Why Texas Rangers' Corey Seager should be in the running for American League MVP

Corey Seager is in the midst of his second season in a Texas Rangers' uniform and is the talk of the town right now. Seager is having an unreal year at the plate for the Texas Rangers. He is making that 10-year deal that he signed back in 2021 look like a discount this season. Despite missing a month of the season due to a strained hamstring he is still a leading contender for the American League MVP award.

Right now Los Angeles Angels Pitcher/Designated Hitter Shohei Ohtani is the leading contender for the award due to how incredible he has been playing down the stretch. Let's take a look at why Seager should get his respect and be one of the top three finalists for the American League MVP this season or even win the award.

Corey Seager MVP Discussion: Tale of the tape between Seager and Ohtani

Seager has 23 home runs, 74 RBIs, and has scored 63 runs this season. He is also currently batting .346 and has an OPS of 1.071. If you want to go back in Texas Rangers history, that is basically identical to what former Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton did in his 2010 AL MVP season. Just a reminder Josh Hamilton missed most of September in 2010.

Another thing that Seager is currently leading in is wRC+. Alex Rodriguez had a 156 wRC+ between 2001-2003. Seager has topped that and has a 187 wRC+ in 2023. He's basically shattering records held by former Ranger players this season.

Let's take a look at what AL MVP frontrunner Shohei Ohtani is doing this season. He is currently 10-5 as a starting pitcher with a 3.17 ERA and 165 strikeouts for the fourth-place Los Angeles Angels. Taking a look at his batting stats shows why he is currently the frontrunner by a mile.

Ohtani has 140 hits, 43 home runs, 89 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases. I don't think we have ever had a player that can pitch, bat, and put up the unreal stats that he has. We will probably never see another player like him in the major leagues in our lifetime.

Corey Seager MVP Discussion: Wrap up and conclusion

With all respect to Corey Seager and what he's done this season, I don't think he will make up enough ground in order to beat out Ohtani for American League MVP. The fact that the Angels are once again not going to make the playoffs is not enough to take the MVP award away from Ohtani. Seager's hope is that voters prioritize the Rangers' winning over Ohtani's stat line.

Ohtani is literally pitching and batting out of his mind this season. If you saw Corey's Corner chanting at Ohtani to come to Texas last week, it's no wonder why every team in this league is going to make a bid for him this winter.

Even if Seager does not win the MVP award, Ranger fans should be happy with his performance this season. He is putting together one of the greatest individual seasons in Rangers' history. They should be happy with the fact Texas Rangers General Manager Chris Young was able to sign him back in 2021. Ohtani might win the American League MVP, but that does not take away from how valuable Corey Seager has been to the Texas Rangers this season.

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