The Year's Best Players

How is Matt Olson not a finalist for NL MVP??!!  Acuna's gonna win.  As he should.  But you can't tell me Matt Olson wasn't one of the three best players in the National League this season.  I actually figured we might be looking at the Braves potentially going 1-2, or 1-3 at worst if you wanted to put Mookie Betts in between them.  Somehow, Freddie Freeman finished ahead of Olson, too, meaning the two Braves went 1-4 while the two Dodgers went 2-3.

Olson played in all 162 games and led the National League in both home runs and RBIs.  He also drew 104 walks, which was third in the NL.  He was also second in OPS (.993).  I know I go off about OPS all the time, but it's a stat that's listed on MLB.com, and it's a result of all the walks, as well as leading the National League in slugging (.604).  I'm sorry, but as great as Freddie Freeman is, he should not have finished above the guy who replaced him in Atlanta in NL MVP voting.

While I'm talking about Freeman, I might as well talk about his season.  Freeman had 211 hits, which ranked second behind Acuna, and finished one double shy of becoming the first player with 60 since 1936.  His durability was on display, too.  He played in every game but one and scored 131 runs.  All in all, it was another great year for the 2020 NL MVP.  It just happened to be the fourth-best season in the National League this year.

Freeman's season was the second-best by a Dodger in 2023.  Mookie Betts continued to prove that he's a special baseball player, and he truly put the "valuable" in Most Valuable Player.  He's a Gold Glove right fielder, but showed off his versatility, spending a lot of time at second base and even playing some shortstop.  It had no bearing on his offense, either.  Betts hit .307 and was one home run shy of a 40 homer-40 double campaign.

In any other year, we'd be talking about Mookie Betts as a slam dunk, runaway MVP.  This isn't any other year, though.  And what Ronald Acuna, Jr., did this season was truly remarkable.  He had the first 40/70 season in MLB history, finishing with 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases.  Acuna also led the National League in hits (217), runs (149), on base percentage (.416) and OPS (1.012), and his .337 batting average ranked second.  Atlanta's leadoff hitter, he was the catalyst for the Braves' record-setting offense.  Acuna played like an MVP all year, and his award will be well-deserved.

They let you go 10-deep on your ballot, though, so let's take a look at some other National Leaguers who put together outstanding seasons.  Juan Soto was a bright spot on a disappointing Padres team, playing in all 162 games and belting 35 homers to go along with 32 doubles.  He also walked a ridiculous 132 times.  Luis Arraez flirted with .400 for most of the first half before finishing at .354 in his first season with the Marlins, as Miami made the playoffs.  It was also a resurgent year for Cody Bellinger, who signed with the Cubs as a free agent after being cut loose by the Dodgers and hit .307 with 26 homers and 97 RBIs.

Another former MVP proved that there are many different ways to be valuable.  Bryce Harper missed the first two months of the season after offseason Tommy John surgery.  When he came back, he was playing first base, a position he'd never played before where the Phillies had a need.  Harper did his thing offensively and was so good defensively that it looks like the move will be permanent.  One of the reasons for that is because Nick Castellanos was outstanding in right field for Philadelphia.  Corbin Carroll was a unanimous Rookie of the Year, and his numbers definitely warrant some down-ballot MVP votes, as well.  Then there's Ozzie Albies, the third Brave worth mentioning.

Narrowing it down to 10 in the National League is actually a little bit of a challenge.  Those first four are clear.  Spots 5-10, not so much.  Here's what I think I'm going with, though: 1. Acuna, 2. Betts, 3. Olson, 4. Freeman, 5. Soto, 6. Bellinger, 7. Arraez, 8. Castellanos, 9. Albies, 10. Carroll.

It's already been firmly established that Shohei Ohtani is unlike anyone we've ever seen step on a baseball field before.  There's no other way to put it.  The only thing separating him from three straight MVP awards is a record-setting campaign by Aaron Judge last season.  Just taking the pitching out of the equation, he'd be the MVP front runner based on his offense alone.  He truly is a freak.

Ohtani's 2023 season ended in early September, but he'd already locked up the award by then.  Despite only playing in 135 games, his 44 home runs were five clear of the field.  Throw in 26 doubles and eight triples, and you've got the AL leader in total bases and slugging percentage.  He also drew 91 walks, drove in 95 runs and stole 20 bases.  That's just the offense.  Then when you throw in all of his pitching stats, which in many ways were just as dominant, and it's really not close.  Frankly, it's a little unfair.

As for the other two finalists, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, you almost have to talk about them together.  Because they're essentially a package deal.  They signed as free agents within 24 hours of each other in the winter of 2021-22 with the express goal of leading the Texas Rangers back to the top.  Mission accomplished.  The Rangers won the World Series for the first time in franchise history, led by their two free agent catalysts at the top of the lineup, who've proven to be worth every penny.

Semien played all 162 games.  That's a stat that cannot be overlooked in the modern game.  Especially when everyone else on the team missed time due to injury.  Semien did not, and he ended up leading the AL in at bats, runs and hits.  He also had 29 homers, 40 doubles and 100 RBIs while being named a Gold Glove finalist at second base.

Seager's one of those Rangers who missed time because of an injury.  He still nearly won the batting title and led the American League with 42 doubles.  Seager also had 33 home runs and 96 RBIs despite playing in just 119 games, and he was second to Ohtani in both slugging percentage and OPS.  The Rangers got everything they could've asked for out of their 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup.  That's why they're both MVP finalists.

There's actually a third Ranger worthy of being in the discussion, too.  Adolis Garcia was the MVP of the ALCS, but let's not discount what he did in the regular season, when ranked second in the AL in home runs, RBIs and runs scored.  Yandy Diaz, meanwhile, won the batting title and was the most consistent hitter on the Rays all season.  And, he often gets overshadowed because of the superstars around him in Houston, but Kyle Tucker might be the Astros' best overall hitter.  He had 37 doubles and led the American League with 112 RBIs.  Tucker's Astros teammate Alex Bregman had another MVP-caliber season, as well.

Coming off a playoff appearance and with Julio Rodriguez as the face of the franchise, this was supposed to be the start of something in Seattle.  It wasn't, but Rodriguez did his part, notching 32 homers, 37 doubles and 37 steals.  His numbers didn't light up the stat sheet, but Adley Rutschman was absolutely the key player in Baltimore winning 101 games.  And, even though their teams were bad, that didn't stop Bobby Witt, Jr., and Rafael Devers.  As I said yesterday when discussing the Cy Young, the Yankees were also bad.  Just imagine how much worse they would've been without Gerrit Cole.

The top spot here is obvious.  Ohtani will win, and it could be unanimous.  I'm putting Rangers 2-3-4 behind him.  It was a really strong year for the AL West as a whole, in fact, because the division dominates my top 10, capturing seven of the 10 places: 1. Ohtani, 2. Semien, 3. Seager, 4. Garcia, 5. Tucker, 6. Rodriguez, 7. Cole, 8. Bregman, 9. Rutschman, 10. Diaz.