MLB Awards - The MVPs

So...it turns out that NL Cy Young race wasn't that close at all, huh?  Not that deGrom wasn't a deserving winner.  Now we move on to the final awards of the week--the AL and NL MVP.  And, considering how NL Cy Young turned out to not be a race at all, I have a feeling that the MVP races won't be either.  Mookie Betts and Christian Yelich are going to win.  And they both should.

Let's start in the AL, where Mike Trout is among the three finalists because he's Mike Trout and the writers are obsessed with him.  Did Trout have a great year?  No!  Did he help the Angels actually do anything worthwhile?  No!  All he did was put up the exact same numbers he puts up every year.  Which isn't to say he isn't great.  Quite the contrary.  He's the best player in the game.  But just because he's the best player in the game doesn't mean you automatically have to vote for him for MVP every year.  Especially in a year where it was clear he was NOT the MVP.  In fact, I didn't even have him in the top three.  I had him fifth.

Which is why it drove me absolutely insane that "experts" were making their ridiculous Mike Trout for MVP arguments!  Are their man crushes on Mike Trout so big that they were completely oblivious to what was actually going on in the American League all season?  Because there were two MVP candidates in Boston, two in Cleveland, and a bunch of other guys elsewhere who had just as valid an MVP case as the WAR poster boy.

But even in that crowded field, one player stands out.  Mookie Betts was the engine that made the Red Sox go.  And not just because he was a top-of-the-order presence.  It was the Gold Glove defense, the speed, the power, and everything else.  He did everything!  Without Mookie Betts, Boston doesn't win 108 games and maybe doesn't even hold off the Yankees.  Being the best player on the best team doesn't necessarily make you the MVP.  But in this case, it's pretty clear that Mookie Betts is head-and-shoulders above the rest.

In any other year, we'd be talking about Jose Ramirez as the clear-cut AL MVP.  Ramirez is the best player in the game nobody seems to notice.  But, like Betts, he had a 30-30 season and, for the second year in a row, seamlessly moved from third base to second at the trade deadline as the Indians won another division title.

Betts and Ramirez weren't even the only MVP candidates on their own team!  I'd say the J.D. Martinez signing worked out well for Boston.  He and Betts were neck and neck as which Red Sok was actually the front-runner most of the year.  And it's crazy that the guy who finished first, first, second in the Triple Crown categories didn't finish in the top three.  I don't care if he was a DH!

Like I said, Mike Trout should've been no higher than fifth after the two Red Sox and the two Indians.  You could make the argument that Alex Bregman or Matt Chapman or even Giancarlo Stanton should be placed higher than Trout.  In fact, here's how my AL MVP rankings break down: 1. Betts, 2. Ramirez, 3. Martinez, 4. Lindor, 5. Trout, 6. Bregman, 7. Chapman, 8. Stanton, 9. Blake Snell, 10. Khris Davis.

Things in the National League, meanwhile, should be just as clear.  It's Christian Yelich and everyone else.  All Yelich needed was to get out of Miami to turn into a full-fledged star (only in baseball can going from Miami to Milwaukee INCREASE your exposure).  And he sure did!  Led the league in hitting, third in homers, third in RBIs, and, for good measure, a ridiculous September as the Brewers clinched the division.

Not to take anything away from Nolan Arenado, though.  Because if not for Yelich's stretch run, Arenado would finally be getting that first MVP award.  I'm still convinced he'll get one someday.  Because he's firmly established by now that he's not just the best third baseman in the game, he's one of the best players period.  And, for the record, Arenado won the home run crown and finished one RBI shy of the NL lead in that category, too, to go along with his sterling defense.

During the 2016 World Series, I fell in love with Javy Baez.  That hasn't changed.  And this year he was arguably the best player on a Cubs roster that includes studs Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant (although maybe not much longer for Bryant).  Anyway, Javy has gone from utility guy to vital middle-of-the-order lineup anchor.  When Addison Russell got suspended, Javy moved from second back to his natural position of shortstop and thrived even more.  To the tune of 34 home runs and a league-leading 111 RBIs.

What's funny about the MVP is that it really proves how things can change during a six-month-long season.  At the All*Star Break, Freddie Freeman seemed to be a front runner.  Then, as Matt Carpenter, so did the Cardinals.  Then, once St. Louis came back down to Earth, it was Arenado and, finally, Yelich.

The National League also featured a number of players who had solid years for bad teams, which should garner them MVP votes lower down the ballot.  Players like Eugenio Suarez and Scooter Gennett of the Reds or Anthony Rendon of the Nationals or Rhys Hoskins of the Phillies, who weren't "bad" like the other two teams, but ended up out of it nonetheless.  Or those secondary candidates on playoff teams.  There was Trevor Story in Colorado and you could make an argument for three other Brewers (Josh Hader, Jesus Aguilar, Lorenzo Cain).

Let's not forget the NL pitchers, either.  Because you're telling me Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer weren't the most valuable players on their teams this season?!  They obviously didn't win since they aren't finalists.  But their seasons were definitely among the 10 best in the National League this season, so they're on my ballot.

Speaking of that, here's what I've got for NL MVP.  This was actually pretty hard since I easily could've gone all the way to 15 with all the quality candidates out there: 1. Yelich, 2. Arenado, 3. Baez, 4. Freeman, 5. Carpenter, 6. Trevor Story, 7. Hader, 8. Scherzer, 9. deGrom, 10. Eugenio Suarez.