BBWAA Awards week wraps up with announcement of AL/NL MVP Award

WAYNE, N.J.- Two 20-game winners took home the AL and NL Cy Young Awards last night as Nationals ace Max Scherzer became just the 6th pitcher to win the award in both leagues, and Red Sox righty, Rick Porcello edged out Justin Verlander in the 2nd closest vote since the ballot permitted voting for more than one pitcher which began in 1970.

The BBWAA Awards week will conclude tonight with the announcement of the American and National League Most Valuable Player Award winners. Live coverage of the announcement will begin at 6 p.m. EST. on MLB Network.

Most Valuable Player

American League: Mike Trout OF LAA, Mookie Betts OF BOS, Jose Altuve 2B HOUImage courtesy of @MLB

For 3 of the past 4 years it seems the American League MVP award has been voting on how to avoid giving Mike Trout the award.  This year will mark the 5th consecutive year that Trout will finish in the top 3 in the MVP voting, with his lone first place finish coming in what may have been the worst year of his career.  The difference? 2014, Trout’s lone MVP season is also the lone season the Angels have made the playoffs thus far in Trout’s career.  

With that being said this year will be the most interesting MVP voting of Trout’s career because all of the candidates have a similar style of play: hit for average, score runs, play stellar defense, etc.  All 3 candidates are so close statistically that “playing for a winner” may end up being the deciding factor in the voting.  Trout lead the league in runs with 123, while Mookie Betts was tied for second with 122 and Jose Altuve was seventh with 107.  Trout also had an astonishing 10.6 wins above replacement (WAR), the second highest of his career.   Altuve lead the league in hits with 216, Betts was again runner-up with 214.  Betts lead the group in home runs with 31 and RBI with 113, while Altuve won the batting title hitting .338.

In what will perhaps be the tightest MVP voting in recent, Mookie Betts consistency across the board and the fact that his Red Sox were the only post-season team of the 3 will likely earn him the honors, though if Mike Trout appears on every writer’s ballot with either a 1st or 2nd place vote he could win the award without having the most first place votes. Sounds familiar right?

Justin Verlander became just the 3rd pitcher in MLB history, and first in the AL to receive the most first place votes and not win the Cy Young Award.  His fiancé, Kate Upton took to Twitter to express her disagreement with the writers decision. Via @KateUpton

 

National League: Daniel Murphy 2B WSH, Kris Bryant 3B/OF CHC, Corey Seager SS LAD

Image courtesy of @MLB

Ironically enough the 3 finalists for the National League MVP award were each members of a National League division champion, so there will be no advantage in that regard.  There is however a difference between winning your division and winning a Major League leading 103 games like the Kris Bryant and the Chicago Cubs.  

Bryant will undoubtedly follow up his 2015 Rookie of the Year campaign by taking home NL MVP honors for the 2016 season.  Bryant lead the league in runs scored with 122 and was top 10 in hits (176), home runs (39), RBI (102), OBP (.385), slugging percentage (.554) and OPS (.939).  The deciding factor for Bryant’s MVP case  is his versatility, playing all 3 outfield positions, first base and shortstop in addition to his primary position of third base. Bryant’s 7.7 WAR lead the NL.

Though Bryant is viewed as the clear favorite, Daniel Murphy had a career year of his own. After a 2015 post-season that saw him leave New York as a folk-hero, Daniel Murphy picked up right where he left off after signing a 3-year, $37.5 million contract with the Washington Nationals.  Murphy carried a .400 batting average into mid-May before ultimately settling for .347, good for second best in the NL.  Murphy lead the league with 47 doubles, a .595 slugging percentage and a .985 OPS. Murphy also had a career best in home runs (25) and RBI (104).

 Corey Seager had a tremendous rookie campaign, leading the Dodgers to the NL West title in his first full big league season.  It may be premature for Seager to be the recipient of the MVP award this season, however it is safe to say he will be in MVP conversations for years to come.

For complete voting results visit the BBWAA website at http://bbwaa.com