For the first time in his career, Ronald Acuña Jr. is an MVP. The Baseball Writers Association of America announced this evening that Acuña was unanimously selected as the National League’s top player. Dodger teammates Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman finished second and third, respectively.
Acuña has been a star for years. The sport’s #1 prospect before he reached the majors in 2018, he won Rookie of the Year and finished 12th in MVP voting during his debut campaign. He got onto MVP ballots in each of the next two seasons and has been named to the All-Star Game in every season since his rookie year (excluding the 2020 campaign in which there was no Midsummer Classic).
In 2023, he firmly cemented himself as one of the top three to five players in the game. Acuña turned in an unbelievable .337/.416/.596 batting line over an NL-high 735 trips to the dish. He led the majors in hits and runs scored from the top of a loaded Atlanta lineup and paced the Senior Circuit in OPS. The Venezuela native tied his career high with 41 home runs and stole a major league leading 73 bases.
That power-speed impact was unparalleled in baseball history. Acuña became the first player ever to go 40-70. One could quibble with his NL-leading 14 times caught stealing or middling defensive grades in right field, but the sheer offensive dominance and unprecedented nature of Acuña’s stat line made him the clear choice in the eyes of voters.
While this was his career season to date, Acuña could be a perennial MVP candidate He won’t turn 26 until December and is squarely in the midst of his prime. Only adding to the appeal for the Braves is that they have their superstar outfielder on perhaps the game’s most team-friendly contract. Acuña is signed for a total of $61MM over the next three years, while the team has options that could (and very likely will) keep him in Atlanta through 2028.
Acuña winning the award was expected. That he received all 30 first-place votes is a bit more surprising. Betts ranked second on every ballot, hammering home how clearly that duo had separated themselves from the pack. The Dodger star hit .307/.408/.579 over 693 plate appearances. He played solid defense in right field and handled the middle infield with aplomb, logging action at second base and shortstop.
Freeman and Matt Olson were third and fourth on every ballot, with Freeman picking up four more third-place nods to secure the #3 spot overall. Corbin Carroll, Juan Soto, Austin Riley, Luis Arraez, Cody Bellinger, William Contreras and Blake Snell all received at least one fifth-place vote. Others receiving votes: Francisco Lindor, Bryce Harper, Fernando Tatis Jr., Ha-Seong Kim, Ozzie Albies, Logan Webb, Pete Alonso, Marcell Ozuna, Devin Williams, Dansby Swanson, Kyle Schwarber, Zac Gallen, Christian Walker, TJ Friedl and Nick Castellanos.
As noted by Sarah Langs of MLB.com (on X), this is the first time in MLB history in which both MVP selections were unanimous. Shohei Ohtani took all 30 first-place nods in the American League. Full voting results are available courtesy of the BBWAA.
Image from USA Today Sports.
I’m so surprised >.>
Atta Boy Arcia
> I’m so surprised >.>
Two fingers or one?
Spaced – Both Acuna and Betts were deserving, so neither should have been a surprise.
Acuna had the slightly higher OPS
Mookie had the slightly higher WAR
Acuna had the more glitzy SB stat
Betts played stellar defense in RF, 2B and SS
Two guys that are a joy to watch play baseball.
Congrats to Ronald!
It was unanimous for Acuna so Betts winning would be a surprise. I wonder if Betts had hit one more homer to reach 40-40 if any of the voters would’ve been swayed.
YBC – I agree the unanimous part was a surprise, apparently the additional value Mookie’s defensive versatility brought to the table wasn’t factored in much if at all by the writers.
I also agree about the one more homer. Writers can be fickle, we all know that.
Not taking anything away from RAJ, I think Betts’ versatility actually did him a disservice. Lots of writers will discount defensive metrics for small positional sample sizes as Betts exhibited but he definitely passed the eye test for many of them.
YBC – That’s an excellent point.
I think Acuna’s paced himself so far ahead in the first half that he would have had to falling off the earth not to win.
well, completely falling off the table the last month of the season didn’t help his cause. got stuck on that 39th HR and just disappeared.
1 more home run and 26 more steals to make 40/40.
@Grumpin You’re right. I typed too fast. Meant 40 homers.
Betts WAR was 0.1 higher, that’s nothing. And Ronald beat Betts in every stat but RBI, which he was only 1 short of tying.
JB
Acuña did not best Betts in every stat
You mentioned WAR
He didn’t best him in doubles
Didn’t beat him in ISO
Didn’t beat him in BB%
Didn’t beat him in DP
Didn’t beat him in CS
…
JB – also of note, the fact WAR weights offensive contributions from the infield heavier than and OFer both shows Mookies moving around the field is sort of accounted for, but, I believe Mookie had a more conducive spot in the batting order to gain those RBIs as well
GASF
“I believe Mookie had a more conducive spot in the batting order to gain those RBIs as well”
Betts had 691 PA’s leading off
And 2 PA hitting 8th
Betts came to bat with 344 runners on base. 20.1% of those runners scored.
