Yount Wins AL MVP

MILWAUKEE — It started with a single voice. One prescient, informed voice.

“M-V-P! M-V-P!”

Or maybe it started as a joke. Maybe it was some two-fist slopper in the grandstand, soused to the gills and slurring.

“M-V-P! M-V-P!”

Whether it started as an honest examination of the season or whether it started in jest, Brewers fans birthed and owned the chant of “M-V-P!” in 1982. Though it wouldn’t count, it was the Brewers’ fans vote for their hero, The Kid, Robin Yount.

Today, the Baseball Writers of Association America made it official, but shockingly not unanimous. Yount won 27 of 28 of the first place votes and 385 total points to win the American League Most Valuable Player award. Of course, the BBWAA is the same prestigious group who have never unanimously elected anyone to the Hall of Fame, including Hank Aaron earlier this season. (Really, the guy hits 755 home runs, and there are a few who don’t think he’s a Hall of Famer? Idiots.)

Yount missed becoming the AL’s first unanimous selection since Reggie Jackson. In a bitter irony, Jackson received the other first-place vote. Who knew it was like Heisman Trophy voting where past winners get a chance to cast a ballot? (That’s a joke, just like Yount not winning unanimously.)

“It’s quite an honor,” said a humble Yount. “I feel it’s the type of award you couldn’t win without the help from everybody else.”

Robin is the ultimate teammate, and it’s his humility that may have kept Golla from voting for him. As Yount says, he couldn’t have done it without his teammates.

But those teammates and his coaches love him. And ultimately, Robin doesn’t care about that one vote or the award.

“I’m very happy for him because he’s definitely deserved being named Most Valuable Player,” said manager Harvey Kuenn. “As far as I’m concerned, he’s the best shortstop I’ve ever seen play.”

That great shortstop far outpaced Baltimore’s Eddie Murray, who finished second with 228 points, and California’s Doug Decinces was third with 178. Jackson was fourth.

The Crew’s amazing season was rewarded in the voting as five Brewers received MVP votes: Cecil Cooper finished fifth, Gorman Thomas finished eighth, and Paul Molitor, Pete Vuckovich and Rollie Fingers also received votes.

Except for one moronic voter, there was no other choice. But the voices inside County Stadium rang true. They knew, and soon so did everyone else.

“M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!”

Player – Tm	Pts	1st	AVG	HR	RBI	W	ERA	SV
Robin Yount, MIL	385	27	.331	29	114
Eddie Murray, BAL	228	0	.316	32	110
Doug DeCinces, CAL	178	0	.301	30	97
Hal McRae, KCR	175	0	.308	27	133
Cecil Cooper, MIL	152	0	.313	32	121
R. Jackson, CAL	107	1	.275	39	101
Dwight Evans, BOS	57	0	.292	32	98
G. Thomas, MIL	44	0	.245	39	112
D Quisenberry, KCR	39	0		0	0	9	2.57	35
R. Henderson, OAK	38	0	.267	10	51
Dave Winfield, NYY	33	0	.280	37	106
Paul Molitor, MIL	29	0	.302	19	71
Lance Parrish, DET	26	0	.284	32	87
Brian Downing, CAL	22	0	.281	28	84
Willie Wilson, KCR	16	0	.332	3	46
Bob Boone, CAL	12	0	.256	7	58
Rollie Fingers, MIL	12	0		0	0	5	2.6	29
P. Vuckovich, MIL	11	0		0	0	18	3.34	0
Jim Rice, BOS	10	0	.309	24	97
Harold Baines, CHW	9	0	.271	25	105
George Brett, KCR	9	0	.301	21	82
Toby Harrah, CLE	9	0	.304	25	78
Don Baylor, CAL	8	0	.263	24	93
A. Thornton, CLE	8	0	.273	32	116
Bob Stanley, BOS	6	0		0	0	12	3.1	14
Rod Carew, CAL	5	0	.319	3	44
D. Garcia, TOR	5	0	.310	5	42
Jim Palmer, BAL	5	0		0	0	15	3.13	1
Bill Caudill, SEA	4	0		0	0	12	2.35	26
Buddy Bell, TEX	3	0	.296	13	67
Cal Ripken, BAL	3	0	.264	28	93
C. Lansford, BOS	1	0	.301	11	63
Rick Sutcliffe, CLE	1	0		0	0	14	2.96	1
Gary Ward, MIN	1	0	.289	28	91