2 years ago
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Imagine what the astir Most Valuable Player successful shot looks like. Surely he’s an All-Star-caliber hitter. An All-Star-caliber pitcher, too. Maybe helium tin play different presumption oregon 2 successful the field. Runs fast. Good teammate. Stays healthy.
Congratulations. You person described Shohei Ohtani.
The MVP awards successful each league volition beryllium announced Thursday. In a conscionable world, Ohtani volition triumph the American League grant successful a landslide. (I person nary bureau successful the last results; I was assigned a National League MVP ballot this year.) The Angels’ two-way phenom had the champion all-around play by immoderate subordinate since Babe Ruth.
In 1918, Ruth led shot successful slugging and OPS portion posting a 2.22 ERA successful 20 games (19 starts). For astir of the past century, simply dreaming of a play fractional arsenic bully by a two-way subordinate felt greedy. Now, immoderate mightiness beryllium disappointed if Ohtani ne'er reaches this level again.
To recap: Ohtani deed 46 location runs, drove successful 100, stole 26 bases, and batted .257 with a .372 on-base percent arsenic a hitter. As a pitcher, helium started 23 games and went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA (3.52 FIP). Despite an unprecedented workload, Ohtani missed lone 7 of the Angels’ 162 games.
The bequest of Ohtani’s 2021 play volition beryllium revealed successful time. Will different coaches, executives and scouts beryllium much consenting to make two-way players successful the future? Will the Angels’ six-man starting rotation – a conspicuous, indispensable accommodation to Ohtani’s docket – go modular passim Major League Baseball? Will different Japanese players permission millions of dollars connected the array to travel to the U.S. earlier they’re eligible for the posting system?
Today, different question feels much pressing – a question much cardinal to however we recognize the crippled of baseball. Can we yet divorcement the worth of an idiosyncratic subordinate from his team’s success?
The Angels are uncomfortably acquainted with this argument, but it bears repeating.
While Mike Trout was engaged averaging much than 7 Wins Above Replacement from 2012-21 (9 WAR per play earlier 2020), the Angels ne'er won a playoff game. None of Trout’s 5 tools were capable to elevate the Angels into the postseason – prevention 2014 when, according to WAR, the team’s weakest presumption subordinate was Josh Hamilton and their weakest starter was C.J. Wilson. That year, the Kansas City Royals swept the Angels, 3-0, successful the archetypal circular of the playoffs.
Separating idiosyncratic worth from squad show has begun to instrumentality basal among astatine slightest 1 important radical of stakeholders: shot writers. Through 2015, lone 5 MVP winners played for a losing squad (Alex Rodriguez, Andre Dawson, Cal Ripken and Ernie Banks twice). If helium wins Thursday, Ohtani tin go the 4th MVP successful the past six seasons to play for a losing team. In the National League, Juan Soto and Fernando Tatís Jr. each person a accidental to go the fifth. More than the writers, the yearly grumbles astir votes going to players connected atrocious teams look to travel from the fans of bully shot teams.
After the regular play ended, an enforcement for 1 National League squad told maine helium supported an underdog MVP candidate: San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford. This enforcement – not a subordinate of the Giants’ beforehand bureau – lauded Crawford’s all-around game.
Crawford batted .298 with 24 location runs. His OPS+ of 141 placed him successful the precocious echelon of NL hitters. His defence won him a Gold Glove, and helium stole 11 bases successful 14 tries. No mentation of WAR had Crawford among the apical 4 players successful the NL, but thing astir Crawford this play ostensibly passed the oculus test.
Crawford has a credible lawsuit to triumph the award. He volition person earned each MVP ballot helium gets. But similar Soto, Tatís and Harper, Crawford’s play was not without its flaws. The biggest for me: 1 of his teammates, Buster Posey, was a much invaluable subordinate connected a per-game basis. Posey played 113 games to Crawford’s 138. More than that, aft watching Ohtani arsenic often arsenic I did, voting for “the champion subordinate connected the champion squad successful his league” doesn’t resonate.
The crushed is simple. A squad tin employment Babe Ruth reincarnate, but if helium is not surrounded by capable talent, his squad volition miss the playoffs. Perhaps that’s much existent present than, say, 1918. So beryllium it. We simply cannot expect 1 idiosyncratic to elevate an full squad into playoff contention. Everyone – adjacent Shohei Ohtani – needs a batch of help. We mightiness ne'er spot much salient impervious of conception than helium gave america successful 2021.
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