"Jose Bautista's final measure of respect may come down to the 2011 American League MVP race.

Right now, according to Sports Illustrated, the race belongs to Boston's Adrian Gonzalez, a turn in the magazine's ratings after Bautista dominated the race through May.

Bautista, though, leads Gonzalez in every major offensive category except two — average, by a small margin, and RBIs, by 15 — and those numbers, along with Bautista's versatility on defence, should place him above Gonzalez as not only the best player and hitter in the league, but one who is worth more wins.

The argument, though, about what constitutes an MVP is based on more than just statistics. A team's performance, for example, is also factored in to the equation.

Ever since Bautista's skyrocket to fame launched, back in September 2009, he has faced an uphill climb for attention from the sport's mainstream media, baseball's own marketing machine, the all-star voting process — until this year — and consideration for major awards."