Jose Ramirez should be the leading candidate for the American League Most Valuable Player.
The debate nationally has been largely surrounding two players on two teams with vastly different circumstances: Ramirez and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge.
Judge, the power-hitting centerfielder patrolling Yankee Stadium, leads the MLB in home runs with 24 in 57 game. He also boasts a .318 batting average for the Bronx Bombers, who currently hold the best record in the MLB.
In 2022, Ramirez has been the captain and leader for the Guardians, who are going through a youth movement with only five players on the roster above the age of 27. Ramirez has done this with a .292 batting average, 16 home runs and major league leading 59 runs batted in.
Despite signing the record seven year, $141 million extension to remain in Cleveland prior to the season, the switch-hitting slugger still struggles to make headlines due to his focus on his game and helping his teammates, rather than looking for headlines.
“He means everything to us,” Guardians center fielder Myles Straw said following the 6-3 win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday afternoon. “He’s our guy here. He’s our captain, our leader, does it on both sides of the ball, plays good defense, and [runs well] on the bases. He’s just a perfect example of how to play the game the right way.”
“He takes advantage of every opportunity,” Straw continued. “He gets it done every time. … He’s a big reason why we are where we are today. Hopefully, [he] gets himself an MVP and keeps playing good baseball.”
Defenses have been trying to mitigate as much of Ramirez’ damage by shifting the defense or intentionally walking him. He is tied for the most in baseball in intentional walks (5) with Judge.
Defenses shift heavily with Ramirez at the plate, even shifting to have four outfielders at one point this season. That has led to his batting average on balls in play (.254) being nearly 40 points lower than his average and slightly above the league average (.240).
Ramirez has finished in the top six of MVP voting all but one season over the last five years. Judge has only finished in the top five twice in that same span, not even cracking the top ten in three of those seasons.
Has Judge been impressive? Absolutely.
However, given the situations of both, Ramirez should be the favorite for the award midway through June.