“The more I know, the less I understand,

All the things I thought I knew, I’m learning again.”

— “The Heart of the Matter,” Don Henley.

It’s that time of year again. I am going to mull the meaning of “valuable” more than I ever did the meaning of life. I am going to curse my forefathers in the Baseball Writers Association of America for not simply calling the darn honor the Best Player award.

Of course, that would eliminate all the arguments, which generate interest in a sport that has a tough time drawing interest on national themes. So, actually I’m glad it is Most Valuable, even if it assures one side of this argument or the other is about to fire up the old “you’re an idiot” tweets.

Those folks are so sure no matter which side of the debate they fall: the best player is most valuable, period, versus, how can you be valuable if your team never plays important games? I lack that surety. My credo: “Doubt is an uncomfortable condition, but certainty is a ridiculous one.” Voltaire penned that — I believe right after checking out Mike Trout’s Wins Above Replacement.

Here’s an exercise: It is the World Series. A player goes 14-for-14 for his team with eight RBIs. His team is swept in four games. A player on the opposing club goes 4-for-14, but drives in the winning run four times, all in close games. Who is the series MVP?

I understand this is extreme. I know who the best player was. But would we really give a most valuable award to a guy whose team was swept in the World Series because of the overall numbers against someone who delivered instrumental moments for the winner?

Should a short series MVP be judged differently than one from a long season? The idea is to win in either, and is contributing mightily to a loser “more valuable” than contributing perhaps a tad less, but still a ton to a winner?

I think about this a lot with Trout. It is not his fault the Angels have not been good, though re-signing with them long term twice now, kind of puts some onus on him. Historically, I am uncomfortable that he is the best player every year and he does not get hardware to corroborate that. I get that Trout is doing everything in his power to provide value. But should context, atmosphere, whatever you want to term it, matter?

I admit I flip-flop. The more I know, the less I understand. I lack consistency. I truly don’t know the right answer, but if I had to pick the AL MVP this year, I would go with Houston’s Alex Bregman. Because if we were to use WAR as a guidepost, Trout leads in both formulations (Baseball Reference and FanGraphs), but not by much. And I do give Bregman extra points for shifting from third base to shortstop to help the Houston machine not falter while Carlos Correa missed half a season.

The argument would then be that Trout should not appear anywhere on the ballot, if winning matters. I get it. But I do think there is something historically important to honor the season. The consistency of top four finishes — and really top two — will tell a story about Trout’s greatness, but also for those willing to delve about the lack of peace voters had in deciding what to do when the best player so often ended up on an also-ran team. And I do believe Trout was the best player in the majors again this year. I admit it. I am not sure this is the right answer. I promise to keep mulling, seeing if I can learn more rather than understand less.

1. Bregman. 2. Trout. 3. Marcus Semien, A’s. 4. DJ LeMahieu, Yankees. 5. Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox.

AL Anti-MVP



Chris Davis, Orioles

In the first four years of his seven-year, $161 million pact, Davis has hit .198 — over the past two years it has been .172 with strikeouts in 43 percent of his at-bats. He became mainly a bench-warmer as the season progressed, and why exactly would Baltimore keep him on the roster for the final three years and $69 million? This is a sunk cost. Best to move on for everyone.

2. Rougned Odor, Rangers. 3. Justin Upton, Angels. 4. Mike Zunino, Rays. 5. Brandon Drury, Blue Jays.

NL MVP

Cody Bellinger, Dodgers

I have gone back and forth between Bellinger and Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich, while thinking a lot about Anthony Rendon and his consistent value/excellence in helping the Nationals storm from what seemed like a hopeless first 50 games to the playoffs. Yelich, at-bat for at-bat, has been the better hitter, but Bellinger’s stellar defense and versatility gives him the slightest edge here.

2. Yelich. 3. Rendon. 4. Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks. 5. Ronald Acuna, Braves.

NL Anti-MVP

Wil Myers, Padres

He was not the worst player in the NL, but he is a symbol of an organization that could not afford to shoot high and miss like this one. Myers and Eric Hosmer both had negative WAR numbers. Myers has four years at $81 million left and doesn’t even start regularly any longer. Hosmer has five years at $99 million left and has devolved into just a meh player. Manny Machado, with nine years at $270 million left, was good, not great this year and after being one of the biggest stories of last offseason. When was the last time you even thought about Manny Machado? He is in baseball witness protection now. That trio will make $70 million next year for a team that might not even have a $100 million payroll. That is untenable.

2. Ian Desmond, Rockies. 3. Maikel Franco, Phillies. 4. Travis Shaw, Brewers. 5. Gregory Polanco, Pirates.

AL Cy Young

Justin Verlander, Astros

This was so close with teammate Gerrit Cole that what each does in their final starts Saturday and Sunday could impact the result. If Cole wins, Verlander has a chance to be the pitching Trout, since he almost certainly would then finish second for this award a fourth time. Let’s sum up Verlander’s year and the main theme of the 2019 MLB season in one sentence: The righty had allowed just 133 hits in 217 innings, yet 34 homers — so more than one out of every four hits Verlander yielded this season (going into his start Saturday) was a homer.

