Throughout the World Series, we’ll be keeping an eye on the race to win the World Series MVP. After each game we’ll rank the top candidates for the award based on their performance and intangible worthiness for the big honor.
With another lopsided victory in Game 2, no true heroes have yet emerged to become obvious MVP frontrunners. That doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of candidates ready to take the lead in the race as the series marches on.
1) Hunter Pence: Pence remains atop the rankings on the strength of his Game 1 performance. Plus, Erin Andrews might give him extra credit for a motivational pre-game speech that he didn’t actually give. Hunter had a relatively quiet Game 2, just like the rest of the Giants, but he did notch another hit to keep his numbers looking shiny.
2) Salvador Perez: Perez cracked the game open for the Royals with his two-run double, a nice encore to his Game 1 solo shot. He’s only got the two hits, but he has really made them count. What might actually help him was his bizarre dust up with Hunter Stickland. It may have all been one big misunderstanding, but the old school set in the media is going to eat up the display of Perez sticking up for his team and not taking any flack from some relief pitcher.
3) Gregor Blanco: Blanco followed up his sneaky good Game 1 with an obviously good Game 2 in which touched up Yordano Ventura for a home run and then tacked on a walk, making him the only Giant to reach base twice in each of the first two games. Blanco isn’t likely to keep up this pace, but stranger things have happened in a seven-game series.
4) Billy Butler: For a minute there, Butler was poised to be the hero of Game 2 and even got a curtain call from the fans, which is sure to raise his Q-score in the eyes of the voters. He twice had RBI singles, one to tie the game in the first and one to break the tie in the sixth. It isn’t his fault that the Giants bullpen busted out the gasoline cans and lit the whole game on fire, making his go-ahead single more of a footnote than a clutch moment.
5) Madison Bumgarner: Bumgarner didn’t do anything to drop in the rankings, but with the Royals evening things up, his odds of winning have dropped. He remains a strong candidate for the MVP, but he’s going to have to bide his time until Game 5 to really make his case.
Honorable Mention: Omar Infante for his two-run homer, Lorenzo Cain for his multi-hit game and continued strong defense, Pablo Sandoval for being a Panda
