MVP Award Winners Announced
Thursday, the National League and American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award winners were officially announced. Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox won the AL MVP Award. Meanwhile, Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves won NL MVP.
There were many worthy candidates for the MVP Award in both leagues this season. However, the field was narrowed down to three candidates last week before Thursday’s announcement. As is always the case, the Baseball Writers Association of America elects the winners of each award.
Jose Abreu
It’s hard to argue against Jose Abreu being named the American League MVP. Abreu had a phenomenal season on the Southside of Chicago. Furthermore, he made history by becoming the team’s first MVP since Hall of Famer Frank Thomas.
Abreu agreed to a three-year, $50 million deal prior to the start of the 2020 season. Over the span of the 60-game sample, he led the AL with 76 hits, a .617 slugging percentage, and had 19 home runs, which ranked second in the American League.
Without Abreu in the fold, the White Sox arguably would not have clinched a postseason berth for the first time since 2008. At the age of 33, Abreu is finally getting the recognition he deserves after being underrated for so many years.
Freddie Freeman
Just like Jose Abreu, Freddie Freeman is also a very deserving candidate as NL MVP. Freeman experienced a scare related to COVID-19 before the regular season even started. In fact, it got to the point where he was considering opting-out of the year altogether.
Thankfully, Freeman fully recovered and did not have any long-lasting symptoms. Thursday, Freeman became the first Braves player to win the MVP Award since Chipper Jones in 1999. Over the 60-game sample, he hit .341/.462/.640.
Freeman ranked second in batting average in the NL behind Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals. Furthermore, he had 53 RBI, which put him right behind teammate and now free agent Marcell Ozuna. Without Freeman’s contributions, the Braves offense wouldn’t have been as potent as it was in 2020.
Final Thoughts on the MVP Winners
In the end, there were six deserving MVP candidates in Major League Baseball heading into Thursday. However, when you take into account the contributions of both Abreu and Freeman, both players were very deserving. In addition, it was only the third time in major league history that two first baseman won the award.
Heading into 2021, both Abreu and Freeman will be key cogs on their respective teams. Although, now they both have an MVP Award to add to their mantle.
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