Acuña had 735 PA leading off
Acuña came to bat with 333 runners on base. 19.8% of those runners scored
Acuña had more PA’s, thus, more chances to drive in runs
Betts had more runners on, thus, more opportunities to drive in runs
They both drove in runs at the same rate.
This shows why RBI is a dumb stat for measuring batter performance – RBI is highly dependent on having runners on
Try telling that to Alonso fans.
SBs are not just glitzy. Demonstrate effort and positions a player better to score. Which Acuna did an insane 149 times.
An insulting word, glitzy.
Kevin – I didn’t say just glitzy. They have value, but writers have always been infatuated with players who steal bases and also hit homeruns. Even though stolen bases had been frowned upon by the analytics community for a long time. Just another example of the community changing its mind yet again.
@Fever Pitch Guy You couldn’t be more wrong. It’s the RATE of stolen base success that determines their value (something the analytics community is universally aware of) then the comparison of a player’s rate to the break even point regarding whether stealing bases (and the cost of getting caught stealing) is a net plus in the matter of scoring runs. There were any number of years when stealing 70 bases and getting caught 30 times would cost your team runs in the overall, versus just staying put at 1B with 0 SB / 0 CS numbers.
It’s why high stolen base numbers without considering other factors is meaningless.
Change the break even rate and an analyst will correctly change his opinion on whether stealing bases is a good idea in the context of players’ ability to steal successfully.
Jack – By saying rate you sound like you’re saying the best stealers actually are valued, which is simply not true. Great base stealers have openly acknowledged they don’t run more because their team doesn’t want them to, period.
Look at the following quotes:
When Whit Merrifield of the Royals chats with a speedy opponent during a light moment of pregame schmoozing, sometimes Merrifield asks, “You’re too fast. Why don’t you steal more?”
The response he normally gets says a lot about the state of the stolen base in today’s Launch Angle Age. “Usually, I hear, ‘They don’t want me to run when so-and-so is hitting behind me,’” Merrifield says. “That’s the generic response.
“The game is trending toward more home runs and strikeouts and fewer .300 hitters, fewer walks and on-base guys,” says Hall of Famer Chipper Jones. “You deduce what you can from that. If you live with the three-run homer and strike out all the time, the stolen base is going by the wayside.”
And Jack, those so-called analytics experts claiming SB’s have no value do NOT EVER mention the peripheral benefits of stolen bases.
1) When a known base-stealing threat is on the bases, he distracts the pitcher.
2) He forces the pitcher to throw more fastballs to the batter, hoping to give the catcher a better chance of throwing out the potential base-stealer.
3) He forces the middle infielder to vacate his position because he has to run and cover 2B, leaving a gaping hole for a well-placed ground ball.
Those are just some of the benefits. Base stealing is so devalued now that you’ve got the slowest guys in the game, like Schwarber, batting leadoff instead of a guy like Stott or Turner, who BTW combined for 61 steals in 64 attempts.
And please don’t mention Schwarber’s OBP, if you subtract the HR’s from it then his OBP is no better than Stott’s or Turner’s.
Turner had 691 PA’s and he was 30-for-30 on SB’s …. WHY DID HE NOT ATTEMPT MORE STEALS?
I AM SHOCKED!
Two fingers or one?
So shocked I said “no habla” to the post game interview like a true MVP does!
Triple finger because two isn’t enough
Side of fries and three chicken fingers
Country gravy cause I like Daisy?
Not Like Daffy, he likes Taffy, that’s wacky
Everyone knew who the Cy Young and MVP winners were this year by the middle of September. I’m glad that award season is finally over. Let’s get on to some trades and free agent signings!!!
BTW – Orix needs to hurry up and post Yamamoto. The high end pitching market might stall until he is officially available to make offers to. For a lot of teams, he is the #1 SP target available.
There’s a good bit of speculation that Orix is waiting in deference to ‘moto who himself wants to wait on Ohtani to clear the board.
GASox – Mookie was off the charts clutch with 1.144 OPS with RISP.
Acuna was .961 OPS with RISP.
Sigh. If only there was even modest evidence that ‘clutchiness’ existed.
That Betts was luckier with RISP doesn’t seem like a significant point in his favor.
Jack – Sigh, it’s called RISP and Close & Late and Postseason Games.
Several time’s I’ve posted stats that prove certain players are great in clutch situations and others are awful in them, with quite large sample sizes.
So Betts is “lucky” to have a .981 OPS in his 1,215 PA’S which BTW is 92 points higher than with nobody on base.
