Will A Guardian Be The MVP In 2023?
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On Thursday night, Aaron Judge was crowned the 2022 American League MVP which came as a surprise to no one. But a couple of Cleveland Guardians weren't too far behind in the voting.
This begs the question, when will Cleveland have an MVP?
The last time that Cleveland had an MVP on their team was when Al Rosen won it back in 1953. Clearly, it's been a while. However, that streak could finally come to an end in 2023 and we could get to see a member of the Cleveland Guardians raise the trophy.
Jose Ramirez
Jose Ramirez seems to be in contention for the MVP every single season. In 2017 he finished third, in 2018 he also finished third, in 2020 he finished second, in 2021 he was sixth, and now in 2022, he finishes in fourth place in the voting.
It only seems like it's a matter of time before he finishes at the top.
That year could easily be in 2023 for a couple of reasons. The first one is that it's going to be a tall task for Judge to recreate the season he had in 2022. It's not every year that a player strolls out and hits 62 home runs. If he does it again, fine, give him the award again. He'll deserve it. But that's much easier said than done.
The next reason is that the shift will finally be out of baseball. Take a look at Ramirez's spray heatmap from 2022:
No wonder the defense was constantly shifting on him. With the defense not being able to do this in 2023, Ramirez's stats could look even better than they were in 2022.
Andres Gimenez
For baseball fans outside of Cleveland, seeing that Andres Gimenez finished in sixth place in the American League MVP voting may have come as a surprise. However, we Guardians fans know exactly how important he is.
Gimenez had a breakout year and finished with a Gold Glove Award and was a finalist for the Silver Slugger Award too.
His defense is great. He finished in the 98th percentile in outs above average. If he can become a little more consistent on the offensive side then he could be a legit MVP contender in 2023.
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Guardians Make Surprising Trade, Nolan Jones Headed To The Rockies
Guardians And Diamondbacks Swap RHP Prospects In Vargas For Carver Trade
Guardians' Terry Francona Wins American League Manager Of The Year
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