Right now, it’s Betts, and I say that as a huge Acuña fan. He’s been the best position player this year, and while Acuna’s season is historic, Betts has provided more value. I think the writers will go with Acuña, but for now, Betts is my choice.
Ronald because of the history that he made that’s why he should get it he’s the first player to get a 30/60 season I know mookie is putting up great numbers but it’s history just like judge s season last year
A lot of older voting was based on best player on the most winning team which explains some of the logic of the snubs (DiMaggio and Stargell specifically)
If the writers gave Judge MVP last year for breaking Maris' record; realistically Acuna should get it for *creating* history. Betts is playing a great season but he isn't doing anything that hasn't ever been done before, unlike Acuna.
Judge had the best offensive season since juiced out Bonds and led the league in WAR by 1.0 over Ohtani and nearly 3.0 over everyone else. It wasn't just about the AL HR record, he had the best season. It will be quite a different situation if Mookie's overall production is higher than Acuna despite his unique accomplishment. Much more room for debate than Judge last year.
@@Il_Exile_lI Eh. I mean, Betts is having a career year for sure, but Acuna's playing on easy difficulty. Looking at the stats again, Judge last year had ~3 WAR more than Betts does right now, plus 25 more homers despite batting nearly the same average. Comparing the two, Betts' case for MVP gets worse in my eyes given how dominant Judge was and Acuna is now. Not to mention the effect all those steals have for Acuna. What people forget a lot is the impact those steals can have. When he leads off the inning or gets on with nobody on base, either with a walk or a single, he's effectively getting a double on those steals. His 32 pure doubles have to be joined by another 30-40 "doubles" (single/walk+steal), which is insane when you think about it.
@@syan7558 It really comes down to stolen bases vs glove work. In my view, Betts' ability to play multiple positions at golden glove caliber is worth far more than 60 stolen bases/11 cs. Should be an interesting finish either way.
@@avrivah1101he is only hold glove level at RF. His 2B & SS stats are good but not hold glove. But Acuna is better defensively than given credit for. His arm alone is elite.
The 1940s MVPs that were decided by 1 vote seemed to be because back then, writers would vote for the best player on the best team that season. Marion and DiMaggio were much worse than 2nd place but since their teams were 1st place, people voted for them. Crazy how we stopped doing this for MVP early on but continued to do the same for Cy Young voting much longer.
Yep, that was very common in all sports for a long time. The Cardinals won 105 games in 1944, while the Cubs won just 75, making it easy to dismiss Nicholson's better stats since he wasn't actually making the team competitive. The much more confusing thing is why Marion got so many more votes than his own teammate, Stan Musial, who had him covered in every single statistical category. Maybe it was just a form of voter fatigue considering Musial won it in 1943. The difference in the 1947 race wasn't nearly as extreme but it was still a player on a 97-win 1st place team vs a player on an 83-win 3rd place team. I can see how people can just fall back on "well if they didn't even make the playoffs, how valuable really were they?"
Not just the numbers. But the intangibles, Acuna clutch hitting and always seems to create walks when it matters, how many bases has he held runners on from advancing and holding them from scoring position. Just the mere threat from his cannon, is enough to scare Mookies Dodgers from taking extra bases. Acuna just a gamer no matter the month
@baseballguy0125 - Very unlikely. He's hitting .268, while the other candidates are way over .300. His WAR is 4.5, while Betts and Acuna are over 7. He'd probably have to get to 60 HRs and the other 3 guys would have to have really bad Septembers to even be considered.
@Jayden33336 - Well, he's way behind Mookie in WAR due to being the 2nd worst defensive outfielder in baseball (behind Schwarber). And Betts has a higher OPS, so he's definitely the favorite right now.
“If he recreates one of the greatest offensive months we’ve seen in modern baseball, it will be hard to ignore him” Freddie is great, but he’s not matching what Mookie just did
The problem with the MVP award, aside from the ambiguous criteria used to decide value, is the assumption that journalists know more about baseball than anyone else and should therefore be the ones who decide. Moreover, journalists have been worse at their profession in the aggregate than at any point in the past 100 years, which is why I don't put much personal stock in their decisions.
Sportswriters and Ted Williams hated each other during the latter's playing career. This animosity is what led him not to win the 1941 AL MVP. Meanwhile, Stan Musial should have been the NL MVP in 1944. After winning the previous year, he didn't lose a step and the best player in the league again. Somehow, he finished fourth in voting. After serving in the military in 1945, he returned in 1946 and won MVP again as the best player in the National League.
