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Now it seems like it was decided in May that New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge would be the American League Most Valuable Player. Now even though Judge has had some struggles recently he did hit his 49th home run last night and no other player in the American League has really stepped up to challenge him for the MVP. Judge not only leads all of Major League Baseball in home runs, but he also is the leader in RBI’s with 119 and is hitting a very, very respectable .297 this season.

To be honest I think we all know that even if Judge went hitless the remainder of this regular season, he’d still win the MVP award. Since he plays for the Yankees, and he has the New York media behind him it’s a sure bet that he would take home the MVP award no matter what.

Now if you’ve read the blog for a while, you know that when they make this kind of decision with a large amount of the season left it drives me crazy, but I have to say that this one hasn’t bothered me as much as it normally does. With Judge having the season he’s having he’s managed to stop what seems like every talking head on the MLB Network telling how miraculous everything Shohei Ohtani does is.

Humorously one of the reasons Ohtani won the MVP award last season was because everyone kept touting the fact that he not only hit but pitched as well. Now it seems to me that he’s doing the exact same thing this season, hitting and pitching but that doesn’t make him the MVP this season. Why?

This falls into the category of it’s not that Ohtani isn’t a great player, but if any of the people who talk about him every played organized baseball, they would have known that in most cases the best player on the team pitches, plays shortstop and usually hits 3rd.

Don’t forget that just a few years ago the Cincinnati Reds had to decide if Hunter Greene would be a starting pitcher or a shortstop. Is it possible that Greene could’ve done both like Ohtani if allowed? You also have to wonder if a pitcher like Madison Bumgarner or Zack Greinke would’ve been able to do anything close to what Ohtani has done if the rules were different when they came up. Remember the Designated Hitter rule was changed this season and they only reason MLB made the move was so Ohtani could stay in games when he pitched.

So, with the American League MVP wrapped up there’s been more of a focus on who might win the National League MVP and until a few weeks ago there really wasn’t a true frontrunner. Now it seems as though St. Louis Cardinals 1st baseman Paul Goldschmidt has separated himself from the pack.

Goldschmidt is actually in the running to win the triple crown in the National League. Goldschmidt currently leads the national League in batting average at .338 and is the National League leader in RBI’s with 108. Goldschmidt has 33 home runs which puts him just two home runs behind the Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber for the National League lead. If Goldschmidt does win the triple crown, it will be the first time it’s been done in the National League since Joe “Ducky” Medwick did it in 1937. Medwick also was a member of the Cardinals when he won the triple crown.

Interestingly Goldschmidt’s biggest challenger for MVP might be his teammate, Nolan Arenado. There were some concerns that Arenado wouldn’t be able to put up the same offensive numbers he did when he was with the Colorado Rockies, but Arenado is hitting .300 with 26 home runs and 82 RBI’s. Adding to Arenado’s resume is the fact that he’s the best defensive player in Major League Baseball.

It’s doubtful that Arenado would garner enough support to take the MVP award from Goldschmidt, but he should get his share of votes for the award.

There should be a couple of Los Angeles Dodgers who pick up some MVP votes as well, but again it’s very doubtful that either Freddie Freeman or Trea Turner would pick up enough votes to win the award instead of Goldschmidt.

So, it’s your turn to chime in. Do you think Goldschmidt will win the National League MVP? I’d also like to know if you think Goldschmidt will win the triple crown.

Don’t forget to look me up on Twitter. You can find me @Burketime.