Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani has been the biggest sensation of the 2021 MLB campaign with his two-way prowess.
In 21 starts, the Japanese star is 9-2 with a 3.36 ERA, covering 115.1 extraordinary innings.
That’s only his contribution as a pitcher: he is, without any doubt, the Angels’ ace and best pitcher by far.
In the batter’s box, Ohtani is also showing his worth.
He is slashing .259/.361/.611 with a fantastic .972 OPS.
He has contributed 44 home runs, 91 runs, and 94 RBI for good measure.
He is, without a question, the most complete player in Major League Baseball: he can hit for power, take a walk, pitch, and also steal some bases.
But that doesn’t mean other players aren’t shining in the junior circuit.
Guerrero Is Surging
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero and the star of the Toronto Blue Jays, is performing like a legitimate MVP candidate.
I am a full believer that the AL MVP should be unanimously handed to Shohei Ohtani.
That being said, I wish the voters would get together for dinner and rig this thing to come out as a tie w/ Vlad.
If there was ever a year for co-MVP’s, THIS is the year.
— Matt Williams (@MattWi77iams) September 14, 2021
Vladdy is now leading two of the three Triple Crown categories in the American League: batting average and home runs.
That alone is an incredible achievement: Guerrero has the contact ability of a leadoff hitter and the power of a middle-of-the-order slugger.
He has been red-hot as of late, and has already overtaken Ohtani as the AL home run leader with 45.
Vladdy has a great shot to get to 50 home runs, and doing that with a batting average of .300 of better is insane.
At the moment, he has a .318 batting average, the best in the AL above Yuli Gurriel (.316) and Michael Brantley (.315).
The only category in the Triple Crown watch that doesn’t belong to Guerrero (yet) is RBI.
Right now, Vladdy has 103 RBI, just four behind the leader, Jose Abreu.
As a side note, Guerrero tops not only the AL, but also the whole league in average and homers, and his RBI tally would be tops in the National League.
So, Who Is The Most Valuable Player Between The Two?
Not that it should have too much weight on an MVP discussion, but it’s fair to point out that Guerrero’s Blue Jays are currently in possession of a playoff spot, while Ohtani’s Angels are virtually out of the race.
The Angels would probably be one of the league’s worst teams without Ohtani, though.
Having a slugger like Guerrero makes a strong lineup, like the Blue Jays’, perhaps the best in the league.
Toronto is capable of hanging with almost every team in MLB, mainly because of its offense.
And its offense is reaching elite levels thanks to Guerrero.
However, and while Guerrero holds a significant advantage in the batting average department, Ohtani is the more valuable player.
The Angels have a top slugger and an ace in just one roster spot: that’s insanely valuable.
Maybe I'm reading way too into this, but this is also where Ohtani has value beyond his WAR components. If rosters are finite, he saves a roster spot which makes him even more valuable
— Devan Fink (@DevanFink) September 14, 2021
What Ohtani is doing is unique, because not even Babe Ruth had a two-season season like Shohei’s 2021.
Bottom line: While Guerrero deserves MVP consideration and is having a historic season on his own right (he could be the first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera, in 2012), Ohtani’s pitching and hitting excellence give him the edge.
NEXT: A Wasted Year Of Mike Trout Is Nothing New For Angels Fans
John says
I remember not that long ago when being on a contending team factored into the MVP race for baseball players like it still does for the NFL, even though the NFL is a far bigger team sport than baseball is. Hell, every other sport it is the same where being on a winner matters and it’s only baseball where the media doesn’t give a rip. Now you can be named the MVP even if you were playing on the worst team as long as your WAR is the highest. My, how things have changed.
They should do away with the actual naming of the award given the way the media now looks at this since simple logic says taking a guy off a losing team would make the team…still a loser. That’s not what value is supposed to mean. In terms of this specific race, take Ohtani off the Angels and they still suck. Take Guerrero off the Jays and they probably aren’t in playoff contention.