The Evan Grant Interview
Posted by Rob Bradford
Here is a partial transcript of the interview, which aired on Tuesday afternoon:
Evan Grant: Sure, fire away. Before you go into any questions let me say this. I know Red Sox Nation is extremely passionate and I did vote Kevin Youkilis as the AL MVP.
(Where was Dustin Pedroia, 11 or 12?) Grant: He was in different ballots I had cooked up as late as mid-September I was toying around with him as my AL MVP … It was probably before he had some big, big games in late September.
(When did you file the ballot?) Grant: I didn’t file the ballot until after the season was over …
(Did you not say at one point you were viewing him as the AL MVP?) Grant: I did say that and I did say at one point and time I had scenarios where I considered him as my AL MVP … The stats I weighed the heaviest I think when it came down to everything were things like OPS, batting average with runners in scoring position, clutch hitting type situations. And when I looked at Kevin’s numbers compared to Dustin’s numbers, they dwarfed them in those situations.
Grant: What I did want to say was it was completely and totally, based on what my all my colleagues, all of whom I respect very much, have voted today was that my opinion was totally wrong. Dustin Pedroia did belong on the ballot and he did belong in the top five. When it came down to it, again I looked at those numbers and looked at guys individual success. I’ll just go back and look, I’ve wrote this down since I’ve been bombarded today, Pedroia was 18th in OPS in the league, he was 30th in batting average with runners in scoring position, he was 53rd in OBP with runners in scoring position …
(Runs, doubles, hits, multi-hit games …) Grant: It’s entirely acceptable if you don’t agree with my opinion.
(There is no way somebody who watches the game of baseball and say Dustin Pedroia is not in the Top 10 candidates) Grant: I can only tell you as the month of September takes place I constantly put together an MVP ballot. I look at the entire season. After many conversations with players in the past I kind of changed my tune a bit. Most players have told me you shouldn’t value September over everything else because it is a 162-game season and you can’t because Carlos Quentin was hurt in September he can’t be considered …
(Yes you can) Grant: Well, that’s your opinion. I will be happy to tell your listening audience and all of New England that if they feel I was wrong in leaving Dustin off the ballot that opinion is entirely acceptable to me. But to suggest I don’t watch the game or to suggest I don’t know what is going on is a little bit unfair.
(I’m suggesting you didn’t watch Dustin Pedroia) Grant: I don’t cover the Red Sox.
(You cover baseball) Grant: I told you he was a Top 10 candidate. I just didn’t put him in the Top 10.
(How do you feel when your colleagues voted him as the MVP and you don’t put him in the Top 10) Grant: It makes me feel like my opinion is wrong … So I’m wrong, how wrong am I? … This is unproductive. If you wan’t to say I’m really wrong, then I’m really wrong.
(Everybody is entitled to their opinion) Grant: I’m obviously not because the minute I come on the air and do what I did you make me out to be an idiot.
(Reason?) Grant: I’m not going to convince you guys.
(What did Pedroia do or not do to fall out of your Top 10) Grant: He merited all the consideration in the world to be in the Top 10, but on the day after the season when I looked at all the numbers over the course of the entire season the body of numbers suggested that as good as a candidate as he was for the Top 10 I thought in my mind I could be comfortable with the other 10 guys.
(Grady Sizemore at nine?) Grant: I can see where people would … again, everybody else may be right and I may be wrong in retrospect and I will live with being wrong. I will tell you in a number of emails I have responded to people that I got too cute in trying to analyze the final two spots on the ballot. But do not sit here and insinuate Grady Sizemore didn’t have an outstanding season.
(How did things change after Pedroia had such a great August) Grant: Again, it’s based on the entire body of numbers over the course of the season. I know Pedroia won a Gold Glove at second base and Grady Sizemore is considered a Gold Glove defender in the outfield, too. Is Pedroia a better candidate in retrospect? Guys, I’ve acknowledged that time after time after time. I am telling you when I put together the list on the day after the season, ultimately the numbers I came up with all of that stuff led me to think hey wait a minute I don’t want to overvalue Pedroia’s guttiness and grittiness and if anything I may have erred on the side of statistical analysis.
(Did you take into consideration that he struck out only 52 times) Grant: No, I did not … I don’t know why I would take into account the number of strikeouts in an MVP candidate.
(Are you serious) Grant: How far down the list of strikeouts does it have to be to be considered an MVP? Where did Ryan Howard finish in the National League MVP? Where did he finish in the voting?
(I think where our disagreement is is that you don’t understand his game) Grant: What I value is getting on base and producing runs.
(He led the league in runs scored. The answers you’re coming up with ) Grant: I’m glad you guys have that opinion and that’s where you stand on that, but again this is a guy who did not lead his team in on-base percentage his numbers were dwarfed by Kevin Youkilis …Â I’ve been voting for the MVP for about 10 years now, I know how the ballot works.
