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Toronto Blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero Jr, son of all-time great Vladimir Guerrero, has been named one of the three finalists for the AL MVP race. Vlad and the Toronto Blue Jays had an incredible season. Toronto finished with a 91-71 record. In most seasons this would have been enough to get them into the playoffs, but unfortunately for them, they play in arguably the best division in baseball in the American League East. They missed the playoffs by one game to the New York Yankees.
Vlad did everything he can as he led the Blue Jays in most offensive categories. He slashed .311/.401/.1002. For some of the Season, he was also in consideration for the Triple Crown Award. He led the league in runs scored, home runs, OBP, slugging, OPS, and total bases.
It's going to be extremely tough for Vlad to win the MVP. Shohei Ohtani has had one of the best seasons in baseball history. There can be a case made for Vlad so let's take a look at three reasons why he can come away with the MVP.
Three Reasons Why Vlad Should Win MVP
3. He led the league in most major hitting categories
Vlad led the Major League in most major hitting categories. He almost won the Triple Crown which has only been done once in nearly 50 years. It was done by Miguel Cabrera in 2012. He doesn't pitch like Ohtani does but he certainly had the better season at the plate. If Vlad doesn't win the MVP with these types of numbers then Shohei is going to win the next however many MVPs that he is still in the MLB. That doesn't take anything away from the greatness of Shohei Ohtani showed this year, but as a hitter, Vlad was simply better.
2. He won more than Shohei
This isn't a knock at Shohei but more of a comparison of the award. The MVP award is supposed to be about who helped their team more. It's obvious that the Blue Jays had a much more talented team than the Angels did, there's no denying that. In Vlad's case, he did help his team produce more. They were almost a playoff team. The thing that could hurt Vlad and would have been a positive for him was that if his team made the playoffs. Voters could value that over what Shohei did. Unfortunately for Vlad, his team came up a game short and that could come back to hurt him in the MVP votes.
1. He was the best offensive player in baseball
There's no denying that what Vlad did was arguably one of the most impressive offensive seasons that we've seen in a long time. The question now is was it enough to win the MVP over Ohtani? That decision is going to be made next week when they decide on who wins the MVP.
It's going to be tough for Vlad to win this award as Otani has had one of the most impressive seasons in MLB history. If one player is going to win besides him, it's likely going to be Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Even if Vlad doesn't win this award, he still had an incredible season. The Blue Jays have to be excited about their future.
