The New York Yankees always have a few players that are in the running for MVP accolades at the end of the season. While they haven’t been able to cement one just yet, with the latest being Aaron Judge landing second place due to a cheating Jose Altuve in 2017, one player for them this year could inch a bit closer.
Slugger Luke Voit has been stellar this season through 44 games. The Yankees have played a total of 48 games, meaning Voit has missed only four due to rest. He has been fighting through a foot injury but has remained on the field and producing at an extremely high level.
Voit currently leads the league with 18 home runs, two of which came against the Toronto Blue Jays in a 20-6 whopping on Tuesday night. He is currently hitting .280 with a .634 slugging percentage. His on-base plus slugging is .977, the second-highest since his 2018 campaign.
The Yankees are currently on a six-game winning streak, following a five-game losing streak when Luke Voit commented that other teams simply weren’t scared of the Yankees. That narrative has quickly changed, as he stated after their impressive win on Tuesday, “We are back to being the Bronx Bombers. I don’t think people want to play us in the playoffs.â€
Voit has been the only consistent face for the Bombers this year and has fought through injury when others have been placed on the injured list. A testament to his strength and resiliency, their first baseman is simply an unstoppable force so far. With the Yankees falling to .500 in the one win-loss column last week, they have since rattled off six wins, dominated by strong pitching performances.
With Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton, and Aaron Judge spending ample time rehabilitating and on the injured list the past few weeks, the Yankees have relied on their first baseman to pick up the slack. He has done just that, helping them to a number of victories.
The question is, is Luke Voit really MVP worthy? Based on his resiliency and ability to say on the field and produce, I would say that he’s deserving of votes. The most frequent MVP holder is Mike Trout, and he is having a down year, which gives Voit a rare opportunity to slide in and steal the accolade.