(It’s not who is No. 1 or No. 2, it’s who is No. 10) Grant: Guys, all I can do is tell you is you’re right, you’re right and I’m wrong. I admitted I was wrong on my ballot in retrospect. If that’s what you’re trying to get out of me that’s what you’re getting out of me. I do not understand the process of continuing to go back and ask why I left him off the ballot. I just told I left him off the ballot.
(Trying to get answers) Grant: When I gave you my answers you’re not accepting them.
Grant: I’ve told you why I left him off the Top 10, you don’t buy that and I accept that.
(When you submitted your ballot did you think it was going to be controversial?) Grant: I didn’t really concern myself with whether or not it was going to be controversial. I think ‘99 was the year when I voted Pedro (Martinez) No. 2 and people were asking why the guy left Pedro entirely off the ballot … It is such a subjective award. It is so full of every year trying to put together what you’re impressions are and no matter what you say you only have a limited amount of exposure to each guy …
(In this day and age it is different) Grant: I’ll tell you this, I do have an opportunity. I cover my club about 12 hours a day, I sleep for about 6 or 7, and then the rest of the time I try to have a life. If you want to question my integrity, or whatever you want to do on that end, I don’t think that’s fair. If you want to disagree with my vote that’s entirely a fair point.
Powered by FireStats
“I didn’t really concern myself with whether or not it was going to be controversial”
Of course he did. He had a good idea that Pedroia would win and knew his leaving him off the ballot wouldn’t affect that…so he did it and now look who everyone wants to talk to about the MVP voting. Dustin Pedroia? Sure. But they also want to talk to the idiot who left him off the ballot. What better way to get your name out there than by doing something considered controversial?
Evan Grant is an evil genius.
Cyn
19 Nov 08 at 7:09 am
I think the way you treated mr. Grant is criminal.
From the start, he admitted he was wrong. He also voted for a Red Sock (Youkilis) number 1. He tried at the start of his interview to say that he realized he made a mistake, but you never let him. You never let him finish a sentence. You were mean, rude, and obnoxious. The res Sox are great and the Rangers always stink so obvious he comes with a different viewpoint, but if you are going to invite him on, you should at least let him express his view before killing him. I agree Dustin is the MVP and Grant messed this one up bad. I have researched this guy and it turns out, he’s a pretty well respected writer around the country. People do make mistakes and he tried to admit his at the start of his interview. Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone! Even though you were right and Dustin IS the MVP, you never gave this man a chance … You were awful and I am truly disappointed in you.
Louis
19 Nov 08 at 3:59 pm
The guy is an idiot. You don’t have t be a genius to include Pedroia in the top ten, at the very least. He is just an attention addict. He did this get get attention. the problem is, 99% of all baseball fans (outside of texas of course, think the guy is a moron. To be so far off the mark, he should lose his vote so that he can :have a life”. What jerk-off.
Wilk
19 Nov 08 at 4:35 pm
Not once in alll the posts I’ve read about this guy did he ever definitively state, ” I was wrong. I’m sorry. I made a mistake.” He’s using a lot of double speak and conditional tenses. “If you want to say I’m really wrong, then I’m really wrong” doesn’t convince me that he’s sorry, doesn’t make me feel he knows he made a mistake. Now his name is everywhere. Talk about abusing the system. The notoriety you gain now Mr. Evan Grant, will come back to haunt you.
RedSoxSonoma
19 Nov 08 at 7:29 pm
To be honest, I don’t think Evan Grant should have to apologize for his ballot. He gave several very acceptable reasons why he left Pedroia of the top 10, namely an OPS not in the top 15 (and OPS is widely considered the most important offensive stat!). Leading the AL in runs (with only 118, the lowest for a league leader since 1994), doubles, and hits is impressive, but in NO way should they be a crux for an MVP argument…they are (except for hits) trivial stats. Also, arguments for him being “clutch” or “gritty” are turned away by the numbers as well (BA w/ RISP number 30??). I’m not saying Pedroia is not an exceptional player, but I think Evan Grant is ABSOLUTELY justified in leaving Pedroia off his ballot. And frankly, the treatment he got on this radio station is just sad and utterly unproffesional.
bradleyc23
19 Nov 08 at 9:36 pm
Mr. Grant proves the adage that people in all professions rise to levels that they are then incompetent. With regard to sports, this guy isn’t even qualified to wash jocks. He is not much in the writing dept. either!
Take that for an “opinion” Mr. Grant, and please give back your voting privelege so that we can have a writer voting who has a brain.
EdL314
20 Nov 08 at 4:59 am
You came off as a huge dick, Rob.
And Evan’s right. You asked him for his reasons, he gave them, and you simply failed to accept them.
It’s OK to disagree without being an ass.
