Cody Bellinger 1st Dodger to win NL MVP since Clayton Kershaw in 2014
Bellinger, a .305/.406/.629 hitter with 47 home runs and 15 stolen bases, is the first Los Angeles Dodgers player to win the MVP since Clayton Kershaw in 2014, and the first Dodgers position player to do so since Kirk Gibson in 1988.
Bellinger and Yelich finished tied in FanGraphs wins above replacement with 7.8 apiece. Yelich posted slightly better offensive numbers, batting .329/.429/.671 with 44 home runs and 30 stolen bases, but Bellinger was the better defensive player, winning a Gold Glove in right field while also displaying Gold Glove-caliber defense at first base and center field.
Angels' Mike Trout edges Astros' Alex Bregman for AL MVP
Trout, 28, trails only Barry Bonds for most career MVPs. Bonds finished with seven, accruing four of them after the age of 35. Ten others -- Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Schmidt and now Trout -- have three.
Trout set a career high with 45 home runs, capitalizing on a season when baseballs were presumed to be juiced, before missing the Angels' final 19 games because of a foot injury.
Trout led the majors in on-base percentage (.438), trailed only Christian Yelich in slugging percentage (.645) and paced the sport in weighted runs created plus (180).
Trout's 8.6 FanGraphs wins above replacement was just slightly ahead of Bregman's 8.5, marking the sixth time in eight full seasons that Trout has either led or tied for the lead in FanGraphs WAR. It was enough to make up for the fact that Trout's Angels lost 90 games, missed the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 seasons and ultimately fired their manager, replacing Brad Ausmus with Joe Maddon.
Trout has already compiled 73.4 career FanGraphs WAR, placing him 47th on the all-time leaderboard. By the end of next season, he can reasonably move into the top 35 -- with 10 years still remaining on the 12-year, $426.5 million extension he signed in March.
Bregman, 25, finished the 2019 season with a .296/.423/.592 slash line that compared favorably to Trout's. Bregman added 41 home runs, led the majors with 119 walks, filled in at shortstop when Carlos Correa missed time and played his best down the stretch for the eventual AL champions, batting .372 with a 1.236 OPS and 37 extra-base hits after Aug. 1.
Semien tallied a career-high 7.6 FanGraphs WAR, fifth-most in the majors, and was one of only five players to play in all 162 games this season. In addition to playing outstanding defense at shortstop, Semien batted .285/.369/.522 with 33 home runs and 343 total bases.