In a New York Times column, Silver -- who correctly called all 50 states last week for the second presidential campaign in a row -- made the statistical case for why Anaheim Angels rookie Mike Trout deserves the American League most valuable player award over Tigers outfielder Miguel Cabrera.

The winner will be announced today, and no mater which player earns the award, the debate between old-school fans who marvel at Cabrera's power numbers and new-school stat fanatics now able to measure Trout's overall influence on the game will continue. Guess which argument Silver makes?

Cabrera earned baseball's first Triple Crown -- leading the league in batting average, home runs and runs batted in -- since 1967. But in a devastating piece, Silver -- who devised the PECOTA system for evaluating ballplayers before turning his attention to politics on his fivethirtyeight blog -- takes Cabrera's claim on the MVP award apart.

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