But Acuna is not “lucky” to have 73 stolen bases because every pitcher kept him in check and every catcher made a perfect throw.
Well alrighty then, glad stats matter to you ONLY when they support your stance …. and when they don’t, it’s all about *LUCK*.
Betts was more valuable.
Obviously he wasn’t.
Lifer – Awards aren’t definitive.
Nothing that involves voting is definitive.
Baseball writers choose the winner. They chose Acuna. He is, say it with me, MVP.
Lifer – Again, there’s a difference between being most valuable and being named Most Valuable Player.
You really trust the baseball writers that much?
History lesson time.
One of the writers who voted for AL MVP this year is Evan Grant.
He is the same Evan Grant who left Pedroia completely off his 2008 MVP ballot and gave hometown player Michael Young a first place vote in 2011.
Yankee beat writer George King left Pedro completely off his 1999 MVP ballot, as did La Velle E. Neal.
Melville Webb, who acknowledged his hatred of Ted Williams, left him completely off his MVP ballot in 1947.
Study the voting for those seasons, then you will understand why writers get it wrong … sometimes intentionally.
He was. To his team.
Just not to the writers.
bunt – Well said!
I don’t think there’s anything obvious about it. It was a tight race that could have gone either way without many complaints. Both Acuña and Betts had outstanding years.
Nobody wanted to be the lone holdout for Mookie. Enough people thinking that will get you a unanimous vote.
The voters got it right.
Acuña was second in the NL with a .336 batting average and led the major leagues with 149 runs, 217 hits, 386 total bases and 73 stolen bases while hitting 41 home runs with 106 RBIs. A four-time All-Star who turns 26 next month, Acuña helped Atlanta to a major league-best 104 wins before the Braves lost to Philadelphia in an NL Division Series.
When you lay his #’s out like that yeah…I see it….149 runs scored?!?! Wow.
So he was the best offensive player. What about the other half of the game?
Much less meaningful.
Lou – This was one of those cases where, if it’s close, give it to the guy who has had an incredible career but hasn’t won the award yet.
a) He had only 2 more homeruns than Mookie.
b) RBI opportunities are greatly impacted by the number of RISP.
c) Number of All-Star appearances is irrelevant.
d) Age is irrelevant.
e) The number of his team’s wins is irrelevant.
I’m happy for him, but it wasn’t an open-and-shut case.
None of that is irrelevant. They are all factors.
Mets – RBI opportunities, All Star appearances, age, and team wins are all factors in MVP voting?
Clearly you don’t understand what the MVP award is all about.
MVP award is who the writers want to label as the best player in baseball or some years most valuable to their team. I know exactly what it’s about.Do you?
Nay
Obviously not
Well deserved
He was the unanimous winner, too
Without a doubt. He was so much better than Betts and Freeman. Congrats!
AAB
There’s some doubt
@filihok UNANIMOUS = NO DOUBT
Sdaw
“UNANIMOUS = NO DOUBT”
No
Not so much. But definitely more dynamic
Amazing season for RAJ. Didn’t expect him to bounce back from the injury to this level. Great season from Mookie too.
Genuinely surprising but a welcome and well deserved surprise
Should be co-MVP with Betts. Both provided about the same number of WAA.
Betts is buoyed by L.A. hype. Acuna deserves the award.
So, Betts, who had 0.1 WAA than Acuna and he was buoyed by L.A.? They both should have won. They were significantly better in terms of providing wins than the average player.
One stat.. Acuña beat him in all the others.. no contest
@fathead0507
Acuña’s BsR was 7.6 but DRS is negative 2.
Betts’ BsR was 3.5 and DRS is plus 6.
That means while he produced runs for the team, his defense cost the team runs against, while Betts, not producing as many base running runs, he saved the team runs.
First of many I presume.
I can’t believe how many people thought this was a dead-heat between Acuna, Betts, and Freeman. Were any of you people truly in doubt as to who was going to win in either league tonight?!
The only people who thought it was close were those at MLB Network who were trying to make a story out of it and Dodger fans who were (understandably) biased.
I knew this was in the books for Acuna in April. They said it enough times. How could anyone not know?
It was close if you remove 50 of the bases acuna stole. When you add that in it wasn’t even close.
If Ricky Henderson was around these days he would have 6 MVP’s, 6 Batting titles, and 6 of something else.
Acuna was absolutely a worthy choice, but I’m surprised he was unanimous.
Imagine if Acuña was on the same crap Bonds was on!
HMAT
“same crap Bonds was on!”
Not a nice thing to say about the Pirates and Giants
This hits on many levels.
To be honest, I wasn’t surprised that he won, but I was very surprised that he was unanimous. I’ve been hearing lots of chatter about Betts possibly winning it. Yet he didn’t even get one first place vote.
