MVP

Okay Top Fans, it's that time of year again: Award Season.  It's around this time that baseball fans and non-baseball fans start to look at who is most deserving of the end of the season awards.  The baseball season is long = 162 games.  Each player's performance fluctuates.  These are season long awards, not who's hot in September and who's not.  This article will ask the question and let the reader decide: Who is the American League MVP? Vlad Guerrero or Shohei Ohtani

The Case for Vlad Guerrero Jr.:

Vlad currently leads in most offensive categories and could very well win the Triple Crown (average, homeruns, RBIs).  He also leads in runs, OBP, Slugging, and OPS.  His team (Toronto Blue Jays) is crushing opponents and is making a late push for the playoffs.  Vlad has been in the middle of their lineup all year producing and keeping his team afloat.  He plays first base and is therefore on the field and contributes defensively instead of sitting in the dugout waiting to hit as a DH.  Vlad is living up to the hype and the Blue Jays are reaping the rewards.

The Case for Shohei Ohtani

Shohei is doing things on the baseball field that have never been done before.  No one (not even the great Babe Ruth) has produced on both the mound and at the plate with the numbers that Shohei is putting up.  Offensively Shohei isn't having the same success as Vlad (it's close) but he has hit 44 homeruns.  He has 94 RBIs.  He's scored 91 runs and has stolen 23 bags.  If the MVP was just an offensive award, Shohei would probably finish 2nd to Vlad Guerrero Jr.  But Shohei also pitches.  Yes, he is the Angels' best pitcher.  His ERA is in the low 3s.  He has won 9 games and only lost 2.  He has struck out 136 batters in only 115 innings pitched.  When they hand out the CY Young, Shohei won't win it but he will finish in the top 5.  Shohei is the 2nd best offensive player and a top five pitcher as well.  Unprecedented.  Shohei's currently WAR is 7.7 far and away the best in baseball.

So who's the true MVP?  What's the definition of an MVP?  Many like to point to the team's success and say, "it should go to the best player on the best team."  In some sports that arguments works.  In baseball, it does not.  Every player gets the same amount at bats and defensively, sometimes you might not ever field a ball for 4-5 straight innings.  This would be similar in basketball if every player was only allowed 15 shots and each player HAD to shoot 15 shots.  How many points would Lebron average with a 15 shot max?  In basketball, every player touches the ball on almost every possession.  How effective would Lebron be if he only touched the ball every 10 minutes?  Baseball and basketball just aren't the same.

To use a team's success to punish or reward an individual player is not understanding the game of baseball.  If we did that: Ken Griffey Jr, Willie Mays, Ted Williams could never be in the G.O.A.T. conversation.  Therefore, why do we reward or punish a player on a year to year basis when it comes to the MVP?

So I will let you the reader decide?  Vlad Guerrero Jr. or Shohei Ohtani.  An argument can be made for both but there is obviously one clear winner.

 Article contributed by Jon Hendrickson