More like it hasn’t been done, like ever. This isn’t a “first time since,” it’s a “first time EVER,” which is why I’m kinda annoyed people are just glossing over that and not acknowledging that he is literally creating new slashlines for the sport
@@slicedthree80_43he’s creating new slash lines because of the new rules that allow him to. There’s gonna be several more 30/60 seasons in the years to come
@@jaimelannister1797 Rules change, and baseball evolves. Just because they make changes to the game doesn’t make a certain feat less impressive. The Babe blasted 714 homers when pitchers were hurling their spit at the hitters, does that make Hank’s 755 HRs, or even Pujol’s 703 HRs, less impressive? Did these two legends have an easier path to the 700 club, since the spitball was essentially banned? Since one-hoppers used to be counted as outs, is it more impressive for someone in the 1800s to accumulate at least 200 hits or for someone to reach 200 hits in today’s game? Do you think that, since they changed that rule all the way back from the 1800s, it it now easier to get hits? It doesn’t make sense to say “well they’re able to do it because they changed this and that, and it wasn’t like that before” because baseball has been evolving since the start. It’s a good thing baseball has evolved because, if it didn’t, we wouldn’t have a foul line, catchers would be prone to injury (not bc of Buster Posey, but bc catchers literally used to be used as a barricade), ground-rule doubles would be home runs, and like, so many more flaws would still exist.
Ever since 1979, you see that mvp based purely on regular season was a crock. Stargell was getting all the "pops" love in the post season and then wadaya know.
With both leagues now having 15 teams and advances in air travel, it would make sense to abandon the division structure and go back to league structure. Everybody plays everybody in the league with some inter-league play. It would have benefited baseball greatly for the fans to see competitive teams from current separate divisions play each other more than two series per year. Or have a good team visit one’s town in place of the Royals. Terrible divisions are generators of easy wins for mediocre teams.
As it stands right now it has to be mookie. He has better offensive stats, more war and a 10 point higher wrc+. (Which factors in stolen bases). I dont think a 70 stolen base season automatically warrents an MVP. But we’ll see after this month.
WAR doesn’t account for how pitchers have to pitch to the rest of the lineup with Acuna on base. Mookie is great but you can’t base every argument on WAR. there is such thing as an eye test in sports. It’s like how ppl look at Kobe’s stats in basketball and say he’s not a top 5 player.
Betts and Acuña have very close OBPs and pitchers also are not as scared of Acuña as they are of Betts, considering Mookie is clearly ahead of Acuña in SLG. WAR takes into account baserunning, so rest assured Acuña is being appropriately credited. The Braves lineup also offers Acuña huge protection.
@@UTNatlChamps Not saying pitchers are more afraid of him. I’m saying the lineup gets better pitches to hit when he is on first base because of his aggressiveness
Mookie played 2 positions this year while having elite defensive numbers on both (same criteria they are using for Ohtani) and yet, they'll give it to Acuña, cause he's this year's media darling.....even tho his defensive number are a lil bit above avarage
@@wolfboy8667 thats crazy if true but that sounds false. Even if it is true, the guy put himself in scoring position, not much else you can do, up to your teammates to drive you in.
@@UTNatlChamps the difference in WAR is much more so predicated on mookie being an elite defender at multiple positions and Acuna being average in the field rather than a substantial difference at the plate. Honestly I can see your argument but I think it’s absolutely asinine that a guy having a 30/70 season hitting .330 on the best team doesn’t win mvp
I think the old school mvp races would only draw their cabdidates from the playoff teams, when only 2 teams, the best from both leagues, faced off in the playoffs for the world series, which was so unfair to better players that season on a less competitive team No disrespect to Mookie, but I think this year should belong to Acuna. When you do something historic like Judge did last year, the reward should be yours
Those 1940s MVPs you talked about were given to the players who’s team won their league. That seems to have been the decisive factor as dumb as that is
Let’s not forget betts has played 3 positions at an all star level this season. Look at those numbers next to acunas again, you don’t just get those with a “one month surge”
How can Betts win because of a surge in one month? Acuna has been doing it since April. For Betts to win the award WTIHOUT a complete stone colld slump by Acuna, or an injury is not rational. If Acuna continues through september at a 890-900 OPS he deserves it. Mookie is a real charmer, and a legit 2nd place finish is nothing to be ashamed of.
What do you mean how? Betts' season numbers are as good or better and he's an above average defender who plays 3 positions. Acuna is the 2nd worst defensive outfielder in baseball by metrics. Also, if you want precedent, just look at the 2015 Cy Young race... Zack Grienke was amazing every single month and never faltered. Jake Arrieta had an okay first half, didn't even make the All Star team, then had a monster 2nd half and won the award. All that matters is where you stand at the end of the season... how you did month to month is irrelevant.
The press didn't get along will with Ted Williams and the worshipped Dimaggio. That's why most casual fans today if asked would say that they were comparable players or dimaggio was better when the reality is that while dimaggio was a very good hall of fame player, williams was a top 5 talent who should have won 5 mvp awards. He was cheated 3 times on the mvp twice in favor of dimaggio and once by joe Gordon, also a yankee. That's not just going off of war its also the basic eye test looking at traditional stats.
