Apparently 108 wins, a World Series victory and a Gold Glove were not quite enough for Mookie Betts in 2018.
The Boston Red Sox outfielder added an American League Most Valuable Player award to his rapidly expanding list of accomplishments, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced on Thursday night. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich took the honor for the National League.
Betts won MVP with an all-around, wire-to-wire performance that helped the Red Sox win a league-best 108 games before capturing the franchise’s fourth championship in 15 years. Yelich was similarly electric througout the season but was particularly productive as the Brewers made their unlikely late-season push to win the NL Central.
Betts beat out Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout and Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez, while Yelich bested Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez and Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado.
Twenty-eight of the 30 possible first-place votes went to Betts on the AL ballot, while Trout received one and finished well behind Betts for second place. Yelich received 29 first-place votes, with the other going to New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, who won the NL Cy Young Award on Wednesday night.
Betts was named MVP as the centerpiece of the world champions, considered one of the more dynamic teams in baseball history after they tore through the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers in the postseason. Betts led the majors with a .346 batting average — six points ahead of teammate J.D. Martinez, who finished fourth in MVP voting and received a single first-place vote — scored 129 runs, drove in 80, smacked 32 home runs and, as if to shove his versatility in everyone’s face, stole 30 bases. Betts also was dynamic in right field, collecting his second Gold Glove award last week, and led all players with 10.4 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.
But Betts’ MVP win was not the only accomplishment on the AL side. Trout finished in the top two of voting for the sixth time in his seven full major league seasons, an unprecedented streak that has included a rookie of the year award at 20 years old, two MVP awards won in 2014 and 2016 and, on Thursday, his fourth runner-up finish. In the only season he was outside of the top two for MVP, the 27-year-old finished a mere fourth in voting. Trout led the AL with 122 walks and a .460 on-base percentage, hit .312, and finished with 39 home runs, But that amounted to just 79 RBIs, largely due to an inept Angels offense surrounding him. He likely would have needed higher run production (though he did score 101 himself) to edge Betts for the award.
Yelich grabbed the NL’s top individual honor by leading the league with a .326 average, .598 slugging percentage and 1.000 on-base plus slugging percentage. He hit 36 home runs, posted 110 RBIs and 118 runs scored, and finished with an impressive 34 doubles, seven triples and 22 stolen bases. He, like Betts, also was a reliable presence in right field and anchored a surprising Brewers team that won an NL-high 96 regular-season games and finished one victory short of the pennant. Baez had the next-most points in the NL race, hitting .290 with 34 home runs and notching a league-high 111 RBIs.
Arenado was right behind him, deGrom impressively received a first-place vote after finishing with a microscopic 1.70 ERA and the writers ultimately decided that Yelich was the near-unquestioned choice to stand with Betts above all else.