September 19th, 2019 at 8:00 am 
by 0799291000348 For Dodgers fanatics the answer is obvious, a no-brainer – Cody Bellinger is the Most Valuable Player of Major League Baseball’s National League for the 2019 regular season. Fans of other teams may argue their respective cases for Anthony Rendon (Washington Nationals), Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers), Freddie Freeman (Atlanta Braves), or Ronald Acuna (also with the Braves); all exceptional ballplayers. But their arguments are futile when the 2019 benchmark is Bellinger.
In this age of baseball analytics, Bellinger this season is simply a cut-above other National League ballplayers. Christian Yelich currently leads the NL in wRC (weighted runs created) with 173 (73% above the average runs created in 2019), Bellinger is second (and counting), with 161. Defensively, Bellinger is currently tied for the lead in DRS (defensive runs saved) with 19; Freeman has 5, Rendon 1, Acuna 1, and Christian Yelich negative 2. Bellinger is by far the best defensive player of the NL MVP candidates and undoubtedly will win a Rawlings Gold Glove in 2019.
Bottom line, Cody Bellinger is the overall best offensive and defensive player for the team with the best 2019 win-loss record in the National League and deserving of the MVP award, but…
The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) are not required to consider statistics in their voting for the MVP, which occurs immediately after the regular season but before postseason play begins; their only guidelines being: “There is no clear-cut definition of what Most Valuable means. It is up to the individual voter to decide who was the Most Valuable Player in each league to his team. The MVP need not come from a division winner or other playoff qualifier.”
The rules of the voting are:
- Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense;
- Number of games played;
- General character, disposition, loyalty, and effort;
- Former winners are eligible;
- Members of the committee may vote for more than one member of a team.
The MVP committee members are also urged “to give serious consideration to all your selections, from 1 to 10.” The voters understand that a 10th-place vote can influence the outcome of an election. They must fill in all 10 places on the ballot and they are to consider only regular-season performances.
And therein lies the rub for voting – subjective evaluations with zero accountability. Gamesmanship amongst voters is possible, with the potential for voting members to arbitrarily slot a player like Bellinger at the bottom of their ballot, or even excluding him from the ballot entirely, in order for ‘their’ player to be in a better position to win the MVP.
Hopefully, individual integrity and pride of their profession will prevent any such shenanigans, but as much as Bellinger should be 2019 NL MVP, it is not a slam dunk.
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Personally I find it hard to tell if Bellinger will be voted in as the N.L. MVP. There are a lot of good ones out there and I feel like Yellich is still in the running.
Many good offensive players, but Bellinger’s defense sets him apart IMO. I find it hard to believe that the best player on the best team in the NL will not be the MVP. But, stranger things have happened when it comes to the Baseball Writers voting — including the HOF votes.
Rather see him mvp of the world series. But he is the most deserving based on what you say in the article.
That would be SWEET! But, Clayton Kershaw wins 3 games in WS and takes home the MVP
Kersh doesn’t have a history of pitching well on short rest. To even get a third start would require some rain, and we all know the chances of that happening in Dodger Stadium.
Then again, there was that earthquake in ’89.
WS MVP seems to be surprises. My crystal (actually plastic) ball says that Kershaw gets the trophy this year.