Making Sense of the MVP Races

The FanGraphs Newsletter, August 13, 2024 [READ IN BROWSER]( August 13, 2024 There’s quite a lot of bickering in sports, and not many things bring out more vehement disagreement than discussions involving who should get various awards. Even now, nearly 30 years later, when thinking about Mo Vaughn beating out Albert Belle for the 1995 AL MVP, or Dante Bichette finishing second in that year’s NL race despite putting up just 1.8 WAR, some might have to suppress a compelling desire to flip over a table. This year, thankfully, it’s hard to imagine the MVP voting results will be anywhere near as egregious as the ones we saw in ’95. That’s because the way MVP voters in the BBWAA evaluate players has changed dramatically since then. Aaron Judge has easily the best traditional case for the AL MVP award if the season ended today. He leads the league in two of the main old-school batting stats: home runs and RBI. Bobby Witt Jr. and his .347 batting average is all that would stand between Judge and the Triple Crown. For what it’s worth, Judge would win the MLB Triple Crown, with twice the emeralds, rather than the AL one. For most of baseball history, beginning with the first time the BBWAA handed out the award in 1931, numbers like these usually would’ve been good enough to win MVP honors. It also would’ve helped Judge’s case that the Yankees have one of the best records in baseball. If this were 30 years ago, Judge would all but officially have this thing wrapped up, barring an injury or the worst slump of his career. [LEARN MORE]( [Spencer Arrighetti Is a Different Kind of Pitching Nerd Now]( The analytically savvy Astros right-hander is no longer chasing metrics. | by David Laurila [Jake McCarthy Fights the BABIP Monster]( Getting the ball in play is half the battle. | by Michael Baumann [It's Release Angles All The Way Down]( On invisible fastballs, biomechanics and the future of pitching analysis. | by Michael Rosen [Top of the Order: Could the Rangers Waive the White Flag?]( With their playoff hopes dwindling by the day, should the reigning World Series champs waive a chunk of their roster to cut costs? | by Jon Becker [Tanner Rainey Is the Lowest-Leverage Reliever in Baseball]( We could be watching the least consequential season from a major league reliever in recorded history. | by Leo Morgenstern [What Is Jackson Chourio's Superpower?]( Milwaukee's young star does a little bit of everything. What's his standout skill, though? | by Ben Clemens [Sunday Notes: Marlins Prospect Thomas White Is Chasing an 80-Grade Sweeper]( Plus Seth Lugo on thinking like a hitter, the NL RoY race, Craig Breslow and Scott Servais on the trade deadline, Tigers prospect Joseph Montalvo, and much more. | by David Laurila [Jackson Holliday Has Delivered a Welcome Jolt]( After a dreadful stint in April led to his demotion, the top prospect has been clobbering the ball since returning from Triple-A, and he looks like he's here to stay. | by Jay Jaffe 🎧 [Effectively Wild Episode 2202: The Hierarchy of Versatility]( [DOWNLOAD THE FANGRAPHS APP]( [FanGraphs & Effectively Wild Merch Is Now Available at BreakingT!]( [ORDER HERE]( [Predicting MLB final stats for Judge, Ohtani, De La Cruz, more]( by Jeff Passan and David Schoenfield, ESPN ($) [Why this is the breakout year for one young ace]( by David Adler, MLB [Christopher Morel and the Rays’ Unique Trade Deadline]( by Patrick Connors, Pitcher List [Rangers’ potential waiver dumps, Alex Bregman vs. Matt Chapman and more MLB notes]( by Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic ($) [@fangraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [RSS]( [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2024 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. Our mailing address is: FanGraphs Inc 3017 N Underwood StArlington, VA 22213 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](