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John Amis / Associated Press
Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman was named National League MVP of the 2020 season on Thursday, while Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu took top honors of American League MVP.
The Baseball Writers Association of America provided the results of the vote for the top individual MLB prize in both leagues:
The coronavirus pandemic has transformed the 2020 MLB season from a 162-game marathon into a 60-game sprint. It also created a situation where even a single flop, however modest, was enough to remove a player from MVP consideration due to the smaller sample sizes.
It’s difficult to quantify exactly what it takes to win the highest honor of the regular season, as the constituency has a diverse outlook on racing. Some voters still prefer traditional stats like batting average and home runs, while others prefer advanced metrics led by WAR, which itself has multiple calculations.
Plus, Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Shane Bieber has cast a wrinkle in this year’s conversation on the AL side by putting himself in the MVP race, a feat that takes a truly special season for a pitcher.
In a year in which the Braves’ starting rotation lost six key assets due to injuries, pandemic withdrawals or poor performance, the offense has taken over in a major way and Freddie Freeman led the charge. The veteran first baseman has long been on the sidelines of the MVP discussion, and he’s finally made it through.
Freeman posted a career record of .341 / .462 / .640 triple slash en route to a 1.102 OPS, which placed second in MLB. He also had 13 home runs and had more walks (45) than strikeouts (37). His production helped Atlanta place first in OPS and second in team points scored.
The 31-year-old California native has long been the cornerstone of the Braves franchise. While not as flashy as their new superstar, Ronald Acuna Jr., his consistency remains crucial to the club’s success.
Freeman defeated Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres, among others, for the NL MVP.
Abreu was the king of statistics counting during the regular season. He ranked first in runs batted in (60) and second in home runs (19) among all hitters to go with a strong .317 average. He also finished in the OPS top 10 (.987).
Besides the formidable numbers, his MVP case was bolstered by his value to the White Sox. His 2.6 war was 18.2% higher than the team’s next-highest player (Tim Anderson, 2.2), per FanGraphs. No other Chicago hitter has passed 1.7.
Abreu edged out a group led by DJ LeMahieu of the New York Yankees and Jose Ramirez of the Indians to capture MVP. The Cuban star is the first White Sox player to win the award since Frank Thomas went back to back in 1993 and 1994.
Last year’s winners were Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, who won the AL MVP trophy for the third time.
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