In my opinion, while Acuña is giving everything he has focused on securing the MVP award, Betts will be more focused on October. He’s been there, done that, and knows from last year that no amount of regular season success will guarantee success in the postseason.
You dont know that at all😂 They are both playing baseball to the best of their ability and doing what they can to win, acuna isnt planning on shutting down in the playoffs and neither is mookie
I still think Stanton deserved the 2017 MVP. I agree that Votto is a better all around hitter, but it's not like Stanton was power only that year. BA near .300 (instead of .220-.240s like many power hitters put up) and he could play good enough defense in the OF. That WAR gap is a rounding error (though I do think WAR underestimates the defensive value of a quality 1B quite a bit). fWAR is a more sizable gap, but it goes in Stanton's direction (looking back at that year's stats on Fangraphs, it still blows me away how much ridiculously better Judge was than Altuve that year - his gap in WAR is almost 1.5).
Ok I disagree, mookie was good either way. And it shows because he’s replicating it while playing even better without Apple Watches so I think it’s pure hitting ability, just like Acuña
In the same way I'm the only person on earth who thinks Ohtani shouldn't win because it's mvp, not best player... Betts should win because he's more valuable than the better player Acuna
After the 2017 race and Votto not winning the silver slugger, I started hating Paul Goldschmidt. Then he goes to the Cardinals I now despise him forever
don't let this distract you from the fact that Ohtani has 10 WAR while not having pitched since 8/24 and is leading the AL by 4 entire points of WAR, with Corey Seager in second
In defense of DiMaggio winning in 1941... 1. No one realized that would be the last .400+ batting average for a qualified season. 2. Walks were FAR less valued than they are now. 3. Ted Williams and sportswriters had a less than amicable relationship. 4. WAR is not a stat that was available to writers. 5. Ted Williams was not considered a great fielder. 5. The Red Sox were 17 games behind the Yankees. 6. DiMaggio hit in 56 consecutive games that season.
I really dont understand how its supposedly close when Acuña has been doing this ALL YEAR LONG... i mean i know everybody jocks mookie from tv networks to analyst's but lets be real here it isnt that close. Whats crazy is theres actually people saying mookie is winning lmao.
@@UTNatlChamps well I know dodgers fans were really looking forward for this series to determine the mvp... and let me just say... its not looking good...
You act like Acuna is a liability in the OF. This would be a better argument if we were talking shortstops or catchers otherwise who cares. As long as your not a slowpoke with a noodle arm outfield defense is not as important
@@RS7Wes am I on mute? Do you not know how to read? He has been consistently playing at an MVP level since may. How about that? Making history? That doesn't mean shit if you are playing worse than Mookie.
if you think there are two choices for mvp you are wrong. It is Acuna it has always been Acuna it will always be acuna. ATL going all the way in 2023 babeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Not that WAR is a perfect measuring stick but Mookie has a .9 rWar and .7 fWar lead over Acuna due do his defense and positional adjustments. Mookie has been a marginally better hitter. Acuna has been a much better base runner in a day and age where it's both easier then it's even been and largely irrelevent. Mookie has been a better fielder. I'd give the edge to Mookie buth both are deifnitely deserving.
With the game on the line give me the guy with the higher batting average and the ability to bother pitchers on the bases. I’m not relying on a walk or homer
Watch the game nerd. Stolen bases are very important. Even just the threat bothers the pitcher and scares them to throw off speed pitches or balls in the dirt
@@TheJav10acuna has scored 20 more runs than Mookie. He's knocked himself in more in September than mookie has scored. Acuna has more extra base hits than mookies total hits in September
Matt Olson can hit 50 homers and get 4th in mvp voting Freddie can get 60 doubles and get 3rd Ronald can make history and get 2nd in mvp voting That’s how good Mookies season has been damn
When it comes to the Acuna vs Betts race, I think a lot of people forget about the rule changes this season. Bigger bases, limited pickoff attempts and the pitch clock pressuring pitchers all lead to a better environment for stolen bases. Obviously Acuna is having a monster year and founding the 30-60 club is insanely impressive, but due to the new rules it's a Mickey Mouse club in my opinion.
I mean, Acuna also nearly got into the 40-40 club in 2019 even though he only really started stealing bases around the All Star break. It's not like he needed the rule changes to suddenly be a top quality base stealer
@@ItBeNolanThoit’s literally true it’s obv no coincidence that this happens as soon as the disengagement rule happens lol this will be nothing special in 20 years
I think Mookie has been way more important to the Dodgers success than has Acuña. The Braves lineup is so stacked they’d probably be winning the division without him.
The Dodgers are also stacked dude. They could, and have, done it without Mookie and they’d probably be winning the division without him. The two best teams with two of the best players. Acuña’s been better imo.
Who’s your pick?
