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Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout falls short of MVP finalist list

By James Kelly

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 21: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels before a preseason game against the Los Angeles Dodgers amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at Dodger Stadium on July 21, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 21: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels before a preseason game against the Los Angeles Dodgers amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at Dodger Stadium on July 21, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Angels centerfielder Mike Trout is no stranger to the MVP conversation. Unfortunately, Trout won’t be part of that conversation in 2020.

As if 2020 could get any stranger, Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout is officially out of the MVP conversation.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced their award finalists on Monday, and Trout was nowhere to be seen.

And the weirdest part of 2020? Leaving Trout off the MVP finalist list was the right call. He just was not quite as productive as Jose Abreu, DJ LeMahieu, and Jose Ramirez.

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Sure, he had a great season. He slashed .281/.390/.603 for an OPS of .993. He was fourth in the league in average exit velocity at 93.7 mph and was in the top ten of the league in barrel rate, xBA, xSLG, wOBA, xwOBA, xwOBACON, and hard hit rate. When you’re in the upper echelon of that many offensive categories, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to end up in the conversation at the very least.

But it was a down year by Trout’s standards. Sure, his counting numbers are comparable and his advanced stats are great. You could very well make the argument that he belongs in that finalist group. His numbers are essentially identical to Ramirez’s numbers. But Ramirez has a slight edge in average and slugging in five more games played.

You really had to split hairs to choose between the two, and it would be foolish to assume that expectations for each player didn’t play a role in this decision. After all, Trout is rightfully hailed as the best player in baseball. Ramirez doesn’t quite have that same reputation. So when Trout has a down year by his standards, and posts identical numbers to Ramirez, who had a great year by his standards, the natural reaction is to pick Ramirez over Trout.

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And in this case, that natural reaction would be correct. As close as the numbers are, Ramirez does have a slight edge. So he’ll get the nod this time around. And Mike Trout will be right back in the mix in 2021. He’ll just have to settle for another top-5 finish in 2020.

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