Mookie Betts Looks to Become First Red Sox Player to Win MVP and World Series in the Same Year

In all of the Red Sox storied history, no player has ever won the Most Valuable Player award and the World Series championship in the same season. Of the 10 times the franchise has had a player win the individual accolade, there have been four instances where the team lost in game seven of the World Series that particular year. Ted Williams in 1946, Carl Yastrzemski in 1967, Fred Lynn in 1975, and Roger Clemens in 1986 all fell one win short of achieving this goal. Luckily for Betts, the championship has already been captured, with just the MVP still up for grabs.

Mookie Betts is arguably the best player in the MLB, headlining the recently announced short list for the 2018 AL MVP Award, along with Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez and the Angel’s Mike Trout. Betts helped guide the Boston Red Sox to a franchise record and league leading 108 wins this season, enroute to a World Series Championship. Whereas in most cases, missing over 20 games during the season would be detrimental to a player’s chance at winning the MVP, the missed games actually help to justify the Red Sox’s outfielder’s claim to the award.

Despite missing 26 regular season matches, Betts managed Boston’s second only 30-30 season (homers and steals). He led the AL with 84 extra base hits and in runs scored with 129 (tied with Francisco Lindor), with Lindor playing 22 more games than Betts.

The Wins Above Replacement (WAR) statistic, which determines a player’s value to his team, displayed Betts’s true worth with a 10.9 rating to lead all Major League Baseball. His WAR rating is also tied for the 21st highest in a season in MLB history, being the highest since Barry Bonds (11.8) in 2002. In 136 games, Betts won the batting title, posting a .346 batting average, belted 32 home runs, and batted in 80 RBI’s. He also sported an MLB leading .640 slugging percentage, along with a .438 OBP, and 1.078 OPS, both good for second in baseball.

Betts tied for second in the AL with 47 doubles and was 3rd in the league with 333 total bases. His 180 hits on the season were only 12 behind the MLB’s leader Whit Merrifield who played 22 more games than Betts.

As usual, Betts’ plate discipline contributed to the right fielder having only 91 strikeouts opposed to 81 walks this season.

Beyond his bat, Betts lead the MLB in defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs. Betts was also announced on November 4th as the Gold Glove winner for his play in right field. This is his third year in a row claiming the defensive honor.

Though Mookie Betts wasn't quite in the same dominant form during the postseason, his Gold Glove play in the field, as well as his homer in the World Series clinching game five helped the Boston Red Sox win their fourth championship in 15 seasons.

To see if Betts will make history, tune in to MLB Network on Thursday, November 15th at 6 p.m. ET to see the MVP announcements for both leagues.