Someone explain to me why Bryce Harper is getting so much MVP buzz

[Illustrious Potentate]

Well, obviously Austin Riley would be perfectly fine as the winner and Harper would be a disgrace. I mean, look at that! 0.2 wins! It's crystal clear that he had a better year

I think Bryce would trade seasons with Riley in a heartbeat.

Playing in the NLCS vs going 0-14 with 6 strikeouts with his team’s season on the line

 

[Illustrious Potentate]

Let It Be for $100 alex.

Second worst song of all time

 

[DragonFromTo]

I think Bryce would trade seasons with Riley in a heartbeat.

Playing in the NLCS vs going 0-14 with 6 strikeouts with his team’s season on the line

I bet that Harper would trade seasons with any one of a number of players still playing. The vast majority of them have no business in the MVP discussion, though.

 

[Illustrious Potentate]

I bet that Harper would trade seasons with any one of a number of players still playing. The vast majority of them have no business in the MVP discussion, though.

True. Riley has a good case though. If the MVP is gonna be like the Cy Young and team success means nothing, I don’t see how it isn’t Tatis Jr or Soto

 

[DragonFromTo]

Juan Soto WAR- 7.0
Bryce Harper WAR- 5.9
Austin Riley WAR- 6.1

Well, obviously Austin Riley would be perfectly fine as the winner and Harper would be a disgrace. I mean, look at that! 0.2 wins! It's crystal clear that he had a better year

I would also add here that Fangraphs' version of WAR actually rates Harper higher than both Soto and Riley this season (although he and Soto are tied to one decimal place Harper is listed ahead and I am assuming their ranking is not alphabetical, but it may be )

 

[DragonFromTo]

True. Riley has a good case though. If the MVP is gonna be like the Cy Young and team success means nothing, I don’t see how it isn’t Tatis Jr or Soto

I think that you're expressing way too much certainty here about uncertain things.

 

[Illustrious Potentate]

I would also add here that Fangraphs' version of WAR actually rates Harper higher than both Soto and Riley this season (although he and Soto are tied to one decimal place Harper is listed ahead and I am assuming their ranking is not alphabetical, but it may be )

This is a civilized society and we use bWAR

 

[Illustrious Potentate]

I think that you're expressing way too much certainty here about uncertain things.

Maybe. I’d bet Harper does win it. I just don’t think he should.

 

[DraftNerd]

It’s pretty deep.

But I’d also give it to Riley because he kept the team treading water between Acuna going down and the trade deadline when Guillermo Heredia, Orlando Arica and Abraham Almonte were in the lineup every day and was a rock when Freddie stumbled out of the gate and Marcel Ozuna broke his thumb and beat his wife with his cast

I’m just saying there is more angles on WAR to look at. Sure, they are just other statisticians takes on WAR, but they have merit.

I’m not even trying to make the case for Harper as a homer. I’m just saying he has stats as much in the mix as Riley.

If it came down to the two of them I would be fine with either being picked as the cases can be made relative to not having an NL player that absolutely jumps out this year.

 

[DraftNerd]

I think Bryce would trade seasons with Riley in a heartbeat.

Playing in the NLCS vs going 0-14 with 6 strikeouts with his team’s season on the line

 

[Illustrious Potentate]

I’m just saying there is more angles on WAR to look at. Sure, they are just other statisticians takes on WAR, but they have merit.

I’m not even trying to make the case for Harper as a homer. I’m just saying he has stats as much in the mix as Riley.

If it came down to the two of them I would be fine with either being picked as the cases can be made relative to not having an NL player that absolutely jumps out this year.

Soto jump out IMO, but his team currently plays for the Dodgers

 

[DraftNerd]

Soto jump out IMO, but his team currently plays for the Dodgers

I believe Soto has a case to be made too. So would Acuña barring the injury.

But, like you said, any of these guys would gladly trade their cases to be one of the three NL teams left playing right now.

 

[DragonFromTo]

This is a civilized society and we use bWAR

See this is kinda the whole thing though... you can certainly make an argument that that is the "right" thing to do when evaluating players. But it's just more uncertainty with numbers that aren't that far apart, inserted into a voting system that is somewhat "personal" to begin with.

 

[Illustrious Potentate]

I believe Soto has a case to be made too. So would Acuña barring the injury.

But, like you said, any of these guys would gladly trade their cases to be one of the three NL teams left playing right now.

How did you get the tilde to show up?

 

[DragonFromTo]

It’s pretty deep.

But I’d also give it to Riley because he kept the team treading water between Acuna going down and the trade deadline when Guillermo Heredia, Orlando Arica and Abraham Almonte were in the lineup every day and was a rock when Freddie stumbled out of the gate and Marcel Ozuna broke his thumb and beat his wife with his cast

It sounds like you were able to watch Austin Riley pretty closely and thoroughly all season long. I'm sure that you spent the same time and effort on every other player on the ballot too, though

 

[DragonFromTo]

How did you get the tilde to show up?

I mean, can't you just search "tilde" and paste what you find? These days that seems as fast as the keyboard shortcut anyway

I do that from time to time with acutes

 

[Fish]

The same clowns who vote for the hall of fame vote for the mvp.

so who gives a fuck, it's meaningless.

 

[Illustrious Potentate]

It sounds like you were able to watch Austin Riley pretty closely and thoroughly all season long. I'm sure that you spent the same time and effort on every other player on the ballot too, though

I definitely saw Riley the most, but watched Harper and Soto a significant amount. Didn’t see much of the other candidates(Goldschmidt, Crawford and Tatis). Soto scares me more than Harper.

 

[Illustrious Potentate]

I mean, can't you just search "tilde" and paste what you find? These days that seems as fast as the keyboard shortcut anyway

I do that from time to time with acutes

I don’t know how to c+p from on a smartphone, which is what I post here with 90% of the time

 

[DragonFromTo]

The same clowns who vote for the hall of fame vote for the mvp.

so who gives a fuck, it's meaningless.

This is true too. I get why the players care about it but I don't really understand why we do. The player's contributions to the team and our enjoyment were the same regardless of the vote and we don't personally get a trophy.