Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Don’t ask the Arizona Diamondbacks who should win the National League MVP. It seems like an open and shut case to them for their slugging first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The fact of the matter is that they have a really good case for him to win the coveted award but they are not the only ones. Because there are other well deserving players that were with playoff teams, the DBacks fans shouldn’t be surprised if the RBI and home run leader of the National League doesn’t win the MVP.
While he has better stats than Pittsburgh Pirates leader Andrew McCutchen, Cutch has a higher WAR and will do well with any voters who gauge the MVP by how successful the team was during the regular season. The same thing is true of Los Angeles Dodgers ace and Cy-Young favorite Clayton Kershaw. His stats are such that he is a strong candidate for MVP and a shoe-in for the Cy-young.
For my opinion, Kershaw should walk off with the best N.L. pitcher without a doubt but the MVP should go to an everyday player. Honestly, with the defensive contributions added in, Cutch makes a very good case to be the guy to take this award. Matt Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals and perennial MVP candidate Yadier Molina are also in the conversation somewhere and they won everything in the National League.
In the end I think Goldschmidt will be among the top two vote-getters and I really couldn’t say which player deserves it more. Because they cannot give two MVP awards this year in the same league, I think the Goldschmidt fans should not be surprised or offended if he loses the award to McCutchen. The same is true in reverse.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
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