Three contenders for National League’s MVP

The vote on three contenders – McCutchen, Molina and Goldschmidt – will depend on their team’s success story.

St Louis Cardinals are not the same team without Yadier Molina. David Zalubowski / AP Photo
Powered by automated translation

Choosing a Most Valuable Player is a bit like choosing a favourite Picasso. You are not really sure what you are looking at, and when you find one you like, someone else will not.

It is apt in the National League (NL) this year, where the top contenders are Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Yadier Molina of the St Louis Cardinals and Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks. To beat the Picasso analogy over the head with a baseball bat, they all appear to be missing pieces, as well.

McCutchen and Molina do not have eye-popping numbers in all of the traditional offensive categories, but they are indispensable centrepieces of teams headed for the play-offs. Goldschmidt, 25, has the numbers, but his team is going to miss the play-offs, with him or without him.

Voters often overlook such stellar attributes as a .305 batting average, 35 homers and 122 runs batted in (Goldschmidt’s statistics through Saturday) when his team falters.

Unfortunately, for the big first baseman, the Diamondbacks were overrun by the Dodgers in the National League West and will finish a distant second.

Goldschmidt’s glittery numbers also tend to get lost in time-zone limbo; his Diamondbacks are rarely seen in the big media markets on the eastern half of the United States.

It is such a perceived disadvantage in the voting that his manager, Kirk Gibson, conceded he was quietly rooting for his star to shine when the Diamondbacks were on a recent, and rare, national telecast. “I wanted Goldy to have a good game, selfishly,” he said. “He’s certainly deserving of Most Valuable Player.”

Voters, however, usually frame their favourites in success stories. McCutchen has led Pittsburgh’s surge from 20-year losers to contenders.

He is a brilliant centre fielder, a base stealer, and a solid .321 hitter, with just enough power (20 home runs) and production (82 runs batted in) to justify his No 3 spot in the batting order.

Molina is surrounded by a lot more offence in St Louis, but is still steadily productive at .315, with 12 homers and 71 RBI — superior numbers for a catcher.

His value is measured more on the defensive side, where he is considered the standard-bearer at his position.

Opposing teams rarely run on him, and his masterful handling of a young pitching staff has been widely touted, and his mid-season absence, through injury, coincided with the Cardinals’ worst stretch of the season.

“When Molina isn’t in their line-up, they’re a different team,” Clint Hurdle, the Pirates manager, told MLB.com. He added: “We’re a different team without McCutchen.”

Hurdle’s observation is more vague than simply citing numbers, but picking an MVP is always an abstract art, anyway.

sports@thenational.ae