2045 was quite a year for the world champion Oakland Athletics. And for two Oakland A’s in particular, there could be some additional accolades in store when the Regular Season Awards are handed out in a few short days.
As pictured below at the 2045 All-Star Game, 1B Antonio Hernandez and 2B Kevin Lewis appear to be the clear front-runners for AL MVP this year:
This makes for a somewhat unusual phenomenon, harking back to previous intra-team MVP battles such as those between Pittsburgh’s Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla in 1991, Cleveland’s Manny Ramirez and Roberto Alomar in 1999, San Francisco’s Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds in 2000, Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki and Bret Boone in 2001, Chicago’s Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo in 2016, and Tampa Bay’s Bob Heath and Kade Chapman in 2033.
Ironically, these 2 dynamic players also slotted #1 and #2 in the Oakland lineup, with Hernandez leading off almost exclusively and Lewis following, forcing pitchers to pick their poison.
Let’s dive into some numbers:
As pictured above, Lewis leads in the all-important WAR category, in fact leading the entire AL, helped by his superb defense at 2B, leading all qualifying 2B in zone rating (ZR). Lewis also led the AL in OBP and was top 5 in BA, OPS, WOBA, WRC, R, and BB.
Hernandez trailed only Lewis in WAR but led the AL in hits, RBI, WOBA, and WRC, and led the entire league in runs scored and WPA. He also finished top 5 in SLG, OPS, 2Bs, and SB.
Based on these impressive resumes, a strong argument can be made for either candidate, but one thing seems fairly certain; that when the Regular Season MVP Award is announced, the winner will be wearing an Oakland A’s uniform.