Gravypan
20 Nov 08 at 8:35 am
bradleyc23: Those could be reasons he did not vote Pedroia #1, but to completely leave the eventual WINNER off his ballot is just wrong.
RedSoxSonoma
20 Nov 08 at 10:19 am
I’m a Ranger fan, and Grant was wrong he should have included Pedroia. But these guys are treating him like crap. Saying stuff like “this should be the last year you should vote for the MVP” is awful. Who cares anyway? He won the MVP.
So will Red Sox Nation boo the Rangers now? lol.
Stephen
20 Nov 08 at 10:42 am
It’s officially happened. Win 2 World Series after all that time and the Red Sox fans are starting to act like Yankees fans. You should probably be more worried about the Tampa Bay Rays than who Evan Grant voted for.
Brian
20 Nov 08 at 12:28 pm
Great Interview! I thought the way you didn’t accept any of the points Grant made was beautiful!
*disclaimer* I think Pedroia was a great choice for the top ten
The 4 stats you kept going back to: Hits, Doubles, Runs, and Strikeouts.
Hits are great, but Ichiro had the same amount of them and got one 10th place vote, as a member of the top ten in BA and Runs Scored too.
Runs scored is a team-centric stat that just shows that a player has teammates that can drive him in. Give the MVP to the guys pushing him across the plate. The only time runs matters is when he steals a base in order to score one easier, or he hits a homerun, neither of which he did a whole lot of. (20 steals is good, but not in the top ten in the league).
If doubles are vital to the MVP race, why not triple too? Where’s Granderson when you need triple love? Where are Brian Roberts and Aubrey Huff (Who was 3rd in total bases, ahead of Pedroia) on the ballots?
Grant defended his point on strikeouts very well with the Ryan Howard point. If too many doesn’t condemn a player from being in MVP contention, very few shouldn’t be considered without other statistical considerations, such as walks, of which he had less than half of the league lead in.
Don’t crap on people who do an honest job trying to get to the bottom of what stats really say just because they don’t agree with the almighty Yankees, I mean Red Sox nation.
Spare me.
Dumbfounded
20 Nov 08 at 1:56 pm
Another point worth considering, Grant covers the Rangers, so he watched Ian Kinsler play 2B every day. Kinsler got injured and missed every game after August 17th. At the time of Kinsler’s injury, he and Pedroia had played the same number of games. Here’s how the two compared at that time:
Kinsler: 165 hits, 102 runs, 41 doubles, 3 triples, 18 homers, 71 RBI, 26 stolen bases, and a line of .319/.375/.517
Pedroia: 164 hits, 91 runs, 39 doubles, 1 triple, 12 homers, 58 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and a line of .321/.363/.472
Kinsler was roughly equal to or leading Pedroia in every category, and had an OPS that was 57 points higher (although Pedroia’s hot last month of the season pushed his final OPS to within 23 points of Kinsler’s.
Kinsler left the MVP conversation after missing the last month and a half of the season, and he received a single 10th place vote. He got fewer votes than Jason effing Bartlett, who only played in 7 more games and had nowhere near the same level of production. That’s more of an outrage to me.
So it’s understandable that Grant would see Kinsler as Pedroia’s equal or better and when filling out his ballot not think of Pedroia as worthy of a top ten MVP vote, let alone the award itself. Those “clutch” stats make the comparison even more lopsided. For the season, Pedroia hit .310 with runners on base, and .307 (.831 OPS) with runners in scoring position. Kinsler hit .347 with runners on base and .413 (1.051 OPS) with runners in scoring position. Would Grant really have had a hard time finding 10 guys whose numbers in those areas beat Pedroia’s by a good margin? I doubt it.
Besides, Pedroia had more protection in the lineup than Kinsler, who always batted 1st in the lineup, followed by Michael Young, who had his worst offensive season in several years. Pedroia was almost always hitting in front of Ortiz and Ramirez, Drew and Ramirez, Youkilis and Ramirez, or Ortiz and Youkilis, so of course he was going to get some good pitches to hit.
Jonathan
20 Nov 08 at 5:38 pm
“The 4 stats you kept going back to: Hits, Doubles, Runs, and Strikeouts.
Hits are great, but Ichiro had the same amount of them and got one 10th place vote, as a member of the top ten in BA and Runs Scored too”
Ichiro,for one, was on a horrible team. 2nd didnt Ichiro win an MVP back a few years back with similar stats as Pedroia??
Nick
21 Nov 08 at 4:11 pm
Understood, but without Ichiro the Mariners just might have lost 162 games last year. Talk about value!
Dumbfounded
25 Nov 08 at 8:03 am
RedSoxSonoma:
“Let me first say this to the Red Sox nation: In retrospect, it was a mistake.”
http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/11/my-mvp-vote.html
great researching!
BC
3 Dec 08 at 8:34 pm