The argument was compelling and, at this point, as complete as could be.
Yes, indeed, more than a month remains in the MLB season, so there will be ample opportunity for others to step up and state their cases. But, right now, after what went down in southern California over the weekend, the AL MVP race appears to be over.
Mike Trout fans, sorry to say, your hero-worshipping may go unrewarded in 2015.
In a head-to-head matchup of the leading candidates for the Junior Circuit’s top individual honor, Josh Donaldson’s offensive tour de force was about as destructive and undeniable as Clubber Lang’s crushing victory over Rocky Balboa in their initial fight.
Talk about a knockout. In spearheading a three-game sweep of Trout and his homestanding Los Angeles Angels, Donaldson went 7-for-12 with 9 RBIs and 6 runs scored. Five of his hits went for extra bases, including his 34th homer. The explosive display pushed the Blue Jays back into first place in the AL East.
Trout, meanwhile, went 3-for-10 in the series with 1 run and 1 RBI as the Angels, the preseason pick in the AL West, drifted further back in the standings. They now stand in third place, behind Houston and Texas.
At this point, Donaldson would be a runaway winner if legit ballots were cast. He’s hitting .302 and leads all of MLB in RBIs with 100, his nearest competition there being Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt with 93. His closest in the AL is Baltimore’s Chris Davis with 89. For good measure, Donaldson leads MLB in runs scored, too, with 95.
Granted, if you’re starting a team from scratch, you’d have to pick Trout. He just turned 24 and Donaldson turns 30 in December. He is an electric talent. He also already leads in MVPs won count 1-0.
But that should change this year because Donaldson has been the AL’s best, and most valuable, player in 2015. This past weekend’s performance only further proved that point.
NEWSFLASH: Cris Carter is an idiot. Even more idiotic? The NFL. It took a year for stupid comments made by Mr. “Get Yourself a Fall Guy” at a league-sanctioned symposium for rookies for the league to get wind of this – courtesy of an “outside” source, recently retired San Francisco LB Chris Borland – or, in reality, finally react to it … since, of course, a video of Carter’s speech already rested on the NFL website from the time it took place.
AND ANOTHER THING: CeeCee? Really, after all these years, Carter’s colleagues and fans can’t come up with a better moniker for a Hall of Fame player thank some cheesy, hackneyed hockeyspeak stuff?
AHEAD OF PACK: Anyone interested in good baseball should make time to check out any games involving the first-, second- and third-place teams in the NL Central. Not only does front-running St. Louis set the pace for MLB with a 78-45 mark, but Pittsburgh AND the Chicago Cubs would lead every other division in the sport aside from the AL Central, where Kansas City’s 75-48 record is a half game better than the Pirates’ 74-48. The Cubs, standing two spots behind the Cardinals at 71-51, are better than the Mets (67-56), Dodgers (67-56), Toronto (69-55) and Houston (69-56), who top the NL East, NL West, AL East and AL West, respectively.
- Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com
Yes, indeed, more than a month remains in the MLB season, so there will be ample opportunity for others to step up and state their cases. But, right now, after what went down in southern California over the weekend, the AL MVP race appears to be over.
Mike Trout fans, sorry to say, your hero-worshipping may go unrewarded in 2015.
In a head-to-head matchup of the leading candidates for the Junior Circuit’s top individual honor, Josh Donaldson’s offensive tour de force was about as destructive and undeniable as Clubber Lang’s crushing victory over Rocky Balboa in their initial fight.
Talk about a knockout. In spearheading a three-game sweep of Trout and his homestanding Los Angeles Angels, Donaldson went 7-for-12 with 9 RBIs and 6 runs scored. Five of his hits went for extra bases, including his 34th homer. The explosive display pushed the Blue Jays back into first place in the AL East.
Trout, meanwhile, went 3-for-10 in the series with 1 run and 1 RBI as the Angels, the preseason pick in the AL West, drifted further back in the standings. They now stand in third place, behind Houston and Texas.
At this point, Donaldson would be a runaway winner if legit ballots were cast. He’s hitting .302 and leads all of MLB in RBIs with 100, his nearest competition there being Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt with 93. His closest in the AL is Baltimore’s Chris Davis with 89. For good measure, Donaldson leads MLB in runs scored, too, with 95.
Granted, if you’re starting a team from scratch, you’d have to pick Trout. He just turned 24 and Donaldson turns 30 in December. He is an electric talent. He also already leads in MVPs won count 1-0.
But that should change this year because Donaldson has been the AL’s best, and most valuable, player in 2015. This past weekend’s performance only further proved that point.
NEWSFLASH: Cris Carter is an idiot. Even more idiotic? The NFL. It took a year for stupid comments made by Mr. “Get Yourself a Fall Guy” at a league-sanctioned symposium for rookies for the league to get wind of this – courtesy of an “outside” source, recently retired San Francisco LB Chris Borland – or, in reality, finally react to it … since, of course, a video of Carter’s speech already rested on the NFL website from the time it took place.
AND ANOTHER THING: CeeCee? Really, after all these years, Carter’s colleagues and fans can’t come up with a better moniker for a Hall of Fame player thank some cheesy, hackneyed hockeyspeak stuff?
AHEAD OF PACK: Anyone interested in good baseball should make time to check out any games involving the first-, second- and third-place teams in the NL Central. Not only does front-running St. Louis set the pace for MLB with a 78-45 mark, but Pittsburgh AND the Chicago Cubs would lead every other division in the sport aside from the AL Central, where Kansas City’s 75-48 record is a half game better than the Pirates’ 74-48. The Cubs, standing two spots behind the Cardinals at 71-51, are better than the Mets (67-56), Dodgers (67-56), Toronto (69-55) and Houston (69-56), who top the NL East, NL West, AL East and AL West, respectively.
- Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com
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