Pirates’ Andrew McCutcheon Named N.L. MVP

The Pittsburgh Pirates ended two decades of losing records with their first post season appearance since 1992, and centerfielder Andrew McCutcheon was a big reason for the Pirates’ resurgence.  On November 14th, the Baseball Writers Association of America acknowledged this by voting McCutcheon the 2013 National League Most Valuable Player.

McCutcheon, 27, didn’t dominate in any statistical categories, but was very good in a lot of them.  He hit .317 with 24 homers, and 84 RBIs, plus 27 stolen bases.  He’s also a fine defensive player, and is becoming a team leader in the clubhouse.  McCutcheon was an overwhelming choice of the writers,receiving 28 of the 30 first place votes, with the other two going to third place finisher, catcher Yadier Molina of the Cardinals.

The writers were pretty sure about the second place finisher, too. Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt had an outstanding 2013, hitting .302 with 36 homers and 125 RBIs.  Goldschmidt,26,  tied Pittsburgh’s Pedro Alvarez for the league lead in home runs, and led the league in RBIs.  Goldschmidt received 15 second place votes, the most by far of any of the players.  Goldschmidt was third in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and McCutcheon was second.  Milwaukee’s Carlos Gomez was the league leader.

The voters couldn’t go wrong with either McCutcheon or Goldschmidt as their MVP selection.  Congratulations to both on their outstanding seasons.