After the first half of the season, we had two pitchers leading in the MVP race. Did they stay that way? Or did the top two hitters explode offensively to battle for the title?
Before we find out who won the MVP award, we will look at our leaders in all statistical categories.
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Just like last time, we will start with our offensive leaders.
Again, only two batters league-wide finished batting .300 or better, Jose Abreu and Carlos Correa. After batting in a league-leading 60 RBIs in the first half, Abreu added only 43 more to fall to third most after Jose Ramirez (122) and Nelson Cruz (106). Ramirez took over as the home run leader with 41, with Abreu and Cruz tied at 35 each.
Kevin Kiermaier lost his top spot for on base percentage, and we see that Abreu and Ramirez would take the top two spots in OBP, SLG, and OPS. Abreu also led in total hits, tying Correa at 187; 75 of those hits were extra bases.
Thankfully, Abreu didn't have to do it alone, as he had some help on Humble Bregman, allowing Abreu to score a league-best 106 runs. Bo Bichette (102) and Xander Bogaerts (100) followed Abreu in total runs scored. Byron Buxton was best on the base paths, stealing 48 bases.
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Whereas hitting showed consistency, there were a few shakeups on the mound.
Domingo German shot to the top in wins, finishing with 17. A five-way tie for second at 16 wins had Andrew Heaney, Jake Diekman, Shohei Ohtani, Mike Minor, and Matthew Boyd. Gerrit Cole pulled away ever so slightly to lead in strikeouts with 249. Chris Sale was second (246), followed by Ohtani (234) and James Paxton (231).
Taylor Rogers added another 25 saves to his total, finishing with a league-best 50 saves. Relief pitchers had a strong second half, taking the lead in multiple categories away from starters. Ryan Pressly was the top hurler in ERA (2.56), WHIP (0.98), and opponent batting average (.205). Pressly's teammate Nick Anderson was second in ERA and WHIP, but knew the strike zone like the back of his hand to lead in BB/9 (1.81) and K/BB ratio (4.51).
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Our leading candidate for MVP at the halfway point was Sean Manaea, but where did he end up?
Not on the list.
Instead, the battle between Joses took the spotlight, but it was Jose Ramirez that came out with the MVP award. It was extremely tight, as both players led many categories, but what the video game says is more important put Ramirez on top.
The Cy Young went to Gerrit Cole, who also finished third in MVP voting. Cole dominated batters not only with his 249 strikeouts, but with his 9.35 K/9, 2.14 BB/9, and 4.37 K/BB.
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Do not worry, there will be a bonus post that will cover all stats for all players on all teams, so if you are really interested in how well your squad's Don Kelly(s) did, just wait a little bit longer.
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