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Chicago Cubs News: Who could be the next MVP winner?
By Thomas Erbe
Winning a league MVP is no easy task as the Chicago Cubs only have two MVP winners in the past 30 seasons. There are 40 men on an MLB roster at any given time. At 162 games in a season and factoring in trades, injuries, and call-ups/send-downs, there are a whole lot of players that contribute to any given game on the schedule. To even be considered, you have to be durable, impactful, and flat-out the best of the best.
Major League Baseball wrapped up their week of awards on Thursday night by handing out the league MVP plaques to winners Paul Goldschmidt (NL) and Aaron Judge (AL). Goldschmidt went bonkers this year, batting .314 with a .981 OPS to back it up. Judge surpassed former Yankee Roger Maris and his 61-year-old AL record of 61 home runs in a single season by hitting 62, becoming the new AL home run king. Both were clear-cut favorites to win their leagues respectively, and the voters agreed.
It has been six years since the Cubs last had a league MVP winner. Kris Bryant took home the award in 2016 after a monstrous year at the plate, helping the Cubs win a long-awaited World Series championship, ending a 108-year drought. Before Bryant, the last Cubs MVP was Sammy Sosa in 1998.
Who could be the next MVP on the North Side?
Looking at the roster as currently constructed, there is a lot of youth and inexperience in this ballclub. You would have to believe Ian Happ, coming off arguably his best season as a big leaguer, has the best shot of any Cub at obtaining an MVP award. He is coming off a season where he became an All-Star and Gold Glove recipient. If he is able to replicate/surpass last year's efforts and help catapult the Cubs into contention, he could very well find himself in the conversation.
Next. Winter Wonderland at Wrigley Field. dark
Outside of Happ, you would have to believe another contender would be somone the Cubs land in free agency. With holes to fill throughout the field, names like Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, and the forementioned Judge could find themselves in Cubbie Blue competing for a plaque (and hopefully a championship). Only time will tell.