By Matthew Neach & John Craze, Sports Reporters/Staff Writers
MLB MVP races have always been exciting. There's been the 2019 NL MVP race between Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger. The 2017 AL MVP race between Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge. This year's AL MVP race is between Angels pitcher AND designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Vladdy), son of MLB Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero. It could end up being the best MVP race in baseball history.
Shohei Ohtani is the first player since Babe Ruth to pitch and hit at a high level in a season, and that alone puts him in the MVP conversation. His stats also prove why he deserves to be a MVP candidate. He’s hit an MLB leading 41 home runs while having a triple slash of .269 batting average,368 on base percentage, and a league-leading 634 slugging percentage. His OPS (on base percentage + slugging percentage) is also a league leading 1.002. His hitting stats are extremely impressive, but we haven't even looked at his pitching stats. He’s pitched 105 innings and has a 3.00 ERA (earned runs average), with 127 strikeouts and only 39 walks.
In his 2nd full season, Vladdy Jr has 143 hits and a .310 batting average with the regular season still ongoing. Impressive right? Vladdy Jr has been keeping up in the home run race too, at the time of this article he’s 5 home runs behind Shohei Ohtani. He is a great hitter with runners in scoring position and has 90 RBI’s (runs batted in) which is third in the MLB. His on base percentage is an elite .406 which is third highest in the league and an OPS of .996. Vladdy has shown improved defense since moving to first base after playing third base in past seasons. In separate years, both of these amazing players would deserve to win MVP, but sadly only one can win.
Matthew: If the MVP award was purely about hitting then I think Vladdy would win it, but it's not. Shohei Ohtani is a generational talent that we haven't seen in 100 years since Babe Ruth, his ability to pitch like an ace and hit like the best player in the league is just unbelievable
My pick: Shohei Ohtani
John: In my opinion, Shohei Ohtani will win the AL MVP. He has done what he has done the best out of anybody. He’s leading the MLB in home runs and OPS as a PITCHER. No one ever has even come close to doing that. His pitching stats such as ERA is superior at 3.00. A player like this is almost unheard of.
My Pick: Shohei Ohtani
Sources: Image from Sports Illustrated & Stats from Baseball Reference