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MLB: These are the 5 (or so) best National League MVP candidates

By Bill Felber

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 04: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers scores a run against catcher Tony Wolters #14 of the Colorado Rockies during the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on September 4, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 04: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers scores a run against catcher Tony Wolters #14 of the Colorado Rockies during the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on September 4, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman.
Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

With 10 days remaining, the National League MVP contest remains wide open. These are the best candidates for the award.

Based purely on the standings, you’d assume that the National League MVP has to come from the Los Angeles Dodgers. After all, they’re 35-15 – five games better than any other team.

And if the MVP has to be a Dodger then that Dodger has to be Mookie Betts. He has a .306 batting average, a .978 OPS, and a 161 OPS+. Beyond that, the other usual suspect – Cody Bellinger – is having a bad season.

Betts deserves consideration, but since the Dodger showing has been a team effort, he’s no cinch. After all, if you subtract is very good 3.0 WAR from the team total, the Dodgers still lead their division even without him.

A week or two ago, San Diego shortstop Fernando Tatis was a serious MVP candidate. But Tatis has slumped down the stretch, and his batting average has fallen from its high of .312 a week ago to a more ordinary .282. His OPS has lost a full 100 points in that same time frame.

Especially in a condensed season, an MVP hero can become a candidate zero that quickly.

There are several excellent measures for assessing MVP candidates; WAR, OPS+ (or, in the cases of pitchers, ERA+), and Win Probability Added all are indicative.

Nor, as is argued in a companion piece , should pitchers be excluded from consideration. In fact, several pitchers merit serious consideration in the NL.

Here’s a look at the leading candidates as the season enters its final 10 days. Keep in mind that in the world of 2020 reality, those final days actually have the impact of a full month any other year…so the race is really still in the balance.

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