On Monday, the announcement came as far as who the three finalists for the 2021 American League Most Valuable Player Award were.
Two players from the Toronto Blue Jays; Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Marcus Semien, and Los Angeles Angles two-way player Shohei Ohtani.
While a lot of people in baseball might still be drooling over Ohtani and how he was able to not only be a dominant hitter, but a solid pitcher as well. After all, Ohtani started the 2021 MLB All Star Game as the DH and as the starting pitcher; a first in baseball.
As a hitter, Ohtani hit .257 with 46 home runs, 100 RBI and 26 steals. As a pitcher, Ohtani went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 23 starts with 156 strikeouts in 130.1 innings pitched.
It’s a solid season, but remember this too. The Angels also finished in fourth place at 77-85 and well out of the playoff race.
But it’s not quite what an MVP is supposed to do. An MVP keeps a team in a pennant race, which is what Guerrero did for the Blue Jays.
In 161 games, Guerrero hit .311 with a league-leading 48 home runs, 111 RBI, plus a league-leading 123 runs scored and .401 on-base percentage.
Not to mention, Guerrero was also the 2021 All Star Game MVP too.
Toronto also finished 91-71 and one game behind the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for the AL Wild Card Game; they were eliminated on the final game of the season because the Yankees and Red Sox won on the last day.
Even though Toronto didn’t make the playoffs, they were in the race all season and in one of the toughest divisions in all of baseball, and yet, still kept up in the playoff race with them; plus with the Seattle Mariners too.
With these numbers, and given the circumstances in which the Blue Jays were a contender and the Angels were not, that right there gives a clear indication as to who the MVP is.
The 2021 AL MVP is Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
