A lot of the sports media talking heads are saying Cal should be MVP -- they seem to be trying to create an artificial consensus.
He obviously has a very compelling narrative -- no doubt about it: the multiple home run records and the M's winning the division for the first time in 2-and-a-half decades. But his supposed superior value to Judge hinges on his defense behind the plate, which is obviously impossible to quantify precisely.
His defense at catcher is basically being used as a trump card against Judge -- you can't disprove the claim that Cal's defense makes him more valuable. But at the same time, it's a dishonest approach as well, as those propagating the claim can't prove it either.
The choice between Judge and Cal is also being compared to the choice between Judge and Ohtani in 2022, with Judge supposedly having filled the Cal role that season by having the strong narrative and historic accomplishment, and Ohtani supposedly having filled the Judge role of being statistically more valuable. Basically, the idea is the role is reversed for Judge now and it's time for him to pay the piper. The problem with that claim is Judge was in fact statistically more valuable than Ohtani in 2022 like he is with Cal this season, blowing up that whole argument.
|