Did Consistency Decide the 2017 AL MVP Race?
The 2017 MVP race in the American League was an important one, or at least for me. Growing up, a lot of awards races ended up shaping the way I view baseball now. In 2010, King Felix won the Cy Young award with an amazing 2.27 ERA in 249.2 innings pitched but only a 13-12 record. Pitching wins no longer mattered. In 2012, Mike Trout put up what I think is the best overall season in my memory, dominating in hitting, defense, and baserunning, but still losing to Miguel Cabrera’s triple crown. Conventional stats overshadowed Trout’s season. In 2016, Mookie Betts put up an amazing 9.5 WAR season for a division winner, while Mike Trout put up an even better 10.5 WAR season for the subpar Angels. It turned out you didn’t have to play for a playoff team to win MVP. The 2017 AL MVP race was pretty fun for me despite not having different baseball cultures clashing. Two guys were the obvious candidates, winner Jose Altuve and runner-up Aaron Judge. Traditional stats loved them; Altuv...