Cincinnati Reds fans and Votto himself have every right to celebrate if he does win (he won’t), but that doesn’t mean it would be fair – at least until they change the name of the award.
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Arguing the best player on a last-place team is the MOST VALUABLE is just silly.
And yet...
If Joey Votto isn't the NL MVP, some of the fellas need to study the new fancy ciphering: 1.029 OPS, 168 OPS+, 7.4 WAR, 36 HR, 100 RBI.
— Richard Justice (@richardjustice) October 1, 2017
I am being openly mocked in the pressbox for saying Joey Votto should be the NL MVP.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) September 30, 2017
Have no fear, fans: Sports writers are also dumb.
Can't believe how much #VottoMVP backing I've heard.
— Brian Kenny (@MrBrianKenny) October 2, 2017
Have we gotten that smart so quickly?
If Votto were the difference between Cincinnati finishing in third place or last place, there would be an argument.
It’s not his fault the team is bad. The offense was pretty good, and he was a big part of that.
Vottois a great player. A generational player. Doing what he did last year and coming back with an even better season is amazing and to be appreciated not just now but for years to come.
He is valuable to the Reds’ brand as someone who generates headlines and fan goodwill. Those things are important. They just aren’t part of what goes into winning the award in question.
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This is an award that usually goes to the best player on a good team, as it should be.
Votto’s not even clearly the best player on a non-playoff team, though.
Remember that thing about being the difference between last place and third place? Well, Giancarlo Stanton arguably was that for the Marlins, except they finished second in the NL East.
The strange thing about the #VottoMVP movement is that he didn’t even have the top WAR (wins above replacement) in the league according to Baseball Reference (That was Stanton) or Fangraphs (that was Anthony Rendon of the Nationals, who won their division).
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