Right now, it’s Betts, and I say that as a huge Acuña fan. He’s been the best position player this year, and while Acuna’s season is historic, Betts has provided more value. I think the writers will go with Acuña, but for now, Betts is my choice.
@@UTNatlChampsthank you for not being biased
Ronald, easily.
@@CharmCityGamer no
Ronald because of the history that he made that’s why he should get it he’s the first player to get a 30/60 season I know mookie is putting up great numbers but it’s history just like judge s season last year
Ted Williams had 2 triple crown seasons and won MVP in neither. Insanity
A lot of older voting was based on best player on the most winning team which explains some of the logic of the snubs (DiMaggio and Stargell specifically)
Came here to say this. Those odd mvps are because their team won the pennant.
That's why Ted Williams got robbed so many times. If the Red Sox were better he wins several.
If the writers gave Judge MVP last year for breaking Maris' record; realistically Acuna should get it for *creating* history. Betts is playing a great season but he isn't doing anything that hasn't ever been done before, unlike Acuna.
Judge had the best offensive season since juiced out Bonds and led the league in WAR by 1.0 over Ohtani and nearly 3.0 over everyone else. It wasn't just about the AL HR record, he had the best season. It will be quite a different situation if Mookie's overall production is higher than Acuna despite his unique accomplishment. Much more room for debate than Judge last year.
@@Il_Exile_lI Eh. I mean, Betts is having a career year for sure, but Acuna's playing on easy difficulty. Looking at the stats again, Judge last year had ~3 WAR more than Betts does right now, plus 25 more homers despite batting nearly the same average. Comparing the two, Betts' case for MVP gets worse in my eyes given how dominant Judge was and Acuna is now. Not to mention the effect all those steals have for Acuna. What people forget a lot is the impact those steals can have. When he leads off the inning or gets on with nobody on base, either with a walk or a single, he's effectively getting a double on those steals. His 32 pure doubles have to be joined by another 30-40 "doubles" (single/walk+steal), which is insane when you think about it.
@@syan7558 It really comes down to stolen bases vs glove work. In my view, Betts' ability to play multiple positions at golden glove caliber is worth far more than 60 stolen bases/11 cs. Should be an interesting finish either way.
@@avrivah1101he is only hold glove level at RF. His 2B & SS stats are good but not hold glove. But Acuna is better defensively than given credit for. His arm alone is elite.
Mookie will break the all time home run and rbi record for a lead off man this year, that is pretty historic.
The 1940s MVPs that were decided by 1 vote seemed to be because back then, writers would vote for the best player on the best team that season. Marion and DiMaggio were much worse than 2nd place but since their teams were 1st place, people voted for them.
Crazy how we stopped doing this for MVP early on but continued to do the same for Cy Young voting much longer.
In 1947, one writer hated Williams so much that he refused to include him on the ballot. That’s the only reason he didn’t win.
Yep, that was very common in all sports for a long time. The Cardinals won 105 games in 1944, while the Cubs won just 75, making it easy to dismiss Nicholson's better stats since he wasn't actually making the team competitive. The much more confusing thing is why Marion got so many more votes than his own teammate, Stan Musial, who had him covered in every single statistical category. Maybe it was just a form of voter fatigue considering Musial won it in 1943.
The difference in the 1947 race wasn't nearly as extreme but it was still a player on a 97-win 1st place team vs a player on an 83-win 3rd place team. I can see how people can just fall back on "well if they didn't even make the playoffs, how valuable really were they?"
Voters long-standing obsession with pitcher wins is probably what led to your second point. Much easier to rack up wins on a winning team.
Nah MVP still almost always went to a playoff team player until like the 21st century
Wow. Some great video editing in this one. Good job
I love Mookie (RedSox fan) but Acuna deserves it he’s been consistent all season and if he hit 40 homerun everyone would be quite.
Better offensively - mookie betts both oWAR and ops+ say this
Better defensively - do i really need to
@@darryelphillip5219 well acuna against the dodgers last few days really showing who the REAL MVP is lmao. Keep doubting tho
@@darryelphillip5219 Mookie has 7.0 war Acuna is 6.9 OPS different of .028 y’all need stop acting like that .0001 is huge difference
Not just the numbers. But the intangibles, Acuna clutch hitting and always seems to create walks when it matters, how many bases has he held runners on from advancing and holding them from scoring position. Just the mere threat from his cannon, is enough to scare Mookies Dodgers from taking extra bases. Acuna just a gamer no matter the month
@@KOCChristianhis war is 7.8 tf you on about
The MLB made several rule changes to emphasize base hits and stolen bases, and Acuña is doing both more than anyone. Yeats why he'll win
Don't sleep on Freddie. If he puts up a September similar to the August Mookie just had, it will be hard to ignore him.
