Cubs’ Bryant adds NL MVP award to stellar season

Each voter selects their top ten players on the ballot; the ranking is done on cumulative points. He was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player. Most baseball players dream of winning this award at some point in their career. Who needs all this ambiguity and debate about what the word valuable means? He scored 17 percent of his team’s runs this season, the highest for any AL Player since Rickey Henderson in 1985 for the New York Yankees. Prior to fielding the final out of the Cubs’ first championship since 1908, Bryant improved an already impressive postseason resume.

Bryant also proved to be highly versatile.

Trout was humble in his award saying that he did not expect to win. “He exhibits a ferocious work ethic and competitiveness directed at continuous improvement in all aspects of his game and we are all lucky to watch him play day in and day out”. And the debate will intensify. He was largely expected to take home the most prestigious award in the NL, but he won by an utter landslide.

In a vote to select simply the best player Betts, a Boston Red Sox right fielder, finished second. Betts had 311 points. The center fielder batted.315 with 29 homers, 100 RBIs and 30 steals. It’s value – to his team. Definitely, maybe even last.

Meanwhile, Betts was putting up similar numbers while leading the Red Sox to a division title. Maybe, but maybe not. How has anyone ever beat him? This year the teams played in September and Trout was sublimely superior.

Murphy’s transformation from decent everyday player to an MVP-caliber performer started in the latter part of 2015 and continued into 2016 with a monster season at age 31. The last player to achieve this was none other than Alex Rodriguez in 2003.

It was Trout’s second MVP award. Since 2012, Trout finished second three times in the MVP voting, including 2013 when he lost by only three votes.

Trout received 19 of 30 first-place votes.

The question of whether a standout player from a non-contending team deserves the MVP was at the heart of this year’s ballot once again, with Trout producing another breathtaking season but for a club that finished fourth in the AL West at 74-88.

Bryant joins Dustin Pedroia (2007-08), Ryan Howard (2005-06) and Cal Ripken Jr.

Bryant was versatile on defense. Or, for that matter, that he never played right field, at all, for an extended period until this season. He finished 11th in the NL MVP vote a year ago. He set a franchise record with 16 total bases and became the first player in major league history with three homers and two doubles in a game. He is the team’s first MVP victor since 1998, when Sammy Sosa clubbed 66 home runs and led the Cubs to the National League wild card berth. He had 25 home runs and 104 RBIs. As a result, the Angels have to drastically improve huge problems that could be their undoing next season.

BP Wrigleyville covered Bryant’s MVP season with aplomb from the beginning.