MLB Insider: Explaining my National League MVP ballot

This year, the Baseball Writers Association of America asked me to vote for the National League MVP. My ballot went as follows:

1. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers.
2. Francisco Lindor, New York Mets.
3. Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks.
4. Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves.
5. William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers.
6. Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves.
7. Willy Adames, Milwaukee Brewers.
8. Matt Chapman, San Francisco Giants.
9. Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padres.
10. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies.

Choosing Ohtani to win the Most Valuable Player award was relatively straightforward. Ohtani, 30, hit 54 home runs and stole 59 bases while becoming the first player in baseball history to join the 50050 club while averaging .310 and posting a 1.036 OPS, best in the National League. He earned all 30 first-place votes among the BBWAA. It’s his third time winning the MVP award.

It was yet another historic season for Ohtani, who signed a mammoth 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers the previous offseason. He exceeded expectations, and topped Lindor in fWAR (Ohtani had 9.1; Lindor had 7.8) even while being a full-time designated hitter while he rehabbed from elbow surgery. 

“He committed to us, and he wanted to play for a championship,” Dave Roberts told reporters, including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, at the Dodgers’ World Series parade. “For it to kind of come to fruition in his first year is pretty remarkable. What Shohei has done to our ballclub, the Dodger fan base domestically, globally, I just don’t think you can quantify.”

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How ranking Francisco Lindor, Ketel Marte, Marcell Ozuna shook out

In most years, Lindor would be a worthy MVP candidate. In 152 games this season, the New York Mets’ superstar hit .273/.344/.500 with an .844 OPS, 138 OPS+ while hitting 33 home runs and 91 RBI. Marte emerged as a revelation for the Arizona Diamondbacks, hitting .292/.372/.560 with 36 home runs and 95 RBI, and was a clear-cut top-three MVP candidate.

Ozuna and Sale, meanwhile, were easy candidates for the top-six. Ozuna, who played in all 162 games, hit .302/.378/.546 with 39 home runs and 104 RBI to give him back-to-back seasons with at least 39 home runs. Sale, who admitted the 2024 season was almost his last before being traded to the Atlanta Braves, was the runaway favorite to win National League Cy Young and finished the season with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177.2 innings.

Contreras and Adames emerged as instrumental pieces with the Brewers. Contreras was consistently the Brewers’ best hitter this season while Adames was a force at shortstop, at the plate, and especially in the locker room where his guidance and leadership was felt across the clubhouse, but especially with rookie sensation Jackson Chourio.

Chapman, of course, emerged as a key part of the Giants’ core, enough for the franchise to sign him to a long-term extension during the season. Merrill was more than deserving of the National League Rookie of the Year, where some observers were surprised that Pirates rookie phenom Paul Skenes won over the star outfielder. Harper, meanwhile, was brilliant once again with the Phillies, hitting .285/.373/.525 with 30 home runs and 87 RBI, and could have easily placed higher on my ballot, as well as others.