What does MVP stand for? The Most Valuable Player. Not the Most Outstanding Player.
When I think of the term valuable I think of someone who did more with less. Someone who was the primary reason why a team made the postseason that year. That describes Manny Machado, who was named an NL MVP finalist alongside Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado yesterday.
Goldschmidt and Arenado obviously had great seasons but they had each other. How can you be the most valuable player in the league when you had another MVP finalist hitting behind you or in front of you in the lineup?