MVP Award Means Nothing to Mike Vaccaro.

All I ask for from Mike Vaccaro is consistency.

1) No more articles discussing the MVP, since it doesn't matter. (If personal awards don't matter around here, why is Vaccaro getting so riled up because Mariano Rivera didn't win the Cy Young? Hmmmmm?)

2) Apply the same logic to Carlos Beltran.

3) Apply the same logic to Don Mattingly.

4) Please, please, apply the same logic to Golden Boy's dubious Golden Glove award. (Why does he feel so "gratified" when his team didn't win the World Series?)


Of course Yankee fans would trade an MVP award for a Championship ring. ARod said the same thing and I absolutely believe he was earnest. Every player would gladly trade an MVP award for a Championship ring, though most players would never receive one MVP vote in their wildest dreams.


"So far, in two seasons, his two signature October moments are these: slapping the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's mitt in 2004 and grounding into the ninth-inning double play that all but turned the lights out on 2005."

You remember what you want to remember.

I remember ARod singlehandedly beating the Twins. I remember the winning run in that series where ARod doubled, stole third, and scored on a wild pitch. I remember his game-tying double in the bottom of the 12th inning in game 2 when the Yankees were down 1-0 in the series. I remember the ball he hit off Wakefield in game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, the one that went onto the street, got thrown back into Fenway, and then Damon angrily threw it back onto the street.

I suppose ARod started getting Playoff Nervous after that at-bat. Or maybe, just maybe, he slumped, like the rest of the team. Or maybe, just maybe, the opposing pitchers deserve some credit.

That's baseball. It's a humbling sport. MVPs slump, too.


The playoffs matter the most. I agree with that. It seems obvious to me that most so-called fans only pay attention when the Yankees are in the playoffs or when they play the Red Sox or the Mets.

But if the regular season means nothing, and if individual awards mean nothing, then maybe Vaccaro should stop wasting his time between April and October.

You've convinced me, Mike Vaccaro. The regular season means nothing. Therefore, I can stop reading your column.