Last week, I looked at the National League MVP candidates. This week, let's look at the American League MVP race. There are more MVP candidates in the AL than in the NL, where Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols are the front-runners, with Gary Sheffield also in the running.

Here are the five major AL candidates as I see the race (in alphabetical order first -- with stats -- and then I'll narrow it down):

Tony Pena for MVP?

If a manager could win the MVP award, Tony Pena would be in the running. Pena has worked wonders in his first full year with the Kansas City Royals. The Royals have plenty of players who have performed well this season, like Carlos Beltran and Angel Berroa. But no Royal stands out as an MVP candidate -- and that's what a team is all about. Remember, when the Yankees won four of five World Series, no Yankee won the MVP. By the way, I wouldn't be surprised if the Royals win the AL Central.

Bret Boone, Seattle Mariners
98 RBI | 90 runs | 31 HRs | .298
I thought Boone should have won the MVP in 2001, when Ichiro won as a rookie in Seattle's record-setting 116-win season. He produces runs in the middle of the lineup.

Carlos Delgado, Toronto Blue Jays
115 RBI | 94 runs | 33 HRs | .303
Delgado and teammate Vernon Wells were unbelievable in the first half of the season (especially Delgado). He's cooled off some, but if he gets hot he'll be back in the thick of the MVP race.

Nomar Garciaparra, Boston Red Sox
82 RBI | 94 runs | 22 HRs | .322
Day in and day out, Manny Ramirez is Boston's most important player, but Nomar is the most valuable player. Ramirez makes the Red Sox go offensively, but Nomar contributes excellent shortstop defense as well as a potent bat.

Jason Giambi, New York Yankees
94 RBI | 83 runs | 35 HRs | .267
Even though his batting average is below his career .305, Giambi has led the Yankees. The first couple months of the season he wasn't seeing well, but he played because he felt the team needed him. Now that his eyes have cleared up, he's had a fantastic year. At the beginning of the season, Alfonso Soriano was the Yankees' MVP. But he slowed down and Giambi has picked up the slack.

Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
49 RBI | 92 runs | 11 HRs | .338
He's a magnificent all-around player who helps his team win in numerous ways. He steals bases, he plays Gold Glove defense, and he hits and gets on base. All he lacks is power.

At this point in the AL MVP race, I would split my vote between Giambi and Ichiro, with Bret Boone close behind. Of these five candidates, Giambi and Ichiro are the only two who have already won an MVP award (Ichiro in 2001, Giambi in 2000 with the A's).

The way I played the game, I would lean toward someone like Ichiro who is a complete player. While Ichiro is a more complete player than Giambi, you can't overlook Giambi's run production. And while Giambi isn't a great defensive player, I would factor in his contributions as a clubhouse leader and what he had to overcome this season for the sake of the team.

I view the MVP differently than most fans. I look at a player's contributions in the clubhouse and on the field, offensively and defensively ... the total package. Statistics and numbers tell you something, but intangibles are important too. Offensively, the most important element is run production -- the runs a player drives in and scores. Run production is more important than batting average or home runs.

As I said last week in my column and in my ESPN.com chat, I also believe you should factor in how the team of an MVP candidate fares. For instance, if MVP candidates are essentially equal, where their teams finish should be the tie-breaker. I would still vote for an MVP who plays on a mediocre team if there are no strong candidates on the division-winning teams. But if everything is equal, a team's standing has to be the tie-breaker.

So much can happen in a month-plus of baseball . As usual, we'll need to take a wait-and-see approach regarding the MVP races.

Behind the Scenes with Bowa
One of the things I enjoy about about broadcasting ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball is that I get to talk with lots of managers and players one-on-one. This gives me a different impression of what's happening with a given team than I get from the outside looking in.

	Larry Bowa

I was in Philadelphia on Sunday for the Phillies-Cardinals game, and I spoke with Phillies manager Larry Bowa. Much has been written about how fiery and uptight he is ... and how that can hurt the Phillies. I've known Bowa for a long time, and after talking with him and some of his players, it looks like he's not nearly as fiery and confrontational as he appears on TV.

I came away from our 15-minute conversation thinking that maybe Bowa isn't as overbearing as some in the media would have us believe.

When I asked Bowa about his public perception, he said that if fighting for his players on the field (with the umpires) and trying to push them to be the best they can be is wrong, then he's guilty. Remember, as a shortstop with the Phillies, Bowa was also a fiery competitor.

Tony La Russa is another example of a manager who is different than he sometimes appears on camera. The Cardinals' skipper can be seen in the dugout with a grimace on face, but there's more to him than that. La Russa and Bowa are not exactly what you see on camera, though some managers are the same in person and on camera. For example, Bobby Cox of the Braves is calm and quiet (until he erupts on the umpires).

This is also true of players. Jim Thome has been said to be devoid of emotion, but he showed plenty of emotion when he hit a game-winning home run recently. He just doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve. And people might have gotten a different impression of Barry Bonds when I interviewed him two weeks ago.

My conversations with players and managers help me as an analyst. I'm glad to have the opportunity to bring baseball fans a different look at the game.

Chat Reminder: I'll answer your questions in an ESPN.com chat Friday at 10:45 a.m. ET.

An analyst for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan won back-to-back World Series and MVP awards with the Reds in 1975-76.