Same with Olson
I will sleep on Freddie because Ronald acuna jr is THE MVP and my MVP
@baseballguy0125 - Very unlikely. He's hitting .268, while the other candidates are way over .300. His WAR is 4.5, while Betts and Acuna are over 7. He'd probably have to get to 60 HRs and the other 3 guys would have to have really bad Septembers to even be considered.
@Jayden33336 - Well, he's way behind Mookie in WAR due to being the 2nd worst defensive outfielder in baseball (behind Schwarber). And Betts has a higher OPS, so he's definitely the favorite right now.
“If he recreates one of the greatest offensive months we’ve seen in modern baseball, it will be hard to ignore him” Freddie is great, but he’s not matching what Mookie just did
The problem with the MVP award, aside from the ambiguous criteria used to decide value, is the assumption that journalists know more about baseball than anyone else and should therefore be the ones who decide. Moreover, journalists have been worse at their profession in the aggregate than at any point in the past 100 years, which is why I don't put much personal stock in their decisions.
✅
Acuna is winning MVP played more games became the first player to have 60/30 could get 40/70.
I'm hoping for 40 bombs from him to shut people up lol.
Sportswriters and Ted Williams hated each other during the latter's playing career. This animosity is what led him not to win the 1941 AL MVP.
Meanwhile, Stan Musial should have been the NL MVP in 1944. After winning the previous year, he didn't lose a step and the best player in the league again. Somehow, he finished fourth in voting. After serving in the military in 1945, he returned in 1946 and won MVP again as the best player in the National League.
I can understand Ted not winning the MVP in 1941. It’s 1942 and 1947 that just don’t make sense
Well Acuna hit another home run yesterday and then another home run today so he’s on pace for a good septembee
I have Ronald Acuna Jr. as the NL MVP. What he's doing this season is extremely rare and hasn't been done in decades.
More like it hasn’t been done, like ever. This isn’t a “first time since,” it’s a “first time EVER,” which is why I’m kinda annoyed people are just glossing over that and not acknowledging that he is literally creating new slashlines for the sport
@@slicedthree80_43he’s creating new slash lines because of the new rules that allow him to. There’s gonna be several more 30/60 seasons in the years to come
@@jaimelannister1797 Rules change, and baseball evolves. Just because they make changes to the game doesn’t make a certain feat less impressive. The Babe blasted 714 homers when pitchers were hurling their spit at the hitters, does that make Hank’s 755 HRs, or even Pujol’s 703 HRs, less impressive? Did these two legends have an easier path to the 700 club, since the spitball was essentially banned? Since one-hoppers used to be counted as outs, is it more impressive for someone in the 1800s to accumulate at least 200 hits or for someone to reach 200 hits in today’s game? Do you think that, since they changed that rule all the way back from the 1800s, it it now easier to get hits? It doesn’t make sense to say “well they’re able to do it because they changed this and that, and it wasn’t like that before” because baseball has been evolving since the start. It’s a good thing baseball has evolved because, if it didn’t, we wouldn’t have a foul line, catchers would be prone to injury (not bc of Buster Posey, but bc catchers literally used to be used as a barricade), ground-rule doubles would be home runs, and like, so many more flaws would still exist.
@@jaimelannister1797then why does no one else have 60 steals?
@@pjbuma13Ricky Henderson stole 118, that’s ACTUALLY history
Ronald for MVP❤❤❤
If there’s a close call with 3 players that’s a dream for topps chrome collectors
Ever since 1979, you see that mvp based purely on regular season was a crock. Stargell was getting all the "pops" love in the post season and then wadaya know.
Yo that Marty Marion dude was blessed with that MVP wtff
With both leagues now having 15 teams and advances in air travel, it would make sense to abandon the division structure and go back to league structure. Everybody plays everybody in the league with some inter-league play. It would have benefited baseball greatly for the fans to see competitive teams from current separate divisions play each other more than two series per year. Or have a good team visit one’s town in place of the Royals. Terrible divisions are generators of easy wins for mediocre teams.
Writers used to put a big emphasis on team record
As it stands right now it has to be mookie. He has better offensive stats, more war and a 10 point higher wrc+. (Which factors in stolen bases). I dont think a 70 stolen base season automatically warrents an MVP. But we’ll see after this month.
Mookie had a bad September so acuna won
Freddie freeman also have a great shot. He has over 50 doubles.
Acuńa is gonna finish with 40/70. He’s gonna win mvp
I think the difference is gonna be one to three first place votes
Joey deserved to win that year. Was so heartbroken and still am he lost that year
WAR doesn’t account for how pitchers have to pitch to the rest of the lineup with Acuna on base. Mookie is great but you can’t base every argument on WAR. there is such thing as an eye test in sports. It’s like how ppl look at Kobe’s stats in basketball and say he’s not a top 5 player.
Betts and Acuña have very close OBPs and pitchers also are not as scared of Acuña as they are of Betts, considering Mookie is clearly ahead of Acuña in SLG. WAR takes into account baserunning, so rest assured Acuña is being appropriately credited. The Braves lineup also offers Acuña huge protection.
