Red Sox Teammates Lead My American League MVP Ballot

by Julian Spivey
The Boston Red Sox were the class of the American League all season winning 108 games. The high-powered offense led by Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez was the biggest factor in the Red Sox success and both are deserving of Most Valuable Player votes.
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This would be my A.L. MVP ballot if I got a vote …

5. Jose Ramirez (Cleveland Indians)

The Cleveland Indians have the luxury of having two of the best infielders in all of baseball in third baseman Jose Ramirez and shortstop Francisco Lindor and either could be interchangeable on this ballot. Ramirez and Lindor’s number were almost identical this season, but I’m giving the edge to Ramirez because he drove in 14 more runs and had a higher on-base percentage. Ramirez was tied with Lindor for the fourth best WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in the A.L. at 7.9. He also was fourth in the A.L. in RBI with 105 and fourth in total bases.

4. Alex Bregman (Houston Astros)

Over the last few years, including during their championship run last year, Jose Altuve was the spark plug for the Houston Astros, but he suffered from some injuries this year. Third baseman Alex Bregman stepped right in as the spark plug for this dynamic offense hitting .286, with 31 homers, 103 RBI (fifth in the league, 170 hits (eighth in the league) and led the A.L. with 51 doubles.

3. Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels)

Typically, I don’t really like to see players whose teams weren’t even in playoff contention toward the top of a Most Valuable Player ballot, but the fact is Mike Trout is so damn good you just can’t leave him off. It was somewhat of a down year for Trout and he still hit .312 (fourth in the league), 39 homers (fourth in the league), led the league in on-base percentage and walks and was second in WAR at 10.2, behind only Mookie Betts.

2. J.D. Martinez (Boston Red Sox)

There are some out there who think it’s near impossible for a designated hitter to win a Most Valuable Player award, but when they have the type of offensive numbers that J.D. Martinez did for the Boston Red Sox this year I really don’t think they should be excluded just because they only play one facet of the game. Martinez was an RBI machine this year with a league leading 130. Martinez was also second in baseball with 43 home runs, he led the A.L. in total bases, was second in hits, second in hitting and third in on-base percentage. It just so happens he was only the second best player on his own team.

1. Mookie Betts (Boston Red Sox)

Mookie Betts was hot right out of the gates for the Boston Red Sox in 2018 and he never really slowed down, even with a disabled list stint. Betts led all of baseball this season in WAR at 10.9. He was also the leading hitter in the game with a .346 average. Betts hit 32 homers, drove in 80 and was in the top 10 in the A.L. in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, total bases, doubles, walks, runs scored and stolen bases. Betts also plays a gold glove outfield.  

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