MVPs for 2017

Two players and two deeply contrasting seasons: say hello to your 2017 Most Valuable Players. Giancarlo Stanton was baseball's most prolific slugger. 59 home runs -- the most ever by an NL player not tainted by PED-suspicions. The most intimidating presence in the league. BUT... he did it on a team that was never in contention and finished eight games under .500. Did he ever play a pressure game? Was he producing in the midst of a pennant race? While that's not his fault, the answer is "no." Sure, a Stanton-less Marlins squad might won 67 or 57, instead of 77. But they finished 12 games out of a wild card. Player of the Year? Perhaps. But please define "valuable." Doesn't that have something to do with how your team's season played out?To paraphrase the legendary comment Branch Rickey made to Ralph Kiner, "We could have finished out of contention without you." 
Jose Altuve stamped himself as baseball's Best All-Around Player. He led the American League in hitting (.346), hits (204), while adding 24 homers and 32 stolen base. And he did for a contender: though playing in a soft division, the Astros didn't play a lot of pressure games from April through September. But their outstanding start allowed them to roll into the post-season, where they sent the Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers home empty handed. The Astros have a great history with diminutive second basemen -- remember Joe Morgan got his start playing in Houston and returned there on their first division winner back in 1980. Altuve shows a lot of Morgan-ish traits. All good. 
Born just six months apart, Stanton and Altuve will play next season at age 28 -- the sweet spot in the peak of their respective careers. It should be fun envisioning how they try to top all they accomplished during 2017.


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