Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player. The 26-year-old received first-place votes on 29-out-of-30 ballots. Full voting results can be found here.
After spending the first five years of his career with the Miami Marlins, Yelich was traded to the Brewers in January for outfielder Lewis Brinson and three minor leaguers. As it turns out, it was the deal of the offseason.
Yelich hit .326/.402/.598 with 36 home runs, 110 RBI, a mind-blowing .373 BABIP with a .422 wOBA, 166 wRC+, 7.6 fWAR, and an NL-leading 166 OPS+, leading the Brew Crew to the National League Championship Series, losing to the Dodgers in seven games.
Javier Baez of the Chicago Cubs finished second in the voting. Baez, 25, slashed .290/.326/.554 with 34 homers, a league-leading 111 RBI, 40 doubles, 21 stolen bases, a .366 wOBA, 131 wRC+, 5.3 fWAR, and a 126 OPS+.
The Colorado Rockies’ Nolan Arenado came in third after another stellar season. The 27-year-old Gold Glove third baseman hit .297/.374/.561 with an NL-leading 38 home runs, 110 RBI, 38 doubles, a .391 wOBA, 123 wRC+, 5.7 fWAR, and a 133 OPS+.
The Mets’ Jacob deGrom finished fifth in the NL MVP race, garnering one first-place vote (Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic) and showing up on 22-of-30 ballots, coming in just behind Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves.
The Boston Red Sox’ Mookie Betts won the American League MVP Award nearly unanimously. He received 28-of-30 first-place votes, finishing ahead of Mike Trout, Jose Ramirez, Boston teammate J.D. Martinez, and the Astros’ Alex Bregman. Full voting results can be found here.
Betts’ season for the Red Sox was outstanding. The 26-year-old hit a league-leading .346 with a 1.078 OPS (.438/.640), hit 32 home runs, knocked in 80 runs, scored an AL-most 129 runs, swiped thirty bases, and posted a 186 OPS+.
His .368 BABIP, .449 weighted on-base average, 185 weighed runs created plus rating, and MLB-leading 10.4 fWAR, along with leading the Red Sox to their fourth World Series title since 2004, gives a clear picture as to just how dominant of a player Betts has become.
Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim continued his historic career with another typical Mike Trout-like season. The 27-year-old hit .312/.460/.628 with 39 dingers, 79 RBI, a league-leading 122 walks, a .447 wOBA, 191 wRC+, and MLB-leading 199 OPS+.
Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians had a monster year of his own. The 26-year-old slashed .270/.387/.552 with 39 homers, 105 runs batted in, 38 doubles, a .391 wOBA, 146 wRC+, and a 145 OPS+ for the AL Central champion Tribe.
