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Luke Voit’s MVP finish is the true indicator of Yankees bias among voters

ByThomas Carannante|
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 25: Luke Voit #59 of the New York Yankees reacts during the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium on September 25, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 25: Luke Voit #59 of the New York Yankees reacts during the fourth inning against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium on September 25, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Yankees slugger Luke Voit was the ninth-best player in the AL? We don’t think so.

Oh, you thought DJ LeMahieu finishing third in the AL MVP voting was a sham? Well, did you look further down the ballot to see another New York Yankee buried beneath other undeserving players? That man was Luke Voit.

Voit finished NINTH in the voting despite, without a doubt, being more integral to his team’s success than arguably three players who were ahead of him. The first baseman finished the 2020 season with these impressive stats:

  • 22 home runs (led MLB)
  • wRC+ 152 (7th in AL)
  • wOBA .393 (7th in AL)
  • ISO .333 (led AL)
  • WAR 1.8 (12th in AL)
  • OPS .948 (6th in AL)

So does anyone care to explain this?

The Angels could’ve went 0-60 and the voters would’ve somehow plopped Trout into the top five because he literally needs to be there or else it’s apparently not an MVP race. Everyone watched baseball this year. Trout had little-to-no impact on the outcome of his team’s season, but his advanced metrics (even if they’re largely pedestrian for his standards) will always make him a darling.

Shane Bieber and Nelson Cruz had incredible campaigns, so there’s really not much to argue there. But Tim Anderson and Brandon Lowe finishing ahead of Voit? Give us a damn break.

We’re not even going to waste time talking about Lowe. He’s nowhere to be found in the advanced metrics argument, he batted .269, and beat out Voit in ZERO major offensive categories. Seven people thinking he was the fifth-best player in the AL is laughable beyond description.

There’s more of a discussion to be had around Anderson. Let’s take a look at the White Sox star’s stats:

  • 10 home runs (21st in AL)
  • wRC+ 143 (11th in AL)
  • wOBA .376 (11th in AL)
  • ISO .207 (23rd in AL)
  • WAR 2.2 (7th in AL)
  • OPS .886 (12th in AL)

Anderson’s crowning achievement was his .322 batting average, which placed him second in the AL. Remember he was competing with LeMahieu for the batting title and pretty much choked into oblivion at the end of the year to drop that far down? He was batting .360 with seven games to go.

He also only played in 49 games! LeMahieu’s participation in 50 games was seemingly the biggest factor holding him back from taking home the AL MVP because he led the way in all of the major advanced stats. Once again, the inconsistency in the voting process continues to befuddle everyone.

Should Luke Voit have been a top-three MVP candidate? No! But should he have been buried this far down with guys like Anderson, Lowe and Trout that far ahead of him? Absolutely not. Anderson’s defense (3 DRS and a 0.6 dWAR) does not propel him significantly in front of Voit.

The Yankees bias among the baseball writers is as clear as day, and it’s pretty sad.

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