The AL MVP Race

September 21st, 2023:

We are about two months away from the announcement of the 2023 MLB MVP award winners. The top favorites for the AL are Shohei Ohtani and Corey Seager.

If Ohtani was never born, or if it was any other year, I think Seager would be taking home this award. He made the Rangers front office look brilliant for signing him to a 10-year, $325 million contract. Despite him only playing in 109 games thus far, Seager recorded 146 hits which included 42 doubles and 31 home runs. His .331 batting average and 1.029 OPS has brought this Rangers team back to life. After winning just 68 games last year, the Rangers are now competing in a tight race with the Mariners and Astros for 1st place in the AL West. I believe the Rangers would be in first place right now if they had Seager all season.

Unfortunately for Seager, Ohtani was born. July 5th, 1994 may go down as the worst day of Seager’s life. Why? Because that’s the day Ohtani was born, which ultimately led to ruining his chances of winning the AL MVP award in 2023. Now, I’m sure Seager knew this at the time and that he has accepted his fate by now. There is zero doubt in my mind that Ohtani takes home the MVP award. He’s sorta redefined the standard for the award. Unfortunately, he is done for the remainder of this season with a UCL injury, and won’t be pitching next year. What he was able to do this year was nothing short of amazing and one of the best displays of talent the game has ever seen. He posted a 1.066 OPS, a .304 batting average, 44 home runs, and 95 RBI. Pitching wise, he went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA, along with 167 strikeouts in just 132 innings pitched. One of the best in the league at both pitching and hitting.

Just about everyone loves watching both of these guys play. Seager is one of my personal favorites at the shortstop position, but Ohtani is going to take home his second MVP award. I feel for Seager because he has played phenomenal all year long, but he is competing with a literal unicorn for this award.