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Shane Victorino is the Phillies MVP. Not Howard, not Utley, and not Rollins.
Last night epitomized exactly why Victorino is the MVP of the Phillies. Shane’s two-run blast won the game for the Phillies and was essentially the only life the offense showed all evening. Then, in the 8th inning Victorino made a great catch on a deep fly ball with wind whipping every which way.
It is not difficult to argue that the Flyin Hawaiian is the best offensive and defensive player on the team. First the offense: Victorino ranks 1st on the Phillies in triples (14), slugging (.544), and is tied for 1st in runs (79); he is 2nd in batting average (.308), OBP (.381), OPS (.925), and steals (17). Shane also ranks 3rd in homers (15) and 4th in RBIs (53).
His numbers are better than Ryan Howard's. Period. Howard has Victorino beat in homers and RBIs, but Victorino has Howard beat by 54 points in slugging percentage and 98 points in OPS, the main indicators of a hitter’s overall power. Dare I say Victorino is a better power hitter than Howard?
And last night was a reminder of just how good he is in center. Victorino gets great jumps, covers immense tracks of land, can make the big catch when needed, and makes it all look effortless. It's hard to say that Victorino is better defensively than Rollins, but they are awfully close.
Back to his offense. After a sluggish season last year, Shane's average is 49 points higher, he is already only one home run shy of last year's total, his OBP is 54 points higher, his slugging is 115 points higher, and his OPS is 169 points higher.
I questioned who out of Rollins, Utley, and Howard are the most important, but in my book Shane Victorino is the Phillies MVP. |