2. Cole. 3. Shane Bieber, Indians. 4. Charlie Morton, Rays. 5. Mike Minor, Rangers.

AL Anti-Cy Young

Cody Allen/Trevor Cahill/Matt Harvey, Angels

How do you continue to waste the prime of Trout’s career? You sign this trio of free agents for a combined $30 million and they produce a 6.41 ERA in 73 games (23 starts). Allen and Harvey were released during the season. Question: How many more chances does Harvey, 31 next March, get?

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NL Cy Young

Jacob deGrom, Mets

Talk about Trout-ian waste. DeGrom led the majors last year in starts of seven innings or more and two earned runs or fewer with 18. He led this year too, with 17. The 35 total is 11 more than anyone else. Eleven. He has nearly as many no-decisions (14) as wins (15) in that period, and the Mets are just 19-16 in those games. That is a .543 winning percentage. All other teams combined had a .773 winning percentage when a starter hit those standards.

2. Stephen Strasburg, Nationals. 3. Jack Flaherty, Cardinals. 4. Max Scherzer, Nationals. 5. Hyun-jin Ryu, Dodgers.

NL Anti-Cy Young

Craig Kimbrel, Cubs

Remember when the theory was whichever team got him would get a huge playoff advantage? That was true, only completely opposite. Signed in June for three years at $43 million, Kimbrel did a lot of damage in a short time for arguably the majors’ most disappointing team. This really was an ex-star closer buffet with also Edwin Diaz and Jeurys Familia (Mets) and Wade Davis (Rockies). Is there a cautionary tale about big investments in relievers?

2. Diaz. 3. Davis. 4. Kyle Freeland, Rockies. 5. Familia.

AL Rookie of the Year

Yordan Alvarez, Astros

Alvarez debuted June 9. It is blatant that he is the best rookie since then. But here are the top five players in OPS since June 9 (through Friday): 1. Marte, 1.103. 2. Alvarez, 1.092. 3. Nelson Cruz, 1,078. 4. Bregman 1.068. 5. Trout, 1.067. 5. That 1.092 is the best rookie OPS ever (minimum 350 plate appearances), pushing Shoeless Joe Jackson (1.058), Aaron Judge (1.049) and Ted Williams (1.045) down a rung.

2. Bo Bichette, Blue Jays. 3. Luis Arraez, Twins. 4. Eloy Jimenez, White Sox. 5. Brandon Lowe, Rays.

NL Rookie of the Year

Pete Alonso, Mets

This was no easy decision. It was harder to defy homers than hit them this year, and Atlanta’s Mike Soroka allowed the fewest homers per nine innings in the majors while ascending to ace on the NL East champs. But Alonso was more historic — the first 50-homer/30-double rookie. Should it count that he stepped to center stage and won the Home Run Derby? In a close battle it means a little something. But I want to add one item: A few days back I wrote a column on all the Mets wasted in 2019 without making the playoffs and obviously included the best rookie season in their history. But I forgot to mention that the Mets did not manipulate Alonso’s service time by keeping him in the minors for a few weeks to start the season. Thus, his free agency will come after six seasons rather than seven. The same is true for San Diego with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack, both of whom also had terrific rookie campaigns without their team thriving. I wonder if both organizations will ultimately have regrets.

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AL Manager of the Year

Aaron Boone, Yankees

If I am confused by MVP, I remain at least equally baffled by this award. If told I could pick any current manager for my team, I would probably pick Houston’s A.J. Hinch. Yet, is he even on a five-line ballot this year with Bob Melvin in Oakland and Kevin Cash at Tampa Bay doing more low-budget magic, and Minnesota’s Rocco Baldelli steering to a division title in his debut season, and Cleveland’s Terry Francona transitioning to much of a new rotation and through so many key injuries and keeping the Indians relevant? And then there is Boone, who sometimes was playing third and fourth options in the field — with terrific results — and essentially never had his ace (Luis Severino), and saw the team set an MLB record for use. Boone maneuvered an ever-changing lineup expertly and never overexposed his relievers, though his starters forced him to be in the bullpen consistently.

2. Baldelli, Twins. 3. Cash, Rays. 4. Melvin, A’s. 5. Francona, Indians.

NL Manager of the Year

Craig Counsell, Brewers

No Brewers starter qualified for the ERA tite and Yelich was lost for the season on Sept. 10, yet Milwaukee didn’t despair or roll over. Nope, it saved its best for last.

2. Mike Shildt, Cardinals. 3. Brian Snitker, Braves. 4. Dave Roberts, Dodgers. 5. Davey Martinez, Nationals.