If the World Series ends on Tuesday night with the Milwaukee Brewers sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays? Kevin Burkhardt posed the question to Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz ahead of Game 4, and while they all had different answers to the question, they eventually reached the same conclusion.
Jeter started by saying that the Brewers have played so much like a team that an individual MVP is almost beside the point. He compared it to the New England Patriots running out together for pregame introductions in Super Bowl XXVI in 2001.
“You might as well just give it all to the entire team with how they played,” the five-time World Series champion said.
But under the pressure of having to choose one, Jeter went with William Contreras, the Brewers’ super-charged catcher.
“I think what he’s done offensively, defensively, game calling, ABS challenges; he’s pretty much done all you could ask of from a catcher so far up until this point,” Jeter said.
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Rodriguez had a hard time disagreeing.
“He’s affecting both sides of the ball; he’s calling a great game; he’s consulting at the (end) of Game 2, when Pat Murphy asks, ‘Should I keep Ashby out there?’ and he says yes,” Rodriguez said. “Heck, he’s also the best umpire in the league because last night he was again 4-for-4. The guy is like an A.I. robot.”
Ortiz’s first answer was a hedge. He said picking one player was hard and listed three of them.
“That’s a tough one, Kevin, because everybody has been able to deposit something to win ball games,” Ortiz said. “But I got to tell you, when you think about a guy like Ashby coming out of the bullpen, Contreras and Chourio, I mean, you can roll the dice with them, because all of them have done something special to win ball games.”
After hearing Jeter and Rodriguez, Ortiz finally made a decision.
“I got Contreras, man,” Ortiz said. “The Bazooka!”