30 MVPs for 30 MLB teams
The Baseball Writers' Association of America will announce the American and National League MVP winners Thursday night after revealing the six finalists for MLB's top award last week.
Before the winners are crowned, let's take a look at who meant the most to each team this season:
Arizona Diamondbacks, Paul Goldschmidt: If it weren't for Bryce Harper, Paul Goldschmidt might be the most valuable player in baseball. And if it weren't for Goldschmidt, the D-Backs would have finished with roughly seven and a half fewer wins.
Atlanta Braves, Freddie Freeman: It's hard not to reward hard-luck loser Shelby Miller, but Freeman is just too valuable, injured or not. He better be with $120 million left on his contract.
Baltimore Orioles, Manny Machado: Manny was finally Manny this season, and that meant a monster 35-homer, 20-steal campaign for maybe the best defensive third baseman in MLB.
Boston Red Sox, Mookie Betts: Where would the Red Sox have been without Mookie Betts? Still in last place, but decidedly worse and far less entertaining.
Chicago Cubs, Jake Arrieta: The Cubs quickly went from rookie sleeper to All-Star powerhouse this year, and the NL Cy Young winner is the biggest reason why.
Chicago White Sox, Chris Sale: Jose Abreu had 16 home runs in the second half, which is two more than any other White Sox player hit all season. If you think that's valuable, how would you describe Sale, who more than doubled Abreu's WAR total?
Cincinnati Reds, Joey Votto: Votto's 143 walks this season were the most since Barry Bonds in 2004. Appropriate company for one of the greatest hitters of his generation.
Cleveland Indians, Corey Kluber: The Klubot might be the most valuable 9-16 pitcher ever.
Colorado Rockies, Nolan Arenado: That Arenado wasn't a top-three MVP after hitting 42 homers - and playing unconscionable defense - speaks to the level of absurd superstar talent right now in baseball.
Detroit Tigers, J.D. Martinez: Miggy remains invaluable, but this year Martinez was more valuable. You couldn't pay a player a higher compliment.
Houston Astros, Dallas Keuchel: The Astros improved by 16 games this season en route to 86 wins, and no player was more responsible for the turnaround than Keuchel. Houston went 18-0 when the AL Cy Young winner started at home.
Kansas City Royals, Lorenzo Cain: The dynamic center fielder scored more runs, saved more runs, and swiped more bags than any other player on the World Series-winning Royals.
Los Angeles Angels, Mike Trout: He's the best player in baseball, and arguably just had the best season of his career. According to FanGraphs, Trout was worth as many wins as Pujols, Freese, Calhoun, and Aybar combined.
Los Angeles Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw: On what planet is a pitcher with more than 300 strikeouts considered the second-best pitcher on his team? Whichever far off universe Kershaw and Zack Greinke are from.
Miami Marlins, Dee Gordon: Giancarlo Stanton was nearly as valuable to the Marlins as Dee Gordon was in roughly half the number of games, but he contributed nothing while injured the final three months of the year. Gordon, meanwhile, won the NL batting crown and led the majors in hits and steals.
Milwaukee Brewers, Ryan Braun: The former MVP was one of just three players this season (Machado and Goldschmidt) to hit at least 25 homers and steal as many as 20 bases.
Minnesota Twins, Brian Dozier: Dozier's periphery numbers aren't as flattering as his counting stats, but after hitting the most home runs at his position since Robinson Cano in 2012, does it even matter?
New York Mets, Yoenis Cespedes: Jacob deGrom was the club's best pitcher and Curtis Granderson performed like an All-Star the entire season, but something undeniable happened after the 53-50 Mets acquired Cespedes on July 31. He hit 22 homers in 57 games and New York went 37-22 to win the division.
New York Yankees, Alex Rodriguez: You were expecting someone else? A-Rod hit more home runs (33) and played more games (151) than Justin Upton, Ryan Braun, Adam Jones, Adrian Beltre, Lucas Duda, and Miguel Cabrera. Just to name a few.
Oakland Athletics, Sonny Gray: While Billy Beane was busy trading as many All-Stars off his roster as possible, Gray was busy fashioning a career-low 1.08 WHIP and throwing a second consecutive 200-inning season. Which also means he's probably next to go.
Philadelphia Phillies, Maikel Franco: The Phillies received some sneaky upside production from their youngsters, but none provided as much pop this season as the 23-year-old third baseman, who hit 14 homers in 80 games as a rookie.
Pittsburgh Pirates, Andrew McCutchen: The best player on one of the best teams had another All-Star year. The award is his until he loses it.
San Diego Padres, Justin Upton: Even spacious Petco couldn't confine Upton, who smacked 15 of his 26 homers at home.
San Francisco Giants, Buster Posey: The Giants' perennial MVP candidate remained elite in 2015, finishing the season as one of just three players (Votto, Jose Bautista) with a higher walk rate than strikeout rate over at least 600 plate appearances.
Seattle Mariners, Nelson Cruz: Despite being saddled with a reputation as a weak-fielding DH, Cruz's dominant offensive display was enough to produce nearly just as much WAR as Robinson Cano and Felix Hernandez combined.
St. Louis Cardinals, Matt Carpenter: The Cardinals third baseman established himself as a power hitter this season, smashing 28 homers and 44 doubles with a 134 OPS+ for the team with the best record in baseball.
Tampa Bay Rays, Chris Archer: A 12-13 record never looked this good.
Texas Rangers, Shin-Soo Choo: Choo's resurgent season saw him post a higher OBP (.375) than the likes of Donaldson, Cruz, Cain, and Machado.
Toronto Blue Jays, Josh Donaldson: The Blue Jays traded for Donaldson less than a month after the Red Sox stunningly acquired a pair of All-Star third basemen in Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. Donaldson ended up with more total bases than both players combined.
Washington Nationals, Bryce Harper: It was a Bondsian year for the Nationals' phenom, who posted the highest OPS+ by a 22-year-old since Ted Williams in 1941.