Poll: Who is the Mariners’ MVP at the All-Star break?
Published 9:31 am Monday, July 16, 2018
Major League Baseball’s All-Star break has arrived, and the Seattle Mariners find themselves in a position few expected before the season began.
Seattle, a team with few expectations at the season’s start, reached the break with a 58-39 record. That equates to a .598 winning percentage, which would be the second-best in franchise history. The Mariners are currently five games behind the Houston Astros for the American League West lead, and three games ahead of the Oakland A’s for the AL’s second wild-card playoff spot.
The Mariners may not have headed into the All-Star break the way they wanted, losing four straight and eight of 11 to see their cushion over Oakland shrink from eight games to three. But Seattle is still in great position to end its 16-year playoff drought, which is the longest active drought among America’s major professional sports leagues.
Which begs the question: Who’s been the Mariners’ most valuable player?
Seattle has a lot of candidates.
On the hitting side, the Mariners have three players who have put up big numbers, plus a player whose contributions extend far beyond the box scores (batting average, runs, home runs, RBI, stolen bases, OPS):
– SS Jean Segura: .323, 66, 7, 47, 14, .812
– OF Mitch Haniger: .272, 48, 18, 67, 5, .847
– DH Nelson Cruz: .267, 39, 22, 55, 1, .902
– OF/2B Dee Gordon: .283, 44, 1, 22, 22, .648
On the pitching side, Seattle has three who are having impressive years (record, ERA, innings pitched, walks, strikeouts, saves, WHIP):
– SP James Paxton: 8-4, 3.70, 119.1, 33, 155, 0, 1.089
– SP Marco Gonzales: 10-5, 3.41, 113.1, 22, 98, 0, 1.165
– RP Edwin Diaz: 0-2, 2.25, 48.0, 13, 79, 36, 0.792
What makes choosing a Mariners MVP at the break so intriguing is that there is no obvious answer. It’s possible to make a reasonable argument for any of the above players.
Segura, Haniger and Cruz are all having big seasons offensively, and all were selected the the AL All-Star team. Those credentials speak for themselves.
Diaz was also selected to the All-Star team, and he leads the majors in saves. Given Seattle’s proficiency in close games this season, having that reliable anchor at the back of the bullpen has been vital to being 19 games above .500 despite a minus-2 run differential.
Paxton has become one of the best power pitchers in the majors, with his 11.690 strikeouts per nine innings ranking fifth among starters, and he’s been the true ace Seattle needed given the continuing decline of Felix Hernandez.
Gonzales has been a big surprise in his first full season with the Mariners, and of all of Seattle’s players he’s probably added the most value to the team compared to what was expected before the season’s start.
And Gordon’s numbers may not be impressive, but his defensive flexibility, speed on the basepaths (he leads the AL in stolen bases) and infectious enthusiasm have been important factors for the Mariners.
Or maybe you want to go off the board completely.
So who do you like? Vote here, and if you choose “other,” let us know who and why in the comments section:
