Los Angeles Angels: There is a legitimate case for Mike Trout to lose MVP

Nobody is denying that Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout is the best player on the planet. However, yet again, he may not be named most valuable.

The Los Angeles Angels have had the luxury of having the best baseball player on the planet grace the outfield for eight full seasons. And despite Mike Trout being the consensus best player in the world, he has only two American League MVPs to his name.

Two MVP awards are nothing to scoff at but Trout has come in second countless times and has been a finalist for the award every year except one. If the Angels had more success throughout the decade, Trout may just be a five-time MVP by this point.

But he is not. And yet again, we find ourselves in a position in which Trout felt like the American League MVP all season long, and now that it is coming down to the wire, we can make a legitimate case against him winning the award.

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I know, as an Angel fan you are probably going to hate hearing this. And I will get some that reach out and call me a biased Dodger fan. That is totally fine, however, Alex Bregman absolutely has a case to win the award. It does not mean that he will outright win the award, but it would not be surprising to see him win it.

Let’s compare the numbers.

Trout has 45 home runs, 104 RBIs, 110 runs, 110 walks, a .291 average and a .438/.645/1.083 slash line. Bregman has 37 home runs, 105 RBIs, 115 runs, a .295 average and a .419/.581/1.000 slash line.

Trout has the advantage in home runs and the slash line but an OPS difference of .083 is not all that massive and Bregman will more than likely hit 40 home runs when the season is all said and done.

The important thing to note is that Trout’s season is over, meaning that he will finish the season with 134 games played. Mookie Betts did win the award last year with 136 games played, but health is currently a factor. If Bregman plays every game for the rest of the year he will have finished with 156 games played.

The biggest argument for Mike Trout is WAR, and rightfully so. Trout has the best WAR in the American League and has an 8.3 WAR on Baseball-Reference. Bregman is not that far behind with a 7.6 WAR.

Trout is second in WAR to Cody Bellinger on Baseball-Reference but is first in FanGraphs, were Bellinger is fourth, because of the different way they calculate the numbers, which is part of the reason why WAR cannot be an end-all, say-all argument.

It is interesting to note, though, that the two have similar offensive numbers and Bregman has much better defensive metrics than Trout, yet for some reason, Trout still has a higher WAR. I pride myself as someone who somewhat understands the advanced metrics but it is unclear why Trout has as big of an advantage as he does.

But still, he has the best WAR, which absolutely should be accounted for. But just because you have the best WAR does not mean you are a lock for the MVP.

Aaron Judge had the best WAR in the American League in 2017 and did not win, it has happened to Trout several times, Matt Kemp in 2011, Albert Pujols in 2010, the list goes on and on. More times than not, the WAR leader does win, but it is not solely because of WAR.

Like I mentioned earlier, health is a factor and it will sway some voters that Trout played only 82.7 percent of the 162 games this year. The other important factor is team success, which has hurt Trout in the past.

The Los Angeles Angels are not a playoff team and will not finish even close to being one. They will finish with a losing record even if they win out the rest of the year.

That makes a difference. Whether or not it should is a debate for another day but typically, voters will lean towards someone who is on a playoff team when the numbers are this close. Bregman has similar numbers to Trout and is the best player on the best team in the MLB. Like Betts last year, that sways the argument.

And love it or hate it, the award is fueled by the narrative. While I am not justifying that part of it, that is the fact of the matter and there is more narrative around Bregman winning it as the best player on the best team than Trout winning it despite missing almost 30 games on a team that didn’t come close to the playoffs.

Trout has that same effect LeBron James has in the NBA: we just become numb to his greatness. Just because he does not win MVP does not mean he is not the best player on the planet. It just means that Bregman was more valuable, as he helped contribute to something that will actually lead to October baseball.

Trout is more than valuable to the Los Angeles Angels and is one of the few things keeping the team relevant. But it does hurt that he does not have a single playoff win in his career.

Next. Three questions for the Anaheim Ducks to answer in 2019. dark

Baseball is a team sport and Mike Trout cannot win 90 baseball games by himself. However, for the millionth time in his career, he could be burned by the Los Angeles Angels’ lack of success.

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