Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Reveals Why Mookie Betts Deserves MVP Award Over Ronald Acuna Jr
Even though Ronald Acuña's stats appear to be a little bit better than Mookie Betts', the race for the NL MVP might end up coming down to the overall versatility of the individual.
While Acuña plays a solid outfield, Betts plays an above-average one. And the one thing that Mookie can do, that Acuña can't is play the infield. And overall, the award should be given to the MOST valuable player, right?
What does Dave Roberts think about his superstar outfielder/infielder?
“It’s the versatility piece. I think that to be able to be a Gold-Glove right fielder, to play Gold-Glove second base, to go from the outfield grass to the dirt, really doesn’t happen,” Roberts said. “To be able to do that, to still be able to hit 39 homers, score 100 runs, drive in 100 runs. … If it’s the Most Valuable Player on the team, Mookie Betts’ ability to play on the dirt allows for Jason Heyward to play who had a .900 OPS this year. So we’re just not the same team.”
via The Show: A NY Post baseball podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman
If you compare their stats, the clear MVP winner should be Acuña. I mean, Acuña leads the league in 10 categories, and he had an astounding 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases.
Betts holds a very small lead over Acuña in the WAR category and, as a matter of fact, leads the National League in it. That might be the stat to watch in the MVP race.
WAR, or wins above replacement, measures a team's success when a player is in the lineup, versus when they aren't.
So theoretically, the most valuable player in the National League is Mookie Betts.
Either way, though, both Acuña and Betts deserves the award, and it seems like the Braves superstar takes it home.
