A-ROD 2007 AL MVP WINNER
In an announcement that surprised no one, Alex Rodriguez claimed his third American League MVP Award on Monday, winning the coveted honor for the second time as a Yankee. Putting it all together offensively as he reached new levels of comfort in New York, Rodriguez established career highs with 143 runs scored and 156 RBIs, leading the Major Leagues with 54 home runs while batting .314. His exploits led the Yankees to the playoffs for a 13th consecutive season. "For me, it's been the most magical and most special year of my career so far, for many reasons," Rodriguez told MLB.com. "Again, not winning the World Series is very disappointing -- that's why you strap it on every Spring Training and that's why you work so hard in the wintertime. "But from a personal level, it was very satisfying to be able to come back from '06 and show the world what kind of player I am, on the greatest stage in the world, which is the Yankees." A-Rod, who became the fifth AL player to win the award three times, did not win the coveted honor unanimously. Rodriguez picked up 26 out of the 28 first-place votes, with Detroit's Magglio Ordonez, who came in second place, earning the other two first-place votes. The 32-year-old Rodriguez, who has agreed to the framework of a $275 million contract which would keep him in pinstripes through the 2018 season, also led the Major Leagues with a .645 slugging percentage and produced one RBI every 3.7 at-bats. Without Rodriguez's hot start and continued contributions, the Yankees would likely have not been able to keep their string of 13 consecutive postseason appearances alive, including 12 straight under manager Joe Torre -- a run that concluded in October, when Torre left the Yankees to manage the Dodgers.
| 2007 AL MVP Award Voting | |||||||||||
| Player, Club | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points |
| Alex Rodriguez, NYY | 26 | 2 | 382 | ||||||||
| Magglio Ordonez, DET | 2 | 22 | 4 | 258 | |||||||
| Vladimir Guerrero, LAA | 3 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 203 | |||||
| David Ortiz, BOS | 1 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 177 | |||
| Mike Lowell, BOS | 1 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 126 | |||
| Jorge Posada, NYY | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 112 | |||
| Victor Martinez, CLE | 1 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 103 | |||
| Ichiro Suzuki, SEA | 1 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 89 | |||
| Carlos Pena, TB | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 64 | ||||
| Curtis Granderson, DET | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 51 | ||||
| Derek Jeter, NYY | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 | ||||||
| Grady Sizemore, CLE | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 15 | ||||||
| J.J. Putz, SEA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |||||||
| C.C. Sabathia, CLE | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | |||||||
| Torii Hunter, MIN | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||
| Orlando Cabrera, LAA | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||||||||
| Bobby Abreu, NYY | 1 | 4 | |||||||||
| John Lackey, LAA | 1 | 4 | |||||||||
| Placido Polanco, DET | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||
| Justin Morneau, MIN | 1 | 3 | |||||||||
| Chone Figgins, LAA | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||
| Josh Beckett, BOS | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
| Fausto Carmona, CLE | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Frank Thomas, TOR | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
While the Yankees floundered out of the gate, due in large part to injuries and underperformance, A-Rod kept the deficit from getting out of control as he carried the team, leading the AL with 14 home runs in April and providing the club with a powerful point to rally around. Consciously trying to keep as low a profile as possible while closing in on 500 home runs, Rodriguez helped the Yankees dig out from their season's low point, 14 1/2 games behind in the AL East and eight games under .500 on May 29. By September, Rodriguez's efforts were recognized as a large reason why the Yankees were celebrating and claiming the AL Wild Card, before falling to the Indians in a four-game AL Division Series. Rodriguez became the youngest member of the 500-home run club on Aug. 4, when he homered off Kansas City's Kyle Davies, one of numerous historical accomplishments by the 11-time All-Star. At year's end, A-Rod would be listed as the only player in Major League history to record at least 140 runs scored, 50 home runs, 150 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in a single season. Rodriguez became the 20th Yankees player to win an MVP since the honor was created in 1931. Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle are the only players to win it more than twice in pinstripes, each having done so three times. Rodriguez's previous MVP awards came in 2003 with the Rangers and in 2005 with the Yankees, his second season in New York. That season, Rodriguez batted .321 with a Major League-leading 48 home runs, 124 runs scored and .610 slugging percentage as the Yankees won the AL East before bowing out in the first round. In four seasons with the Bronx Bombers, Rodriguez has hit 173 home runs. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only player to hit more home runs for the Yankees over a four-year span was Babe Ruth, who hit 209 between 1927-30. Rodriguez's new contract ensures that he will be present when the Yankees open their new ballpark across the street for the 2009 season, while also forecasting an era of baseball in New York that will be largely A-Rod dominated.
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