With almost identical stats and the battle for the home run lead starting from the first game of the season, Christian Yelich and Cody Bellinger may have the most exciting MVP race going on in recent memory.
Beli’s Dodgers are a sure lock for the NL West title, with the star-filled team so far ahead in the standings that they are already looking ahead to the playoffs 2 months before season’s end. Yeli’s Brewers are head to head with the Cardinals and Cubs in the Central, trying to fight their way to a second straight playoff berth for the first time since 1981-82.
Yelich, 39 home runs, 23 doubles, and 63 singles, bats to the tune of a .335 batting average. Bellinger’s 38 homers, 24 doubles, and 67 singles add up to a slightly lower batting average of .317. These 2 outfielders are comparable in so many ways. Both are young and left-handed and with the way they take the field with excitement every day, any team would be happy to have them as the centerpiece of their lineup.
Yelich is set to return to Milwaukee’s lineup Tuesday, after a small stint on the Injured List. He is trying to pick up where he left off in his last start where he went 4-for-5 with a pair of homers. In LA, Bellinger will keep doing what he has been doing the whole season, with the added bonus of playing on a team already bound for the playoffs.
As long as these 2 players keep hitting the ball like they have been all season, the NL MVP race may be just as exciting to watch as the playoff race in the West and Central.
