Rob Parker and Martin Weiss debate whether or not Shohei Ohtani deserves another MVP this season. Rob says that Ohtani is having a down year compared to last season, but is somehow getting most of the MVP votes in straw polls right now. Martin says Ohtani isn't competing against himself for MVP (like his historic 2024 season), and is still the best player in the National League.
Rob Parker:
"I wanna talk about the Shohei Ohtani and the National League MVP Race. There was a recent poll done, when it came to the American League MVP, MLB experts, there were 43 and 35 gave Aaron Judge the first place vote. When it came to the National League, Shohei actually got 39 out of 43 first place votes. And I'm not sure he's having that type of season. And what I mean by that is last year was so incredible. He batted .310, had over 50 home runs, 50 stolen bases, nobody had ever done that, he also knocked in 130 runs. And I just wonder, like, when it comes to Shohei, have we jumped the shark and he's gonna get it every year? Remember, last year he did not pitch, but he had a ridiculous year, and the 50 stolen bases is the one that added a new dimension to what he does. Is it fair to just every year say he's gonna be the MVP because now this year he's pitching, because he pitches and he hits? Should other people be in the mix? Or because he does both, it's automatically his to lose every year, because that's what it feels like. He's batting .284 with 56 RBI's, RBI's are down, batting average is down, I don't know it doesn't feel like the player he was a year ago."
Martin Weiss:
"I mean that's fine. He also is the best player in the National League right now. Like, he leads the NL in homers, slugging, OPS, runs scored, and I think the RBI thing is more of a function of the back of the Dodgers lineup. And in fact, he's hitting lead off. Think about it, he's hit 30 something home runs already. If he was hitting behind Mookie Betts, Will Smith, and Freddie Freeman, he'd have way more RBI's. Instead of hitting behind Tommy Edman. And it's also halfway through the year right now. So he's got 56, he's got 56 and it's low. He's on pace to hit what? 57 home runs, like if he has 57 home runs and hits .270, .275 or .2870, yeah okay. Who else am Ilooking at? Pete Crow Armstrong? Kyle Tucker? But I'm not looking at either one of those guys, first of all they'll split votes from each other, but I'm not looking at what they are doing offensively. He's not competing against himself for MVP. It's not is this Shohei Ohtani's best year, its is Shohei Ohtani the best player in the National League, the most valuable player in the National League."