Most Valuable or Most Popular?

There are 750 players in Major League Baseball who are consistently playing day in and day out. They grind for 162 games every year giving their all and doing whatever possible to help their team make it to the top. However, only one player for each league can be named the best. This is what all players strive for and what each and every one of them hope to be before the season starts.

This year was a very historic year. Numerous different records were broken by many different players. And this year, three players in the National League are truly in the running for Most Valuable Player. Giancarlo Stanton, Paul Goldschmidt, and Nolan Arenado have all made themselves household names in the game of baseball. They have each been very consistent throughout the year and have been so for the past few. Out of the three picks, I believe Nolan Arenado should be titled Most Valuable Player because he helped the Rockies secure a spot in the playoffs this year, he’s most likely up for winning his 4th straight Gold Glove award for his incredible defense as third basemen and his amazing commitment on and off the feild, not only in one position but in two with his defense as third basemen and his offense as a hitter as well.

He ranks in the top 10 in the National League in every significant offensive category except triples. He’s fifth in batting average, second in on-base percentage, seventh in slugging percentage, fifth in OPS, fourth in homers, third in walks, third in runs scored, etc.” With these stats alone, Goldschmidt is extremely capable of taking home the trophy if not for two other players having very similar years.

The Colorado Rockies are no longer rebuilding their team and can now start focusing on making it back to the World Series. This is in part because of Nolan Arenado. The third baseman, who has had yet another incredible year at the plate and in the field. He is most likely going to win his 4th straight Gold Glove for his defense and another Silver Slugger for his hitting.

In this article he gives insight on not only all the statistics of the favorable players, but he also compares them to one another. With all that taken into account, it sounds like there should only be one possible choice.

Out of the top three picks, I believe that Nolan Arenado deserves to be MVP. To me, Most Valuable Player should be awarded to the player that is most valuable to their team. That’s exactly what Arenado is to the Rockies. Without him the Rockies would have had no chance of securing a spot in the playoffs. Nolan has had an outstanding year alongside Charlie Blackmon, with continuously proving himself and working hard. Proving his skills this season at a game against the Giants with Nolan who had already singled, doubled, and tripled in this game, who ended the game with a walk off home run for the cycle.The last time a walk off homer in a game where a player in for a cycle was in 2010 by Carlos Gonzalez from the Rockies as well.

All three candidates had an amazing year, but Arenado was able to do things that Goldschmidt and Stanton couldn’t. With Giancarlo Stanton, yes he had a tremendous year but he did not help his team make the playoffs. He is more of a one-sided candidate in my opinion. As for Goldschmidt, he had a good year as well and his team did make the playoffs, however Nolan still has him beat in almost every category, including batting average, home runs, slugging percentage, RBI’s, and number of hits. Like Verducci said, Goldschmidt was amazing with runners in scoring position, but Nolan was even better. Not to mention again, Nolan is set to win another Gold Glove for his tremendous defense. Arenado is all over highlight reels because of his amazing defense along with his offense. With countless people talking about him and already labeling him as a superstar, this is why Nolan should go home with the trophy over anyone else.

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