@@UTNatlChamps Not saying pitchers are more afraid of him. I’m saying the lineup gets better pitches to hit when he is on first base because of his aggressiveness
@@UTNatlChamps There isn’t a stat that can measure the importance of something like that
@@UTNatlChampsMookie doesn’t get protection from Freddie?
Mookie really had a terrible series outside of game one head to head against the Braves. Acuna had a great one.
Mookie played 2 positions this year while having elite defensive numbers on both (same criteria they are using for Ohtani) and yet, they'll give it to Acuña, cause he's this year's media darling.....even tho his defensive number are a lil bit above avarage
Actually I think mookie might of won it if he didn’t hit like crap in September
@@RyanSchilling-fg9qn Probably not considering Acuna made history with a 40/70 season
Personally I think it’s crazy to think that 6 hrs and .4 of a higher slugging percentage can outweigh 50 more stolen bases
Bro the stolen bases created like 5 extra runs, I think that the stolen bases don’t add enough VALUE to a team to outweigh what mookie is doing
@@wolfboy8667 thats crazy if true but that sounds false. Even if it is true, the guy put himself in scoring position, not much else you can do, up to your teammates to drive you in.
.4 is a huge margin in SLG. And WAR takes into account Acuna’s SBs and other baserunning, and Betts still supersedes him by over 1 win.
@@UTNatlChamps the difference in WAR is much more so predicated on mookie being an elite defender at multiple positions and Acuna being average in the field rather than a substantial difference at the plate. Honestly I can see your argument but I think it’s absolutely asinine that a guy having a 30/70 season hitting .330 on the best team doesn’t win mvp
@@UTNatlChampsapparently .4 isn't too big of a difference in SLG since it only took three weeks for Acuna to pass Betts
I’m getting 2018 beli vs yeli vibes
Votto not winning in 2017 still pisses me off to this day
I think the old school mvp races would only draw their cabdidates from the playoff teams, when only 2 teams, the best from both leagues, faced off in the playoffs for the world series, which was so unfair to better players that season on a less competitive team
No disrespect to Mookie, but I think this year should belong to Acuna. When you do something historic like Judge did last year, the reward should be yours
And right after this video mookie proceeded to have a bad bad month of September
well yeah. Mookie chokes whenever there is anything on the line
oriole, fan rooting for Acuna, for obvious reasons.
RIP #20
Most mvps back in the day were given to a player on a pennant winning team
Ronald has to win it. 30/60 enough said
Bro everyone says that Betts beats him in almost every stat, Betts may not be fast but his fielding cancels it out
Betts better offensively and defensively how this is a race in favor of acuna is beyond me
Acuna made history with more than a month left in the season. Acuna should win
@@brendonmasters7199Doesn’t matter what history is made if one player is providing more value than said history-making player.
The batting averages for Mantle and Maris were so pedestrian that year..Maris, .283 ..Mantle, .275 ..THEY were the MVP voting? I don't get it?!
Those 1940s MVPs you talked about were given to the players who’s team won their league. That seems to have been the decisive factor as dumb as that is
How tf did Marty Marion get away with grand Larceny like that? Wtf
I remember watching that season. Marion 100 percent should have won mvp. Don’t hate
I’m a NATS fan so I hate both teams lol but mookie stands no chance against Acuña.
Same except I like the braves
Acuna by a lot
Let’s not forget betts has played 3 positions at an all star level this season. Look at those numbers next to acunas again, you don’t just get those with a “one month surge”
1 position at all star level and played 2 other positions at an above average but not all star level.
@@pjbuma132 positions at an all star level* look at baseball reference
How can Betts win because of a surge in one month? Acuna has been doing it since April. For Betts to win the award WTIHOUT a complete stone colld slump by Acuna, or an injury is not rational. If Acuna continues through september at a 890-900 OPS he deserves it. Mookie is a real charmer, and a legit 2nd place finish is nothing to be ashamed of.
its because his august is fucking absurd he should win it no one gives a fuck about what was going on in april
Mookie has been amazing all year.
What do you mean how? Betts' season numbers are as good or better and he's an above average defender who plays 3 positions. Acuna is the 2nd worst defensive outfielder in baseball by metrics. Also, if you want precedent, just look at the 2015 Cy Young race... Zack Grienke was amazing every single month and never faltered. Jake Arrieta had an okay first half, didn't even make the All Star team, then had a monster 2nd half and won the award. All that matters is where you stand at the end of the season... how you did month to month is irrelevant.
Nobody remembers the guy that came in second
Mookie Betts has a higher SLG, OPS, OPS+, wRC+, WAA, bWAR, fWAR, wOBA, and waaWL% this season.
You are so hilariously wrong that it’s pathetic.
I’ve gotta take Ronnie
Betts will make it close, but it's going to be Acuna.
