With 11 games remaining in the regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers are three games up on the San Francisco Giants in the National League West standings. While L.A. boasts a stacked lineup, the star of this season has been left-handed ace Clayton Kershaw. He is a lock for the National League Cy Young award, but is Kershaw the right choice for MVP?
Pitchers winning the MVP award is rare, largely because they affect far fewer games than everyday players. In a full season, a pitcher who avoids injury will make in the neighborhood of 30 starts, while everyday players approach the full 162. Sometimes, though, as was the case in 2011 when Justin Verlander won both American League awards for the Tigers, the performance is just too dominant to ignore.
In 2011 Verlander went 24-5 (30 starts), with a 2.40 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and 250 strikeouts. According to Fangraphs.com, he was worth 6.9 Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Six position players posted a higher mark than Verlander in that category.
This season, Kershaw's numbers have blown away Verlander's 2011 output. Kershaw is 19-3 (25 starts), with a 1.70 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and 219 strikeouts. His WAR stands at 6.7, and he's done it in five less outings. Only one player in baseball has been worth more wins than Kershaw-Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout-and he plays in the American League.
Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was on his way to an MVP season before a hip injury ended his season after 91 games. He finished the campaign with a .340 batting average, 21 home runs, 52 RBI, 71 runs scored and a .421 on-base percentage. In a little over half a season he was already worth 5.1 WAR.
Tulowitzki was also posting these numbers in baseball's best hitter's ballpark, Coors Field, for a team that was toiling in last place.
The only other threat to Kershaw was Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. His stat line included a .288 average, an NL-high 37 home runs, 105 RBI, 89 runs and a .395 OBP. He too is gone for the season after being struck in the face by a fastball, and his team is going to miss the postseason too.
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