2015 MVPs


There were no surprises -- nor should there have been -- when Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays and Bryce Harper of the Nationals earned Most Valuable Player honors in American and National Leagues for 2015. Let's start with Donaldson: acquired from Oakland the previous winter, he joined Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion to form a powerful heart of Toronto's batting order. Here's a good look at his mighty swing from an April game against the Yankees.
Donaldson's 2015 numbers: a .297 average (.351 on base%) with double 41's -- 41 homers and 41 doubles. He hit even better with runners in scoring position (.352). And thanks to those other big bats behind him, he led the majors in runs scored. Below, get a look at him playing 3rd defense... (He's the first AL 3rd baseman to be named MVP since George Brett in 1980.)
Harper's selection was just as obvious: on becoming the youngest NL MVP since Johnny Bench in 1970, he batted .330 (with a .460 on-base percentage) and belted 43 home runs.
Let's say you're into new-generation stats, his OPS+ of 195 is the highest in the majors since Barry Bonds' suspiciously unworldly 263 in 2004. Don't blame him for Washington's failure to make the post-season -- he did his part. Just 23 years old, Harper has a bright a future as anyone in baseball today.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rare Remnant of a Lost Ballpark

Image
When the subject of baseball in Brooklyn comes up, the discussion centers around Ebbets Field, the Flatbush venue most famously home to The Boys of Summer.  Those legendary 1940s and '50s teams that featured such historic and beloved players as Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges. Ebbets Field hosted its last major league game in 1957 and was torn down during the winter of 1960. But decades earlier, just before World War One, the Dodgers were based in the Park Slope area and played at Washington Park.  Once they moved out, the land was occupied by another stadium, which housed a different franchise.  The upstart Federal League, which played in the 1914 and '15 seasons, had a Brooklyn team called the TipTops.  Owned by a local baking magnate Robert Ward, whose company produced TipTop bread, the club took over the abandoned lot along 3rd Street and built a new brick and steel venue. The only no-hitter in the Federal League's two-year r
Read more

Another Yankee Trade

Image
Yankee fans: here's a last look at shortstop Trey Sweeney .  The 2021 first round draft choice was part of the three player trade with the Dodgers that brings reliever Victor Gonzalez and infield prospect Jorbit Vivas to New York. Now seeking to rebuild their pitching depth after dealing for Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo, the Yanks deemed Sweeney expendable.  While the Louisville native showed promising power in his three seasons with the organization -- he batted only .248 to go with his 36 career homers -- Brian Cashman has committed to Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza as his young middle infielders.  So Sweeney became a trade chip. ( My images of Trey Sweeney are from the Somerset/Binghamton AA games on July 15th and September 19th, 2023. )
Read more

Will He Wear Zero in the Bronx?

Image
The Yankees bolstered their starting rotation with Thursday's signing of Marcus Stroman .  The Long Island native, who spent 2019 and '21 with the Mets before moving onto the Cubs, brings a 77-76 career record to the Bronx, along with a recent loyalty to uniform number (?) zero.  If he requests that, he'd become the third Yank to wear it, following the path of Adam Ottavino and Domingo German.  Of course, neither of their Yankee tenures ended all that well -- Ottavino struggled badly in 2020, before reviving his career with the Red Sox and Mets; German's alcohol and domestic violence issues sabotaged such Yankee highlights as last year's perfect game. Can a number truly be lucky? You can understand kids in little league or high school ball wanting to wear 2 in honor of Derek Jeter or 7 for Mickey Mantle.  But is there an heroic ballplayer associated with 0?  The closest I recall comes from pro football, where the Oakland Raiders Hall of Fame center Jim Otto wore 00
Read more