (exactly), but I wanted to write so much on more. This was especially difficult as a Braves fan to write so positively about a player on an NL East rival, but I truly believe Mike Stanton is on his way to super-stardom. I thought the same about Matt Kemp and Ryan Braun when they came up and was right. But I also have the biggest collection of 1998 AL Rookie of the Year Ben Grieve memorabilia outside of the Grieve family. So take it with a grain of salt. And Ben if you're out there somewhere reading this, please at least give me a follow on Twitter @Mapes4FanCave you owe me it for all the allowance I spent on your rookie cards when I was fourteen. Thanks.
In a sport that is packed with budding talents like Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, 2011 All-Stars Justin Upton, Michael Pineda, Craig Kimbrel, Starlin Castro, and Andrew McCutchen, 2010 Rookies of the Year Buster Posey and Neftali Feliz, plus future stars Jason Heyward, Mike Trout, Eric Hosmer, and Stephen Strasburg under the age of 25; I'm taking my pick for young player to become a MVP candidate to South Beach. Mike Stanton, the 22 year-old emerging superstar for the Marlins is ready to leap from young slugger to MVP candidate. The best trait that shows how great Stanton has been in his two seasons is his prodigious power. He had 34 homers for Miami in 2011 as a 21 year-old! That total has occurred three times at that age in history. He had more bombs at 21 than Griffey, Aaron, and Bonds. Stanton also had a wins above replacement of 5.7, 10th in the NL (better than Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder), he was 5th in home runs (more than NL MVP Ryan Braun), and 8th in OPS (ahead of 2010 NL MVP Joey Votto). You would think being a power hitter, would infer Stanton is a terrible defender, but he isn't. Stanton's defensive WAR of 2.1 was tied for tops in NL. Somehow, he was not voted an All-Star and received one, lonely 10th place vote for 2011 NL MVP.
How does Stanton grow in 2012? First, is continued maturation and plate discipline as he learns the game. In 2011, he struck out every 3.62 plate appearances and walked in every 8.58 PA. This was improvement from his rookie year of 3.22 PA/K and 11.65 PA/BB. This led to Stanton increasing his OBP by .30 and OPS by .60 in 2011. Better patience will make him a tougher out in the Miami lineup.
The second, underrated reason Stanton will improve is the Marlins new ballpark. During summer, the average temperature in Miami is 89 degrees with unbearable humidity. Instead of playing outdoors in a football stadium turned ballpark, that is a below average for homers, plus the 3rd worst attendance in MLB, the Marlins will have perfect conditions and more fans in a smaller stadium supporting him.
Lastly, why Stanton will be a MVP contender is new teammate Jose Reyes. Stanton had great power numbers, but didn't score or drive in enough runs. Stanton's 87 RBI was 18th in the NL, while 79 runs were only good for 29th. No offense to Emilio Bonifacio, but you'd have to think that Jose Reyes is a certain upgrade. Also, a healthy Hanley Ramirez, who played in 92 games last season hitting ahead of him will set the table to put up better counting numbers and get the respect that he deserves.
There are plenty of worthy candidates, but if I was investing in rookie cards before the season started, I believe Mike Stanton's have the best return on investment.
In a sport that is packed with budding talents like Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, 2011 All-Stars Justin Upton, Michael Pineda, Craig Kimbrel, Starlin Castro, and Andrew McCutchen, 2010 Rookies of the Year Buster Posey and Neftali Feliz, plus future stars Jason Heyward, Mike Trout, Eric Hosmer, and Stephen Strasburg under the age of 25; I'm taking my pick for young player to become a MVP candidate to South Beach. Mike Stanton, the 22 year-old emerging superstar for the Marlins is ready to leap from young slugger to MVP candidate. The best trait that shows how great Stanton has been in his two seasons is his prodigious power. He had 34 homers for Miami in 2011 as a 21 year-old! That total has occurred three times at that age in history. He had more bombs at 21 than Griffey, Aaron, and Bonds. Stanton also had a wins above replacement of 5.7, 10th in the NL (better than Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder), he was 5th in home runs (more than NL MVP Ryan Braun), and 8th in OPS (ahead of 2010 NL MVP Joey Votto). You would think being a power hitter, would infer Stanton is a terrible defender, but he isn't. Stanton's defensive WAR of 2.1 was tied for tops in NL. Somehow, he was not voted an All-Star and received one, lonely 10th place vote for 2011 NL MVP.
How does Stanton grow in 2012? First, is continued maturation and plate discipline as he learns the game. In 2011, he struck out every 3.62 plate appearances and walked in every 8.58 PA. This was improvement from his rookie year of 3.22 PA/K and 11.65 PA/BB. This led to Stanton increasing his OBP by .30 and OPS by .60 in 2011. Better patience will make him a tougher out in the Miami lineup.
The second, underrated reason Stanton will improve is the Marlins new ballpark. During summer, the average temperature in Miami is 89 degrees with unbearable humidity. Instead of playing outdoors in a football stadium turned ballpark, that is a below average for homers, plus the 3rd worst attendance in MLB, the Marlins will have perfect conditions and more fans in a smaller stadium supporting him.
Lastly, why Stanton will be a MVP contender is new teammate Jose Reyes. Stanton had great power numbers, but didn't score or drive in enough runs. Stanton's 87 RBI was 18th in the NL, while 79 runs were only good for 29th. No offense to Emilio Bonifacio, but you'd have to think that Jose Reyes is a certain upgrade. Also, a healthy Hanley Ramirez, who played in 92 games last season hitting ahead of him will set the table to put up better counting numbers and get the respect that he deserves.
There are plenty of worthy candidates, but if I was investing in rookie cards before the season started, I believe Mike Stanton's have the best return on investment.
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