The end of the 2022 MLB season is nearly upon us. And as the season begins to wind down, the awards races throughout the league are beginning to heat up. One race that has gotten quite interesting is the NL MVP race, with Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Mookie Betts all fighting it out for the award.
For most of the second half of the season, it seemed like it was a two man race between Cardinals teammates Goldschmidt and Arenado. But Betts has really gotten hot lately, and forced himself into the middle of the race. This race should only add to the intrigue of the final few weeks of the season.
For the most part, though, this appears to be Goldschmidt's race to lose. He has been on a tear all season long, and is largely responsible for the Cardinals success this season. With the season drawing to a close, let's take a look at two big reasons why Goldschmidt will end up winning the NL MVP award.
2. Paul Goldschmidt is leading his competitors in every major category
Stats play a big role in determining who will win the major awards across the league, and Goldschmidt just so happens to have some fantastic numbers this year for the Cardinals. He's been pretty much unstoppable at the plate this season (.322 BA, 35 HR, 109 RBI, 1.012 OPS) and aside from Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, there hasn't been a better hitter in the MLB this season.
This is important because in terms of his closest competitors in Arenado and Betts, Goldschmidt is easily leading the pack. Arenado has a bit of a lead on Betts thanks to his strong fielding metrics and great all-around hitting (.299 BA, 28 HR, 95 RBI, .910 OPS) but he appears to simply be playing a very strong supporting role in Goldschmidt's MVP campaign at this point.
As the Los Angeles Dodgers have gotten extremely hot lately, Betts has followed suit. He's also been a very strong fielder, but his numbers at the plate, while very good, pale in comparison to Goldschmidt (.275 BA, 34 HR, 77 RBI, .905 OPS). Betts has done a lot to at least enter this race, but all he's really done is secure third place for himself.
Unless something drastic happens, this is the order this race will finish when the 2022 season wraps up. Goldschmidt has simply been too good of a hitter in every area of the game for him to lose the race, even as Arenado and Betts lurk behind him. They have at least made the race interesting, but at the end of the day, they aren't very close to catching Goldschmidt.
1. Paul Goldschmidt could end up winning the Triple Crown in the NL
It's not as likely as it was entering the month, but there's still a decent chance that Goldschmidt could win the Triple Crown in the National League this season. If he could somehow manage to pull off this rare feat, he would most likely be a unanimous choice for the award.
For those unfamiliar with the Triple Crown, it involves a hitter leading his respective league in batting average, home runs, and RBIs. It has only been seen by a hitter once in the past 55 years, and that was when Miguel Cabrera managed to accomplish the feat back in 2012. Since then, though, no hitter has really come close to achieving this prestigious feat since Goldschmidt this season.
Now it's worth noting that Goldschmidt currently leads the National League in none of these categories, but he could conceivably make a push over the final few weeks and win the award. His .322 batting average sits behind Freddie Freeman's .329 average right now, he's two home runs behind Kyle Schwarber, who has 37, and he's just one RBI behind Pete Alonso, who has 110.
Of those numbers, it's going to be toughest to make up that difference in batting average before the end of the season. Goldschmidt is hitting just .194 this month, while Freeman is hitting .372. In terms of the MVP race, it doesn't mean much, but it looks like Goldschmidt's quest for the Triple Crown is running out of steam in the final month of the season.
Still the fact that Goldschmidt was even in the conversation for the Triple Crown is quite impressive, and shows just how good he has been for the Cardinals this season. Even as he is in the coldest stretch of his season, he's still running away with the NL MVP award. It would take something catastrophic to prevent Goldschmidt from winning the NL MVP award, and it seems unlikely that anything will stop him at this point.
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