Like the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry wasn't good enough during the regular season. In early October, both teams made an early exit thanks to the White Sox and Angels respectively, but the on-going war between both franchises has actually carried itself into the off season. Who rightfully deserves the American League Most valuable player award? Yankees fans are saying Alex Rodriguez and the Sox nation says David Ortiz gets the nod, right? Not so fast.

As of this past Sunday, the award has not been presented and wont be for another twenty four hours. Speculation is, whoever wins will be the victor with one of the closest margins in baseball history. Each posted spectacular statistics throughout the campaign, and fans can make a case for both. As a matter of fact, the polls will be so close that some Yankee fans, such as me, will vote for Ortiz.

Not too long ago, Ortiz was an average designated hitter for the Twins. The term "average" wasn't good enough for the Minnesota organization, so after releasing him, Boston signed this long shot talent and struck gold. In his first season in bean town, he tallied up 31 gopher balls and batted in 101. In 2004, he stepped up his game to another notch, and he ended up playing a huge part in Boston's storybook tale to win baseball's title. This season, the "Big Papi" lived up to what a power hitter should be, and by the end of the season, people started to state that Manny Ramirez and Ortiz are arguably the most feared duo in any baseball lineup in history. He ended the season with an even .300 batting average, belted 47 homeruns, knocked in 148 runners, while scoring 119 runs. These incredible statistics are a good enough argument for Ortiz to win the American League MVP, but another fact that hurts his opponent in turn strengthens Ortiz's chances. Alex Rodriguez was just plain awful this postseason. People affiliated with baseball claim MVP votes have nothing to do with the playoffs, but that is a blatant lie. A-Rod may have actually contributed to his possible loss in the race when he stated he "played like a dog" in the playoffs.

Alright, that was a little too much knocking down a Yankee player for such a huge Bronx Bombers fan like me. Now that I got that out of my system, it can be argued just as well that baseball's most paid player deserves the AL most valuable player award more than Ortiz. The numbers are very similar, and you'll notice that too when you view A-Rod's versus the Papi's. Ortiz was second in the AL in homeruns to Rodriguez, and the Yankees third basemen batted .321, which was good for second in the league.

What makes this so interesting is that the statistics really tell the whole story. Some voters use the team's final record as a tiebreaker. Good luck; both ended up 95-67. Another unwritten tie breaker rule is whose team went further in the playoffs. Both the Yankees and Sox devastated their fans when they were bounced in their division series'. However, there may be one people could examine. This fact might win or lose the award for one of the two, or neither. David Ortiz played 151 games as the designated hitter and only 10 games at first base. Does a player, despite his insane credentials, deserve the award even though he doesn't play an actual position? I think so. This prize is given to the athlete who was most valuable to his team, and displayed top notch numbers all season long at a consistent rate. The Red Sox without Ortiz wouldn't be nearly as good as they were, and he also hit a significant amount more than A-Rod with runners in scoring position.

These two players deserve the award just the same, but could another variable come in and steal it from Ortiz and A-Rod? The Angels Vladimir Guerrero and the Indians Travis Hafner could receive first place votes, but it's very doubtful either of them could post a dark horse win.

There was much built up anticipation before the American League Most Valuable Player honors were given out, and rightfully so. Just imagine how the loser will feel the first time the Yanks and Sox square off in the 2006 season.