MVPs: Balanced At Last

 
I think we knew this was gonna be the drill in, like, August. Throughout the year there were moments of greatness from competitors, like Mookie Betts' start, Elly de la Cruz's May, Jose Ramirez's second half and Francisco Lindor's September, but it was always going to be about Judge and Ohtani. Nobody could do what they did this year [like going 50-50 and hitting 50+ homers on a bigger OPS than 2022] and not be rewarded for it.

I think Aaron Judge's MVP may be overshadowed by his postseason play, though. A lot of people have been poking fun at Judge's weak World Series showing and Game 5 errors, but nobody can deny how powerful he is when he's in his element. And from April til August of this year, Judge was in his element. Yes, he went cold in September, but he's not very used to A.) being healthy all 162 games and B.) making it to the World Series. He's new at this. Not everybody can be Yoshinobu Yamamoto and be playing in a World Series, and well, immediately. Clayton Kershaw won a ring after several years of 'Kershaw sucks in the playoffs' talk. The narrative can turn around, and I believe there's an opportunity for Judge's to. 

I think because Judge is the best, and because he plays for a team it's cool to root against, he opens himself up to more criticism. If Dak Prescott were to lead a team to a Super Bowl, it'd be similar--nothing about a grade A athlete building on great seasons and capitalizing the moment after all this time, there'd just be something new to make fun of the second he makes a mistake. Nobody can deny Judge's ability, but it's much easier to enjoy a Yankee failure for a lot of people. 

And further, you don't see a lot of people that don't like Shohei Ohtani? How could you dislike such a rare talent?? The Dodgers have a lot of guys like that--Betts, Freeman, Kershaw, guys who are so good, and so fun to watch, that you can't really dislike them. Betts played for the Red Sox for 6 years, I couldn't bring myself to hate the guy. And you can't Ohtani, all you can do is hope you never have to face him. That Ohtani hit 50 homers and stole 50 bases, which nobody had ever done, while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery is one of the most incredible achievements of any MLB player in years. How many other people can do something like that? 

Like last year, these two guys won MVPs because they're the most crucial MLB players of the current moment. You cannot tell the stories of these two teams without them. Even if you don't like repeat offenders in awards week, it really couldn't have been anyone else for either league.