This Just In

By Steve

Dustin, Justin Combo Finish 1-2 in AL MVP Vote

(Cooperstown, N.Y.—November 19, 2008) The selection of Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox as the American League’s Most Valuable Player for 2008 is being applauded as a sensible, if not sensational, choice. But perhaps more interesting is the fact that the man who came in second, Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins, has a first name that rhymes with the first name of the man who beat him out.

“Dustin and Justin, who would have thought that could happen?” asked Melvin Hampsted, an official baseball historian and statistician with the Elias Sports Bureau. “We’re busy checking our records, but we don’t think this has ever happened before. We had Hank (Aaron) and Frank (Thomas), but they didn’t even play in the same league. Then there was Joe (DiMaggio) and Moe (Drabowsky), but they were years apart, and Moe wasn’t even very good. We may have to go back to (Heinie) Manush and (Tiny) Bonham who pitched back in the ‘40s for the Pirates. But neither of them were MVPs," Hampsted added, "so that doesn’t really work.”