By Ian Beck

Maroon News Staff

It is important to remember every year when voting for MVP that it is an award given to the most valuable player. LeBron would win the NBA MVP if it were given to the best player overall. Players like Jose Altuve and Mike Trout put up big numbers and high WAR’s (wins above replacement), but they did not get their teams into the playoffs. Mookie Betts is the most valuable player in the American League. Betts has the stats to back up the claim: .318 batting average (2nd),  4th in RBI, 2nd in runs and he has a 9.6 WAR which is second only to Trout. Most importantly, the Red Sox are second in the AL going into the playoffs thanks to his .378 average in August.

In the National League, the Cubs are the best team going into the playoffs. They ran away with the NL Central in June and have not looked back. Like the Red Sox, their team is stacked but you have to give credit to Kris Bryant, their best player. His WAR is tops in the league (7.6) and he has smashed 39 homers, 102 RBI and 35 doubles. It is a bad argument to say that because he is the best player on the best team he should win. But it is true. No other player in the NL stacks up; Nolan Arenado is on the atrocious Colorado Rockies and Daniel Murphy just does not have the same numbers

as Bryant.

By Charlie Enberg

Maroon-News Staff

How fitting would it be for David Ortiz to win the American League MVP award in his last season before retirement? While it would be a storybook ending to cement his hall of fame worthy career on the Red Sox, you can actually make a pretty strong argument in favor of him regardless. Ortiz led the AL in RBI’s at 127 coupled with 38 homeruns (T-8th in AL) and a .315 batting average (6th in AL). Those stats themselves garner consideration for baseball’s most coveted award. But what sets Ortiz apart from the others is his clutch factor. Big Papi can always be counted on when the game comes down to the wire and is one of the primary reasons the Red Sox have been so dominant this season with a

93-69 record.

It’s hard not to choose Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado for the National League MVP award. Though the Rockies had a below .500 record and will not make the playoffs this year, Arenado put together a season worth remembering. He led or tied the NL in both homeruns and RBI’s with 41 and 133, respectively. He also finished with the second highest WAR at 6.5, only trailing Anthony Rizzo. Apart from batting in runs, Arenado also scored 116 times, putting him at number two in the NL. In short, Arenado

dominated the stat sheet this year and, on the whole, performed better than anyone else in generating runs for his team.

By Conor Oliver

Maroon-News Staff

With the baseball regular season winding down, various National League players and American League players are being discussed as potential MVP candidates.

Starting in the NL, two players jump ahead of the rest: Corey Seager, shortstop for the LA Dodgers, and Kris Bryant, infielder for the Chicago Cubs. While this race appears close, when looking at the numbers, Kris Bryant seems like he should edge out Seager for MVP honors. Bryant batted .292 for the season, with 39 homers and 102 RBIs. In contrast, Seager batted .308 (slightly higher), but only had 26 home runs and 72 RBIs. Both are valuable defensively as well, but Bryant’s penchant for playing a variety of positions, wherever he is most needed, seems to give him an edge.

In the American League, the obvious answer for MVP is Mike Trout. He is more than likely the best player in the MLB, putting up extraordinary numbers consistently over the past five years. However, he plays for a historically bad LA Angels team and will not have a chance to play this postseason. With that in mind, the race is not nearly as clear cut as it should be. Will a player on a better team receive the honors for leading a team into the postseason? Perhaps a player such as Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox could walk away with an MVP despite Trout being a better player.