2006 AL MVP ballots

• "NO, because he's on a team of rich guys getting it done."

Joe Christensen, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 9/19/06 on XM Radio MLB Channel 175 said of Jeter as an MVP candidate.

• Jeter didn't even get both New York voters. (see Ed Price, Newark Star Ledger). So much for the supposed favoritism of New York media. Jack O'Connell issued no penalty for Christensen's blatant act.
  

"November 21, 2006, 6:26 PM EST

BALTIMORE

Thom Loverro, Washington Times
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz
4. Mauer
5. Dye
6. Suzuki
7. Hafner
8. Guerrero
9. Santana
10. Verlander

Mel Antonen, USA Today
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Mauer
4. Thomas
5. Dye
6. Ortiz
7. Thome
8. Guerrero
9. Hafner
10. Glaus

BOSTON

Sean McAdam, Providence Journal
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz
4. Mauer
5. Thomas
6. Dye
7. Guerrero
8. Hafner
9. Sizemore
10. Santana

Dave Heuschkel, Hartford Courant
1. Jeter
2. Ortiz
3. Morneau
4. Thomas
5. Damon
6. Santana
7. Dye
8. Mauer
9. Guerrero
10. Guillen

NEW YORK

Bob Klapisch, Bergen Record
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Santana
4. Dye
5. Thomas
6. Mauer
7. Ortiz
8. Ordonez
9. M. Rivera
10. Hafner

Ed Price, Newark Star Ledger

1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz
4. Mauer
5. Thomas
6. Dye
7. Sizemore
8. Hafner
9. V. Wells
10. Guillen

TAMPA BAY

Marc Topkin, St. Petersburg Times
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Ortiz
4. Dye
5. Guillen
6. Thomas
7. Mauer
8. Sizemore
9. Suzuki
10. Santana

Eduardo Encina, St. Petersburg Times
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Santana
4. Ortiz
5. Thomas
6. Dye
7. Mauer
8. Hafner 9. Wang
10. Damon

TORONTO

Larry Millson, Toronto Globe and Mail
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz
4. Mauer
5. Dye
6. Hafner
7. Guillen
8. Santana
9. Tejada
10. V. Wells

Allan Ryan, Toronto Star
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz
4. Thomas
5. Santana
6. Hafner
7. Dye
8. A. Rodriguez
9. Guerrero
10. M. Ramirez

CHICAGO

Mark Gonzales, Chicago Tribune
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Dye
4. Mauer
5. Ortiz
6, Thomas
7. Thome
8. Hafner
9. Crawford
10. Sizemore

Joe Cowley, Chicago Sun Times
1. Morneau
2. Dye
3. Santana
4. Thomas
5. Ortiz
6. Jeter
7. Guerrero
8. A. Rodriguez
9. Hafner
10. Pierzynski

CLEVELAND

Jim Ingraham, News Herald
1. Jeter
2. Hafner
3. Ortiz
4. Morneau
5. Sizemore
6. Thomas
7. Mauer
8. Dye
9. Guillen
10. Nathan

Sheldon Ocker, Akron Beacon Journal
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Ortiz
4. Santana
5. Verlander
6. Dye
7. Thomas
8. Konerko
9. Guerrero
10. Hafner

DETROIT

Danny Knobler, Booth Newspapers
1. Morneau
2. Thomas
3. Mauer
4. Jeter
5. Ortiz
6. Giambi
7. Santana
8. Guillen
9. Dye
10. Sizemore

John Lowe, Detroit Free Press
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Thomas
4. Ortiz
5. Dye
6. Nathan
7. Santana
8. Mauer
9. Rogers
10. Sizemore

KANSAS CITY

David Boyce, Kansas City Star
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Thomas
4. Dye
5. Santana
6. Ortiz
7. Hafner
8. Guerreo
9. Mauer
10. A. Rodriguez

Bob Dutton, Kansas City Star
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Ortiz
4. Thomas
5. Santana
6. Mauer
7. Dye
8. Cano
9. Tejada
10. Ibanez

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL

Joe Christensen, Minneapolis Star Tribune
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Thomas
4. Ortiz
5. Mauer
6. Dye
7. Hafner
8. Guillen
9. Giambi
10. Santana

Jason Williams, St. Paul Pioneer Press
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Dye
4. Thomas
5. Ortiz
6. Thome
7. Santana
8. Guerrero
9. Hafner
10. Mauer

LOS ANGELES

Matt Hurst, Riverside Press Enterprise
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz 4. Mauer
5. Thomas
6. Santana
7. Dye
8. Guillen
9. Guerrero
10. Sizemore

Doug Padilla, L.A. News Group
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Mauer
4. Ortiz
5. Thomas
6. Santana
7. Guillen
8. Dye
9. Guerrero
10. Hafner

OAKLAND

Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle
1. Jeter
2. Thomas
3. Santana
4. Morneau
5. Ortiz
6. Dye
7. Mauer
8. Hafner
9. M. Ramirez
10. Sizemore

Joe Roderick, Contra Costa Times
1. Jeter
2. Thomas
3. Morneau
4. Dye
5. Ortiz
6. Guerrero
7. Thome
8. M. Ramirez
9. Guillen
10. Tejada

SEATTLE

Larry Stone, Seattle Times
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz
4. Thomas
5. Dye
6. Guerrero
7. Hafner
8. Mauer
9. Giambi
10. Guillen

John Hickey, Seattle Post Intelligencer
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Thomas
4. Ortiz
5. A. Rodriguez
6. Dye
7. Guillen
8. Ibanez
9. Guerrero
10. Sizemore

TEXAS

Kat O'Brien, Fort Worth Star Telegram
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Santana
4. Dye
5. Ortiz
6. Thomas
7. Guerrero
8. Hafner
9. Mauer
10. Matthews

Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News
1. Santana
2. Jeter
3. Morneau
4. Dye
5. Thomas
6. Ortiz
7. Mauer
8. Guerrero
9. Sizemore
10. Young"

• Joe Christensen, Star Tribune, 9/19/06 on XM Radio MLB Channel 175 was asked his view

• of Jeter as an MVP candidate. Christensen said,

• "NO, because he's on a team of rich guys
  
• getting it done."

Jeter didn't even get both New York voters. (see Ed Price, Newark Star Ledger). So much for the

• supposed favoritism of New York media.

USA Today, 11/14/05: "Fred Claire, the former general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and a former sports writer ...says baseball writers are better suited to vote than any other faction in the game

• and are ethically grounded.

"I believe in the credibility of writers as a group, and that comes from working with them through the years at a lot of levels," Claire says. "They are the keenest observers of the game. They are less pressured than any group you can think of."

• (Jack) O'Connell agrees. While many players receive bonuses for winning awards, deepening the potential for conflict,
  

• O'Connell says his voters take their ballots seriously.

"I've been doing this for 12 years and I've never had to call after receiving a ballot and say, 'What are you doing?' " he said. "We've had our share of controversy ...

• but nobody's ever said, 'I'm not going to vote for this guy because he's going to make $100,000 if he wins, or because I hate his guts.' " ***
  
• 
  
• "VOTING CONFLICTS IN SPOTLIGHT OF POST SEASON AWARDS," by Gabe Lacques, 11/14/05
  

***Jack O'Connell, meet Joe Christensen and pay no attention to the ethics problem. Joe said no to Jeter because he's on a team of rich guys, 9/19/06.