Boston Red Sox: 10 Best moments of 2018 season
By Justin Keene
5. Mookie Betts wins AL MVP
On Thursday, Major League Baseball announced both the National League and American League Most Valuable Players. Mookie Betts was a finalist in the AL, along with Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and Cleveland Indians’ Jose Ramirez.
Mookie Betts received 28 first place votes en route to his first MVP of his young career. 2018 was the best season of the 26 year old’s professional career. Betts had 32 home runs, 80 RBI and 30 stolen bases in only 136 games.
The MVP also carried a career high .346 batting average, with a .438 on base percentage, .640 slugging percentage which combined for a 1.078 OPS. Betts also scored a team high 129 runs. Betts also led the team with 47 doubles batting average, OPS, and stolen bases. Mookie Betts did this all from the lead off spot and was the first player in the American League to ever win the Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and MVP award; all while winning the World Series.
Betts winning the MVP is the icing on the cake to the Red Sox phenomenal 2018 campaign, becoming the first Boston Red Sox player to win the prestigious award since Dustin Pedrioa in 2008 and became the 12 player in team history to take home the MVP. Betts definitely has potential to repeat agin in 2019, we’ll just have to wait and see how that plays out.