In a perfect world — and no one’s ever accused  baseball of being the embodiment of such a place — there would be a Cy Young Award for the best pitcher, a Hank Aaron or Ted Williams Award for the best hitter, and the MVP for the most valuable player. But the MVP is so poorly defined, that writers have on occasion handed it out to players whose greatest value was helping their team to finish within 35 games of first place instead of 45 games.

So, if I wouldn’t have given it to Banks, I’m sure not going to give it this year to Papi. Last year, when he should have won it, the consensus of the writers seemed to be that as a designated hitters, Ortiz wasn’t as valuable to his team as was A-Rod to the Yankees because A-Rod also played the field. If Ortiz had played first base all year, that logic holds, he would have won, even if he had been the worst fielder since Marvelous Marvin Throneberry.

This year, it’s a different story. No one other than Ortiz is having the kind of year offensively he had last year. He’s right in naming Dye, Morneau and Konerko as worthy candidates. Every one of them has better power numbers than Yankees captain Jeter. And if the voters were to wait for the end of the year and give to whichever of those three is most responsible for getting his team into the playoffs, I couldn’t argue with it.

I happen to think Jeter should get the hardware, but that may be because I see him more often than I see the others. All I know is that the Yankees lost Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield early on for nearly the entire season.

They had multiple problems with the pitching staff. They lost Robinson Cano for a stretch and have seen Jason Giambi miss time. For long stretches, A-Rod has been all but invisible. And through it all, Jeter has been the glue that’s held it all together, hitting anywhere manager Joe Torre needs him and doing all the little things that add up to winning ballgames. He won’t lead the league in slugging, but he’s near the top in on-base percentage, may win the batting title, and is one of the best situational hitters in the game.

He also makes every play his team needs in the field.

I also know that when the Red Sox lost Jason Varitek, their catcher and captain, they collapsed despite Ortiz’s continuing presence in the lineup. To me, that makes Varitek, not Ortiz, Boston’s MVP.

Having said all of this, there’s another candidate out there about whom people are starting to talk seriously — Twins’ pitcher Johan Santana. The presumptive Cy Young winner, Santana is 18-5 and leads the major leagues in wins, ERA and strikeouts. Without him, the Twins aren’t contending for the wild card. Without him, they’re not contending for anything. When you talk raw value, Santana is the goods.

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As I said, I don’t believe in giving the MVP to pitchers, but it’s done. On the other hand, Papi got robbed last year because the voters don’t believe in giving it to DHs. But last year’s robbery doesn’t justify giving him the trophy this year, not when there are so many other contenders who are playing vital roles on teams that will play into October.

I’d give it to Jeter. But I wouldn’t object if Dye, Konerko or Morneau got it, either. And considering how outrageously well Santana is pitching, I couldn’t even say he is not worthy of the award.

But, despite his unseemly politicking, I wouldn’t give it to Papi. He’s a great player, and I’d love to have him on my team. He may be the best hitter in the league this year, just as he was last year, but he’s not the most valuable.

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