TORONTO -- Jose Bautista doesnt think starting pitchers should qualify for MVP awards. The Toronto Blue Jays slugger spoke out after Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander took the American League MVP award on Monday ahead of Bostons Jacoby Ellsbury and Bautista. "Theres nothing in the criteria that says a pitcher cannot receive the award," said Bautista on a conference call. "But at the same time, theres a couple of items that should eliminate a pitcher from receiving the award from the get go." In particular, Bautista was critical of the amount of time starting pitchers play compared to fielders who are in the lineup on a daily basis. "When one of the first items in the criteria for the MVP award states that the player should be on the field for the most amount of games for their own particular team and knowing that us position players have to be out there 150 plus times over ... I dont know, 30, 32, 33 times that a pitcher has to go out there, in my eyes thats pretty much an elimination right there," said Bautista. Verlander received 13 of 28 first-place votes and 280 points in voting announced by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Ellsbury came second with four firsts and 242 points, followed by Bautista with five firsts and 231 points. "It doesnt make a difference to me if Verlander of Ellsbury wins," said Bautista. "The bottom line is that I wasnt chosen but, at the same time, I know that he (Verlander) had a great season and I feel excited for him, that he was able to get the award. Congratulations to him. Added Bautista: "Im not knocking on Verlander or the year that he had." Verlander is the first starting pitcher to win an MVP in 27 years. He was given the Cy Young Award as the leagues best pitcher on Nov. 15 after winning 24 games in 34 starts with a 2.40 earned-run average and 250 strikeouts. He also threw a no-hitter in Toronto on May 7. Bautista wasnt alone in his criticism of a pitcher winning the MVP. Jim Ingraham of The Herald-News in Ohio did not have Verlander on his ballot. Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal voted Verlander eighth. Ingraham thinks pitchers should not be eligible for MVP awards. "Id wrestled with this for a long time. If I was ever going to vote for pitcher for MVP, it would be him this year," said Ingraham, who was one of Bautistas first-place votes. "He hasnt appeared in 79 per cent of their games, any starting pitcher really doesnt appear in 79 per cent of his teams games in a year." Ingraham compared baseballs MVP to other sports to underscore his point. "Would you vote for an NFL quarterback for MVP if he only appeared in three of his teams 16 games, which would be 21 per cent? So thats part of it," Ingraham said to The Associated Press. "Another part of it is I think theyre apples and oranges. The guys that are in there every day, theres a grind to a season that a starting pitcher doesnt, I dont think, experience the way the everyday position players do playing 150, 160 games." Other pitchers to win MVP and Cy Young in the same year were Brooklyns Don Newcombe (1956), Los Angeles Sandy Koufax (1963), St. Louis Bob Gibson and Detroits Denny McLain (1968), Oaklands Vida Blue (1971) , Milwaukees Rollie Fingers (1981) and Detroits Willie Hernandez (1984). Bautista won the ALs Hank Aaron Award as the leagues best offensive player and a Silver Slugger as the best hitter at his position. He finished 2011 with a .302 batting average, 43 home runs and 103 RBIs. The 31-year-old Jays slugger was the only player who earned a vote that was not on a team in the playoff picture in October. "I dont see how only guys that are on playoff-bound teams should be considered for the award," said Bautista. "The name of the award is MVP not MVP for playoff teams, but, thats just the way I look at it." Despite his obvious disappointment, Bautista tried to keep the MVP snub in perspective. "I play the game to win on a daily basis and hopefully accumulate enough Ws at the end of the year to get into the playoffs and win the World Series," said Bautista. "I dont put on a uniform that says Blue Jays on the front on a daily basis to garner personal accolades, thats not what Im about. "Even though theyre nice -- its nice to be recognized by the league and by the writers -- its not what I go out on the field every day for." ------ With files from The Associated Press. wholesale jerseys . Cam Weaver helped set up the goal when he headed Brad Davis corner kick off the crossbar, and the ball went straight up. 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Today consisted of some extra work on the power play with the focus on getting pucks on net with bodies in front.LONDON, Ont. -- Max Domi capped a five-point night with a goal 20 seconds into overtime Friday as the London Knights defeated the Plymouth Whalers 5-4 to win the Ontario Hockey Leagues Western Conference final in five games. Domi, the son of former NHL tough guy Tie Domi, had two goals and three assists for London, which blew a 4-0 nothing lead before clinching the series on home ice. Alex Broadhurst, with two goals and an assist, and Bo Horvat also scored for the Knights, while Chris Tierney picked up three assists. Anthony Stolarz made 37 saves to get the win for London. Garrett Meurs, Ryan Hartman and Gianluca Curcuruto each had a goal and an assist for Plymouth, while Rickard Rakell also scored. Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 stops in taking the loss. London now awaits the winner of the Easstern Conference final between the Barrie Colts and the Belleville Bulls.dddddddddddd. The Colts lead that series 3-2, with Game 6 set for Saturday in Barrie. Domi and Broadhurst scored in the first period before Horvat and Broadhurst, with his second of the night, added power-play goals at 2:30 and 6:49 of the second as London jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Hartman gave Plymouth life at 17:26 of the period and Meurs cut the deficit to 4-2 at 9:09 of the third. Rakell then made it 4-3 at 11:42 and Curcuruto completed the comeback at 15:27 before Domi completed his heroics -- and saved the Knights some embarrassment -- in the extra period. London finished the night 2-for-5 on the power play, while Plymouth was 0-for-2. Note: Domi has 10 goals and 15 assists in 14 playoff games. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '