I think a rational argument for it is that stereo panning of drumkit elements are not something you can hear from the audience, and maybe even from the stage. Can anybody even remember having the "audience" stereo experience in real life? You'd have to be standing right in front of the drumkit.
Whereas drummers actually experience this panning configuration in real life, and when you're placing the mics in the mix, that's the set of ears you're trying to mimic, really because there isn't any _other_ set of ears to opine. And it's an important one because it provides the lion's share of the stereo image.
