DETROIT – Mike Scioscia’s philosophy about the MVP award doesn’t do much to help Mike Trout’s case.

The Angels manager said Sunday that he believes the MVP should come from a contender, a stance he has stuck to for years.

“I definitely think there needs to be a value on how you’ve affected a team’s performance,” Scioscia said. “Being a contender says a lot to what a player brings to that team. When you are on a contender, your production has more impact on a team’s success. On the other side, you don’t have any success.”

Obviously, many of the baseball writers who vote for the MVP feel the same way, because history has shown that players from second-division teams rarely win the award.

Trout is having his fifth MVP caliber season in five full years. The only year he won the award was 2014, when the Angels made the playoffs. In each other season, he finished second.

This year, the top candidates for the award are Houston’s Jose Altuve, Boston’s Mookie Betts and Toronto’s Josh Donaldson. Their teams are all in contention, which could be reason enough for voters to pick any over Trout.

“What we’re saying is the impact you have on a team puts them in a pennant race, won a division, won a pennant, whatever it is,” Scioscia said. “I think that has value. I’m not saying it’s the only thing.”

When Scioscia was asked if it’s unfair to penalize a player for the performance – or lack therof – of his teammates, he said it’s part of the award process.

“There are a lot of circumstances players can’t control,” he said. “There have been Cy Young winners who have not thrown the ball as well as guys who finished fifth, because maybe they didn’t have the same defense or the same catcher. There are only so many circumstances a player can control.”

Contact the writer: jlfletcher@scng.com