The press didn't get along will with Ted Williams and the worshipped Dimaggio. That's why most casual fans today if asked would say that they were comparable players or dimaggio was better when the reality is that while dimaggio was a very good hall of fame player, williams was a top 5 talent who should have won 5 mvp awards. He was cheated 3 times on the mvp twice in favor of dimaggio and once by joe Gordon, also a yankee. That's not just going off of war its also the basic eye test looking at traditional stats.
I value defense more than stolen bases because you’re going to go on the field more often then you are going to be on the bases, so I’m going Betts
valid take
Honestly, that's a great point, although i don't agree, i have respect for the take
i value being the best player all year around and not being mentioned being in the MVP race after 1 great month.
I value Acuna more because he's been alot more consistent all year while mookie while been good has one crazy month.
@RealCGH this is why you need to get informed before talking shit. Look up mookie's stats by month. He has been playing with a 1000 ops since june
Votto was so robbed in 2017
Based on history of baseball writers voting for anything shows that they shouldn't be voting for anything; mvp, hof, etc.
If Stantons an mvp for homeruns, then Chris Davis is too
In my opinion, while Acuña is giving everything he has focused on securing the MVP award, Betts will be more focused on October. He’s been there, done that, and knows from last year that no amount of regular season success will guarantee success in the postseason.
You dont know that at all😂 They are both playing baseball to the best of their ability and doing what they can to win, acuna isnt planning on shutting down in the playoffs and neither is mookie
I kinda agree, Acuña is gonna hurt his leg or something going into October and is gonna ruin the braves chances in the postseason
@@wolfboy8667 ok time traveler I have a question, what year did we learn how to make time machines?
@@scranemdranem336 I’m just joking lol but acuna’s previous acl tear doesn’t help
@@scranemdranem336 also they are made in 2067
Albert Belle wasn't snubbed...MY OH MY THAT SHIT GIVING MO VAUGHN THE MVP.....RIGGED
I still think Stanton deserved the 2017 MVP. I agree that Votto is a better all around hitter, but it's not like Stanton was power only that year. BA near .300 (instead of .220-.240s like many power hitters put up) and he could play good enough defense in the OF. That WAR gap is a rounding error (though I do think WAR underestimates the defensive value of a quality 1B quite a bit). fWAR is a more sizable gap, but it goes in Stanton's direction (looking back at that year's stats on Fangraphs, it still blows me away how much ridiculously better Judge was than Altuve that year - his gap in WAR is almost 1.5).
Betts’ MVP was thanks to an Apple Watch. Get your watch today and be a major league all star!
Ok I disagree, mookie was good either way. And it shows because he’s replicating it while playing even better without Apple Watches so I think it’s pure hitting ability, just like Acuña
I know Acura will win NL MVP but I would love to see them share the MVP
In the same way I'm the only person on earth who thinks Ohtani shouldn't win because it's mvp, not best player... Betts should win because he's more valuable than the better player Acuna
Man, I swear that the baseball writers are on crack during all baseball voting.
DiMaggio won because he was a Yankee there has been many undeserving Yankee mvps just because they played for the yankers
Acuna wins
After the 2017 race and Votto not winning the silver slugger, I started hating Paul Goldschmidt. Then he goes to the Cardinals I now despise him forever
don't let this distract you from the fact that Ohtani has 10 WAR while not having pitched since 8/24 and is leading the AL by 4 entire points of WAR, with Corey Seager in second
Freeman also has an outside chance in winning.
Betts clearly deserves it
I think it'll probably be Acuña Jr, but I would much rather see Mookie win
I am NO fan of A-Rod but I really do think he got robbed by Juan Gonzalez.
Betts deserves to win but Acuña will because he broke a record and voters like counting stats
Mookies winnin’
Mookie’s better offensively and defensively and yet people say Acuña is MVP 🙄
^ east coast bias
@@wolfboy8667 well i mean he’s not wrong, and i hate the Dodgers
Because everyone figured mookie would come crashing down in September and he has. Acuna is the better offensive player by quite a bit
Honestly it could even just come out to which team does better in the postseason
Post season doesn’t count for MVP and neither does team accomplishments.
Acuna has 60 stolen bases I didn’t even realize
I say Betts will win MVP
In defense of DiMaggio winning in 1941...
1. No one realized that would be the last .400+ batting average for a qualified season.
2. Walks were FAR less valued than they are now.
3. Ted Williams and sportswriters had a less than amicable relationship.
4. WAR is not a stat that was available to writers.
5. Ted Williams was not considered a great fielder.
5. The Red Sox were 17 games behind the Yankees.
6. DiMaggio hit in 56 consecutive games that season.
I really dont understand how its supposedly close when Acuña has been doing this ALL YEAR LONG... i mean i know everybody jocks mookie from tv networks to analyst's but lets be real here it isnt that close. Whats crazy is theres actually people saying mookie is winning lmao.
