This Infographic Charts How Often MLB Players with the Best Stats Win MVP
We are fast-approaching the end of September, which means three things: football season is in full-swing, baseball playoffs are about to begin, and there will be approximately seven million words written about why various MLB MVP and Cy Young candidates do or don't deserve the awards. Passions will run high as sabermetricians and fervent old-school baseball enthusiasts battle to win hearts and minds. (Some even write preemptive White House petitions.)
In a nifty series of four infographics for The Score, Craig Robinson charted whether players who had the highest WAR (Wins Above Replacement, explained by Baseball Reference) won the A.L. and N.L. Cy Young and MVP awards since 2000. Here's one of them:
For A.L. MVP, the player with the highest WAR earned the award five times since 2000. If WAR were the only determining factor, the most egregious winner in this category during this time period would have been Justin Morneau in 2006, who finished behind 18 other players, including two of his teammates (Joe Mauer and Johan Santana). At least his win provided us with this great Fire Joe Morgan joint.
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