Mookie Betts and Christian Yelich Take Home MVP Honors
The most deserving position players of the NL and AL MVP awards this season were given their honors in landslides on both ends.
Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers and Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox were awarded the NL and AL MVP awards respectively on Thursday night.
Raise a glass. 🍺
@ChristianYelich is your 2018 National League MVP. pic.twitter.com/jRXQ16TdhT— MLB (@MLB) November 15, 2018
Betts is the best.
Your 2018 American League MVP: @mookiebetts. pic.twitter.com/ixotGMXPPj
— MLB (@MLB) November 15, 2018
Christian Yelich — who was traded to Milwaukee last offseason from the Miami Marlins — won the National League MVP award mostly due to his torrid performance following the All-Star Break as he hit .367 with 25 home runs and 67 RBIs in 65 games.
He finished the season batting .326 with 36 home runs and 110 RBIs. He also swiped 22 stolen bases.
The star outfielder closed the season strong and helped guide the Brewers to eight straight wins to Storm their way to a NL Central division title, just their second in franchise history.
He established career highs in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, home runs, runs, RBIs and stolen bases.
Christian Yelich beat out Javier Baez of the Chicago Cubs and Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies in voting, with NL Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom being the only player to receive a first place vote.
Fresh off of a batting title, 30/30 season, gold glove award and World Series title, Mookie Betts now adds an American League MVP to his outstanding season.
Mookie Betts batted .346 with 32 home runs and 30 stolen bases. He also collected 80 RBIs and scored a MLB-high 129 runs.
Through May 26, he was hitting .359 with 17 home runs and slugging .750, a stretch that included two three-homer games.
He would miss two weeks of action because of an abdominal strain injury, but voters didn’t count playing in 136 games against him as he was almost unanimously voted as American League MVP.
One of the best defensive players in the MLB this season, Betts is a complete package at just 26-years-old and figures to be adding more hardware to his collection in the near future.
Betts beat out Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians in voting, taking 28 of 30 first place votes.
What do you think of these two players winning the NL and AL MVP awards for the 2018 season? Leave your comments below!