On Thursday, April 1, the 2021 Major League Baseball campaign got underway. There are 162 games left in the regular season. A full schedule will help players produce more. Stat lines won’t be affected as much by overextended hot or cold periods at the plate. We will now examine the MLB betting odds for winning the American League MVP award and the National League MVP award.
Chicago White Sox 1B Jose Abreu was named AL MVP for the 2020 MLB season. Atlanta Braves 1B Freddie Freeman took home the NL award. Both men were unlikely to win the award. Abreu was +6000 at William Hill, while Freeman was +2500 on BetMGM before the start of the shorter campaign.
Below is a page that examines the 2021 MLB MVP odds. It also highlights some of the long shots and favorites from both leagues. We will also examine where and how to place bets on the MVP awards.
The Favorites
Angels Shohei Ohtani (-290),: Ohtani ended the first half in tears, scoring.327/.411/.980 and hitting nine home runs in the 13 games prior to the All-Star break. His 33 home runs are the most in baseball. His 70 RBI rank third. It’s no surprise that Ohtani is now in the first position on the leaderboard with a 4-1 record and a 3.49 ERA.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays (+250). Guerrero didn’t do anything that would have cost him his position as the top player in this market. Ohtani, on the other hand, just kept improving his game. Vlad is still right there, however. Over an 11-game stretch, he slashed his.341/.417/.659 and drove in 11 runs to increase his MLB-leading total of 73. He boasts the AL’s best overall combination of numbers, with a.332 batting average, 1.088 OPS, and 28 homers.
Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox): Bogaerts redefines the meaning of “distant third,” even though he has a.321/.385/.545 slashline with zero holes. Even though he has hit 15 home runs, the Red Sox shortstop can’t keep up to Ohtani or Guerrero in power. Bogaerts’ current numbers would make him the top 2 player in another year, but his exploits are far more impressive than those of others.
Some of the best long shots
Marcus Semien, Blue Jays (+6000). Semien is on the rise, having already hit 22 homers. This puts him within striking distance of his career-high 33 in 2019. He was a veteran shortstop who earned All-Star honors. However, he would likely need to improve his current.277/.345/.528 line in order to continue climbing the ranks.
Matt Olson, Athletics (+8000). Olson, another rising star in the MVP race, entered the All-Star break boasting a 10-game streak of on-base. His slugging performance as a first baseman earned him his first career ASG award. He also has impressive numbers of.282/.371/.567, 23 home runs, and 59 RBI. Olson will continue to receive good pitches in an Oakland lineup. He has the potential to thrive despite the pitcher-friendly park. This could make him an underdog to watch in the second half.
Mike Trout, Angels (+6000). The odds of Trout being able to play have slipped slightly as he tries to recuperate from a calf injury. He will be considered an achievement if he makes it to an MLB field in July.
How the MVP award is decided
Each year, the Baseball Writers Association of America votes for the MVP of each league. This group includes baseball writers from daily newspapers, magazines, and qualifying websites. The chairman of each chapter proposes two writers for each MLB city. They must then be approved by national secretary-treasurer.
Writers can only vote for the league where their team is playing. MVP ballots must contain 10 spots and be submitted before the start of the playoffs. The point system is based on the number of spots players appear on a ballot. Votes are counted using a point system. First-place votes are worth 14 points. Second through 10th spots on a ballot are worth 9 through 1 points according to the corresponding descending order.
Each writer may be influenced by several factors. The award goes to the player who has the most statistical achievements. Others vote on the true meaning “most valuable”, which is the player who did the most to improve the team’s performance.
Unfortunately, the current voting system doesn’t allow for local biases to be eliminated completely. Sometimes, writers might give extra credit to less-deserving players from the team they cover every day.
Last Updated on November 18, 2021
