OC Register: Angels’ Mike Trout misses top-three cut for AL MVP

[AngelsWin.com]

Mike Trout won’t be winning his fourth American League MVP award this year.

Trout was not among the three finalists the BBWAA announced on Monday, meaning Trout finished no higher than fourth in voting concluded before the start of the postseason.

Trout’s lowest previous finish in the MVP race was in 2017, when he finished fourth after missing nearly two months with an injury.

This year, Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox, DJ LeMahieu of the New York Yankees and Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians were named the finalists.

Trout finished fourth in the league in WAR, according to Fangraphs, behind Ramirez, Angels teammate Anthony Rendon and Abreu.

Defensive metrics did not rate Trout well this season, which contributed to his lower than usual finish in WAR.

Offensively, he hit .281 with 17 homers and 46 RBIs, with a .993 OPS. He ranked fifth in the league in OPS, with LeMahieu leading the way with a 1.011 mark.

The only other Angels player who had a chance to be in the top three for an award was Jared Walsh, who hit .293 with nine homers and a .971 OPS. His 108 plate appearances were about half the total of the Seattle Mariners’ Kyle Lewis and the White Sox’s Luis Robert, who were American League Rookie of the Year finalists. Houston Astros pitcher Cristian Javier was the third finalist.

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[Blarg]

He didn't have a MVP year. I think if there were 162 games the results would have been different. 

[UndertheHalo]

I dunno.  This is a big who care for me. 

[yk9001]

DID THOSE THREE HAVE A BABY THIS SEASON?

[Slegnaac]

So Most Valuable Papa award for Trout this year?

[T.G.]

He's done. Trade him before it's too late.

[Blarg]

Too late, the time to trade him was five years ago for a bullpen. 

[T.G.]

Damn

[kevinb]

Good call he wasn’t one of the top 3 it makes sense he wouldn’t be a top 3 vote getter. 

[Duren, Duren]

History won't be kind to 2020 as a legit baseball season. It was what it was for obvious reasons, and provided a limited facsimile of a regular season.

 The Dodgers were the best team, and probably would have been in the series anyway, but the path was a short cut. 162 games factors in so much more in terms of endurance, consistency, health, depth and so on.

The post season was a decent add on and stands apart, but it came after a severely compromised 60 game restricted schedule. 

The awards are even more compromised than the team performances. Being rewarded for much less than half a season and limited performance opportunities cheapens the awards. I guess they want continuity, but it is stretching credibility.

Trout played below his career standards to some degree, but might have rebounded with more time. Not being a top MVP candidate  this year isn't a red flag for thinking he is declining, but just that his fifty something games weren't enough to even come to a realistic conclusion.

 

[Junkballer]

It might be time to send Beckham Aaron off to military school.  This is clearly on him.

[TooCool]

Trout definitely didn't deserve it this year. Sure, he hit some bombs. But I think I remember more of the cold slumps this year than the hot streaks.

[Yes We Can]

They got it right.

[notherhalo]

The beginning of our next Pujols contract is here

[JustATroutFan]

The only season in which I wouldn't care if Trout won the the AL MVP or not. Hopefully, he doesn't put up a .250/.350/.500 slash line in one of the upcoming seasons because once he does, it's over. 

[Stradling]

Haha. Ok. Fan.