2016 was a year of surprises for the entirety of baseball. The Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs, two historic franchises, found their way back to the top of their respective leagues and ended droughts in the process. For the Indians, it was their first pennant since losing the 1997 World Series to the Florida Marlins. The Cubs, meanwhile, made their first trip to the Fall Classic since 1945. It was an historic series, ending with the Cubs, baseball’s “lovable losers,” taking home their first championship in 108 years. It was a season in which anything could happen. However, the 2016 MVP races were somewhat more predictable.
In the American League, Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout took home his second MVP. The National League, on the other hand, saw rising offensive powerhouse Kris Bryant win. They were challenged by such names as Jean Segura, Max Scherzer, Mookie Betts, and Jose Altuve. Many other familiar names like Freddie Freeman, Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, and Manny Machado fell just short of qualifying for our lists here. Now, we drive forward, to see if Trout and Bryant truly earned their MVP honors.
2016 MVP Race: American League
The American League, once again, saw offense reign supreme. The pummeling bats of Trout, Betts, and Altuve swept the WAR podium. In fact, only one pitcher (Verlander) made it into the top 10 AL WAR metrics for 2016. So, in a league that was dominated by lumber, figuring out which piece was meant to win is a bit of a hassle. Fortunately for our cause, though, the WAR numbers between the top three are rather sporadically divided. Whether or not that will have a huge impact here, we’ll have to see. In any case, it’s time to see who the proper winner of the AL 2016 MVP race was.
Jose Altuve
Jose Altuve had already established himself as one of the greatest second basemen of a generation long before qualifying for this list. Indeed, over the years leading up to 2016, the Houston Astros star had slashed .305/.343/.415 with a .758 OPS and a 110 OPS+. His 830 hits were third among all second baseman during this stretch and he’d won his first batting title. In 2016, he won his second batting title and led the league in hits for the third straight year. He also showed his power by hitting a then-career-high 24 homers. He topped that off by only striking out 70 times in 640 at-bats.
Mookie Betts
In stark contrast to Altuve, Betts was an up-and-coming superstar. The Boston Red Sox outfielder had his first truly amazing season in 2016. He hit .318 with 31 homers and 113 RBI. His 359 total bases led the league, and he also notched 42 doubles. Much like Altuve, Betts was very patient at the plate. In a league-high 672 at-bats, he only struck out 80 times. That’s a rate of 11 percent, which he’d improved by three points from his rookie season. Finally, he won his first of what would be five consecutive Gold Gloves. He definitely earned his spot in the 2016 AL MVP race.
Mike Trout
Much to the surprise of nobody, this superstar makes yet another appearance on these lists. Though his 2016 wasn’t quite as good as his 2015, he still won the MVP award. There was a great deal of merit in it as well. He hit .315 with a league-leading .441 on-base percentage. His power remained in play, though it was a bit reduced from the previous campaign. Still, he managed 29 homers and 32 doubles. Production-wise, he led the league with 123 runs scored while also cracking the 100-RBI plateau for the second time in his career.
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The MVP should be…
This may shock some readers, especially considering the near full-point advantage Trout had when it came to WAR in 2016. However, reading the stat lines, this writer has to take that MVP award and give it to Betts. He had a higher average, more homers, more RBI, and struck out way less. Top that all off with some top-caliber defense and you have the makings of a complete MVP. Also, Trout would go on to have seasons that were much better. Yes, the actual winner of the AL 2016 MVP race should definitely have been Betts.
2016 MVP Race: National League
The Senior Circuit, up until recently, had been dominated by amazing pitching. Indeed, the WAR metrics for the previous seasons were peppered with terrific hurlers. In a stark departure from the precedent, the National League featured much more offense in 2016. The only NL pitcher in the top three was, rather unsurprisingly, Scherzer himself. But, we’ll discuss him more down below. In the meantime, Bryant and the surprising Segura took home the other two spots. Now, we’ll see if Bryant’s win in this 2016 MVP race was truly deserving.
Max Scherzer
Scherzer had yet another incredible season in his second year with the Washington Nationals. He posted his second career 20-win season with a sub-3.00 ERA and a league-leading 284 strikeouts. His workhorse nature was front and center as he posted 228 1/3 innings, also the best in the league. A six-pitch arsenal was anchored by a staunch four-seam fastball, off of which he could use a number of devastating breaking pitches. His slider was of particular note, as opponents hit a mere .162 off of it. In short, Scherzer definitely deserved consideration in the NL 2016 MVP race.
May 11, 2016: Max Scherzer strikes out 20 against Detroit. pic.twitter.com/y8dc8wlJ4v
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) May 11, 2021
Jean Segura
2016 was Segura’s only year with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He definitely made it count. Though not named an All-Star, he still managed to hit .319 with 20 homers and a league-leading 203 hits. He also continued to show off his speed, swiping 33 bags and adding, on average, three extra runs whenever he was on the bases, per Baseball Savant. Defensively, he was solid as well, playing to a 1.4 dWAR despite committing 10 errors. Even so, his offense was more than enough to contribute to a D-Backs team that had few bright spots in 2016.
Kris Bryant
The Cubs were extremely high on Bryant when they called him up in 2015, and for good reason. He’d destroyed minor league pitching in ’14, posting a .325 average with 43 homers. His good work continued in ’15, but 2016 was an unforgettable campaign. He hit .292 with 39 homers, 102 RBI, and a league-leading 121 runs scored. A .939 OPS and a 146 OPS+ topped everything off. While his Rookie of the Year season in ’15 was impressive, he improved rather dramatically in the span of a year. Though he may not be posting huge numbers currently, he will always be remembered as the MVP that helped spur the Cubs to a World Championship.
The MVP should be…
A championship victory should never be the only criterion when determining an MVP. However, one cannot ignore the absolute significance of Bryant’s contribution to Chicago’s historic season. He remains the MVP in our alternate world because he played such a crucial role in helping the Cubs to their first title in 108 years. He may not have many bold-faced statistics on Baseball Reference, but the overarching narrative completely overshadows that. Bryant is an MVP, yes, but he’s also a vital member of an unbelievable championship run.
Photo Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