Betts has a higher SLG, OPS, OPS+, wRC+, bWAR, fWAR, wOBA, WAA, and waaWL%. So, what exactly is your point?
@@UTNatlChamps lmaooo, that let's me know all I need to know...
@@UTNatlChamps well I know dodgers fans were really looking forward for this series to determine the mvp... and let me just say... its not looking good...
@@UTNatlChamps like I said.... not even close lol.
Defense>Stolen bases. ALSO THE BASES ARE BIGGER AND LESS PICKOFFS of course he was gonna break it.
Then why isn't anyone else doing it? I'm fact there are 3 entire teams that have less steals than Acuña. This point is just absurd
You act like Acuna is a liability in the OF. This would be a better argument if we were talking shortstops or catchers otherwise who cares. As long as your not a slowpoke with a noodle arm outfield defense is not as important
@@aj-pf7gdhe is on the brink though. 0 drs means he hasn’t done anything to help the team in the outfield
If Acuña doesn't win it's robbery in my opinion
Stupid comment. Mookie has literally better than him at everything except sb
@willyrodriguez10 and average and consistency and you know making history
@@RS7Wes am I on mute? Do you not know how to read? He has been consistently playing at an MVP level since may. How about that? Making history? That doesn't mean shit if you are playing worse than Mookie.
@willyrodriguez10 and hits and obp and runs scored. But yeah only stolen bases
@willyrodriguez10 Ronald leads the mlb in 3 categories and mookie leads in 0.
if you think there are two choices for mvp you are wrong. It is Acuna it has always been Acuna it will always be acuna. ATL going all the way in 2023 babeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Until he gets injured and the depth goes away
Not that WAR is a perfect measuring stick but Mookie has a .9 rWar and .7 fWar lead over Acuna due do his defense and positional adjustments. Mookie has been a marginally better hitter. Acuna has been a much better base runner in a day and age where it's both easier then it's even been and largely irrelevent. Mookie has been a better fielder. I'd give the edge to Mookie buth both are deifnitely deserving.
Mookie has been a better power hitter. But Ronald has him beat in hits, average, and on base percentage.
@@RS7Wes I mean acuna isn't a slouch by any means but there's I'll take the higher OPS and ops+.
“Base running is much easier” yet he has more SB than the entire Rockies/giants team lol
With the game on the line give me the guy with the higher batting average and the ability to bother pitchers on the bases. I’m not relying on a walk or homer
@@RS7Wesuh “better power hitter” do you know slugging percentage?
Stolen bases litterly mean nothing now so out of them mookie but, YOU DIDNT MENTION FREDDIE
Stolen bases r going to win Acuna the mvp 😂
There are 3 teams that have less steals than Acuña if they meant nothing more players would be doing it, but they aren't
With all the stolen bases Acuña has he’s only scored 6 runs more than Mookie…
Watch the game nerd. Stolen bases are very important. Even just the threat bothers the pitcher and scares them to throw off speed pitches or balls in the dirt
@@TheJav10acuna has scored 20 more runs than Mookie. He's knocked himself in more in September than mookie has scored. Acuna has more extra base hits than mookies total hits in September
Mookie
Matt Olson can hit 50 homers and get 4th in mvp voting Freddie can get 60 doubles and get 3rd Ronald can make history and get 2nd in mvp voting That’s how good Mookies season has been damn
Acuña deserves it just as much as mookie, so I wanna see another co-mvp
When it comes to the Acuna vs Betts race, I think a lot of people forget about the rule changes this season. Bigger bases, limited pickoff attempts and the pitch clock pressuring pitchers all lead to a better environment for stolen bases. Obviously Acuna is having a monster year and founding the 30-60 club is insanely impressive, but due to the new rules it's a Mickey Mouse club in my opinion.
Lmfao L take
I mean, Acuna also nearly got into the 40-40 club in 2019 even though he only really started stealing bases around the All Star break. It's not like he needed the rule changes to suddenly be a top quality base stealer
@@Khaoki Not saying he needed the rules to be good at base stealing, just saying he wouldn't have 60 SBs without the new rules.
@@mimonikeda5768 then why bring it up?
The game evolves
@@ItBeNolanThoit’s literally true it’s obv no coincidence that this happens as soon as the disengagement rule happens lol this will be nothing special in 20 years
I think Mookie has been way more important to the Dodgers success than has Acuña. The Braves lineup is so stacked they’d probably be winning the division without him.
The Dodgers are also stacked dude. They could, and have, done it without Mookie and they’d probably be winning the division without him. The two best teams with two of the best players. Acuña’s been better imo.
Bruhhh. Mookie literally has the guy who will finish 3rd behind these 2 in MVP batting right behind him 🤦♂️
@@aj-pf7gdyeah but it just so happens that when mookie goes off they go 24-5 in one month