Wow he is better than people with $300,000,000+ contracts. What a deal on him at only 100 mil hahaha
True that fellas! Let’s burn one for Ronnie boy.
Neither MVPs speak English. Although they say Ohtani can speak it but he just doesn’t feel confident and doesn’t want to make a mistake.
Same with Acuna. Both players understand it and can speak it enough to get by, but they do not feel confident enough to do interviews.
Shohei knows English for sure. I heard him doing a McConaughey impression “Alright alriight alllriight” in the Halo dugout once. He nailed it.
Same with Ichiro. Japan has a population of 125MM+ so they want to be inclusive of them.
youtu.be/Kl2wqJwxczg?si=4CAuuQqgZOCRY5iU
Demamd a raise Acuna. They paying you on the cheap boy!
You realize he had to sign the documents that stated how much he will make, right?
He didn’t know he would be a mucho superstar then though. Demand equity Ronald!!
Yeah and the Braves didn’t know he wouldn’t be a complete bust either. It was a calculated risk for both sides. But don’t worry, I don’t think Acuna is going to be needing food stamps any time soon.
Agreed. He can probably afford bacon AND avo on his burgers no doubt. Same thing happened with Yelich and Altuve on their 1st contracts.
735 plate appearances is pretty impressive for someone whose critics keep calling “injury prone”
Had a monster season, well deserved
Well deserved in a contest closer than the vote showed.
Too bad the Braves didn’t need him to win the World Series. Usually the case with ALL MVPs. When is the last time a World Series Champion, had the MVP on their active roster?
Mookie in 2018
Mookie in 18, Altuve in 17, Bryant in 16, Posey in 12.
The fact Acuña got 40/40 was already MVP caliber season, he coupled that with a terrific slash line, he truly showed off his power, speed and ability to hit for average, well deserved.
Does he still win if Shohei was in the NL?
@Wrian Washman
Given that MLB has turned the leagues into essentially one, there should only be one MVP or shared if they are close in performance.
Yes but only because of the injury. Don’t forget Shohei is one roster spot but two lineup spots. His total WAR needs to be considered in that context. He’s not an old school NL pitcher who hits like Bonds rather than Lester; he’s two great players who saves you a roster spot.
Josh Naylor in the AL and TJ Friedl in the NL. It boggles the mind how at least one voter saw those two guys as top 10 players in the league.
Interesting. Good chance there’s a voter that lives in Ohio.
Nothing to quibble about on the 14 times caught stealing. 73 divided by 87 is an 84 percent success rate. Most articles say you get positive base running from a success rate around 70 to 75 percent. Most of the caught stealing i saw were either pickoffs or a blocked bag. Once acuna mixed in a feet first slide here and there his stolen base success increased. He went back to exclusively sliding head first later on though but i remember the marlins tried to block him off and got spiked near the break iirc.
Deserving
No surprise on the result, pretty surprised it was unanimous. But hey, congrats to him. He certainly earned it.
Who the hell voted for Nick Castellanos???
The #03 and #04 vote getters are what is incredible; can’t think of another time when a team letting a super star walk and trading did another star has worked out as good for both sides as this has for the Braves and the dodgers. Both teams happy and both players performing at mvp type levels
Shoutout to William Contreras. Underrated amongst the best Cs in the league.
I’m really happy to see Acuna Jr. win his (much deserved) first MVP.
Wonder where the Acuna is a pseudo star dude is at now. Always called him over rated and not a star along with calling fried a middle rotation starter.
The break even rate for steal success is 67%. Acuna was successful abt 82% of the time.
How that Braves team didn’t go farther is surprising
I just love it so much when spoiled fans of both the Dodgers and Braves complain at each other about why their guy is better. (Cries while looking in from the outside).
Interesting that both ATL writers placed Olson, not Freeman, in the 3rd slot. Lol human nature
Acuna obviously deserved it. To me, based on watching my team face him, I can say this extra bit. He was awesome this year, and is an amazing, generational talent, but I feel the biggest factor to this season was the start of some mental growth. He was more focused on performing instead of all the whiny, cry-baby stuff he would have at moments. He did himself a service in just focusing on his game. He still has a lot of maturing to go through, but this year he got to see how good he can be when he just focuses on playing the game instead of whining every single time a team takes a measure to beat him…like pitching inside or pitching to his cold zone or anything else to take him out of his game. It sucks for my team that he’ll start playing at his capabilities, but as a fan of the game and a guy that knows how hard this game is as you move up to different levels, I respect the talent and appreciate watching when a player is gifted and uses his gifts.
Feh. Acuna pips Betts thanks to the larger bases. Congratulations, Subpar Rightfielder.