As the 2024 MLB season is coming to a close, the two main candidates for the Most Valuable Player of the National League are the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and the New York Mets’ Francisco Lindor. It should be Lindor.
Lindor plays shortstop. The shortstop is one of the most important defensive positions in baseball, having to catch ground balls and make plays to get runners out which requires a lot of athleticism. He is widely considered one of the best shortstops in baseball and helps save the Mets runs every time he plays.
Meanwhile, Ohtani is a designated hitter. This means he only bats during games and does not play defense. While he is very good at this, he does not prevent the other team from scoring runs like Lindor does.
WJPS teacher Mr. Van Deurs said, “If the Dodgers did not have Ohtani, they would still be good. If the Mets didn’t have Lindor, they wouldn’t be good.”
WJPS 12th grader Jane Castrejon disagreed, “I think Ohtani should win because he has better stats.”
Lindor clearly has more value to his team by giving it his all in hitting and fielding, while Ohtani is only doing one of these things.
“Francisco Lindor cropped from Francisco Lindor during a time-out, March 26, 2023” by D. Benjamin Miller is marked with CC0 1.0.
