Commentary on the MVP Awards

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     Now that I am back in town, I can tell you about the MVP awards and whether the pros got them right or not. Let's start with the NL:


Winner: Ronald Acuna Jr.
Runner up: Mookie Betts
Third: Freddie Freeman
Fourth: Matt Olson
Fifth: Corbin Carroll

    While everybody in the top five had amazing seasons, it was really a contest of Mookie Betts and Ronald Acuna. I was surprised to find that Freddie Freeman was a finalist instead of Matt Olson. Nonetheless, all of the top four candidates really could have won it. However, I believe that Acuna was the obvious choice, as he led the league in runs, hits, steals, OBP, OPS, OPS+ and total bases, while driving in 106 runs and striking out 11.8% of the time (half the league average). Mookie Betts did have a great season, covering the outfield, second base and shortstop, all while hitting .307 with 39 bombs and an OPS of .987. A great season, but the voters definitely got this one right.


    Now, let's see who won the AL MVP.

Winner: Shohei Ohtani
Runner up: Corey Seager
Third: Marcus Semien
Fourth: Julio Rodriguez
Fifth: Kyle Tucker

    This one was fairly obvious. While I would have loved to see Corey Seager win it, it was inevitable that Shohei would win the gold. It's just too hard for a .327 hitting shortstop who hit 33 bombs and drove in 96 runs while only playing 119 games and fielding incredibly to beat a great hitter and pitcher. Oh well. That's all I have to say really. Seager was the only other player who could have had a tiny smidgen of a chance at it.


    Well, there you have it. The pros got 'em both correct this time around. Tune in next time when I will tell you whether or not the pros got the Cy Young Awards right.


Auf Wiedersehen


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