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.
Four games down and we are no closer to knowing who is going to win this World Series. Frankly, were not that much closer to knowing who is going to win MVP either. A few favorites have certainly emerged, but with at least two games left to play, all it takes is one great act of heroism and the MVP could be stolen away. Let’s check out whose at least in the best position to take home the hardware through the first four games.
1) Hunter Pence: With another three-hit night complemented by three RBIs and his usual array of bizarre facial expressions, Pence continues to tear it up in the Fall Classic. His 1.356 OPS leads all hitters and has him leading a very tightly packed field. Mixing in some nice defensive play like he did in Game 4 should only make his case stronger.
2) Pablo Sandoval: His World Series stat line isn’t nearly as impressive as Pence’s, but he’s the one who has come through more in the bigger moments, including his clutch two-run single to break the tie in the sixth inning of last night’s game. With one World Series MVP already under his belt and his Panda pedigree, Pablo could be the one to capture the hearts and minds of voters should the Giants prevail.
3) Salvador Perez: While it didn’t ultimately amount to much, Perez continues to lead the offensive charge for the Royals. Now that his stat line is boosted a bit, he’s got the numbers and the heroic moments to make him KC’s MVP frontrunner.
4) Alcides Escobar: His case faded a bit with just one hit last night, but his stat line is still pretty strong and the defense has been there the whole time. Still, He’s going to need to do something special in these next two or three games to climb the ladder.
5) Madison Bumgarner: With his Game 5 start just hours away, Bumgarner is one more dominant performance from jumping into the lead. With the way he has pitched this whole postseason, that seems like an inevitability.
