Bellinger vs. Yelich - MVP

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by rats60

You don't know this. The Brewers were behind the Cubs when Yelich got hurt. They got hot and passed the Cubs for the 2nd WC without Yelich even playing.

Bellinger got off to a hot start and the Dodgers built a big lead and cruised to the Division. You don't know that without that start maybe they struggle and choke in September. Also, last I looked defense is half the game. So, you can't discount a player's defense. Bellinger had the highest WAR and led the Dodgers to the best record. That is worthy of MVP. Just because he faded in meaningless games at the end of the season is no reason to take it from him when Yelich wasn't contributing at all down the stretch. If someone beats out Bellinger it should be Rendon, not Yelich.

Oh come on. Seriously? "Defense is half the game?"

If you mean that a team spends nine half innings in the field, and nine hitting, then yes. If you mean to tell me that one player's defensive contribution is equal to his offensive contribution, I have to laugh.

Per BBR, Cody Bellinger's oWAR was 6.6. His dWAR was 1.9, and I refuse to believe that even the best right fielder in the game was worth two whole wins with his glove. In his last 14 seasons, Roberto Clemente topped Bellinger's 1.9 dWAR of 2019 exactly one time-2.5 in 1968. And I'm sorry, Bellinger, as good as he is, isn't Clemente.

By WAR contribution, Bellinger's defense is about 21-22%. That's not even 1/4, let alone half. You're grossly overstating the importance of defense.

And Bellinger "led the Dodgers to _____". Again, seriously?

If we believe BBR, which I think overstates his WAR, the Dodgers' sixth best player would have tied for Milwaukee's best guy not named Christian Yelich. Milwaukee's second highest WAR guy was Brandon Woodruff, who missed a full two months of the season.

Take away Bellinger's 9 wins (per WAR) from a 107 win team, and the Dodgers still have 98 wins. Stick a league average right fielder out there, and the Dodgers still come close to the century mark for wins.

The Brewers? They won 89. Take Yelich's 7.1 off (per BBR), or 7.8 per Fangraphs, and they're a .500 team. .500 teams don't make the playoffs.

The Dodgers had, by WAR:

Bellinger 9.0
Max Muncy 5.7
Hyun-Jin Ryu 5.3
Corey Seager 4.0
Justin Turner 3.7
Clayton Kershaw 3.6
Joc Pederson 3.3

Here's where Woodruff, Milwaukee's second best player comes in. Our best guy after the reigning MVP is Joc Pederson. Do the Brewers even sniff the playoffs? Not a chance in hell.

Bellinger had the best season for Los Angeles. But to suggest that he "lead" them to the playoffs is a joke. He coasted for the second half of the season, hitting .263. League average this year for the NL was .251. If the Dodgers weren't so deep, and in such a God awful division, Bellinger's nosedive in the second half would have cost his team dearly.