2022 Diamondbacks Most Valuable Player: The Ballot

It’s nice to actually have enough good players to have a meaningful MVP debate - a sharp improvement on 2021, when we even had a “No award” option! I’m very interested to see which way this is going to go. Based on the recs in the nomination thread I think it will probably be a two-way battle, but we’ll see what happens when the votes are tallied. In the end, there were six players whose nominations turned Sedona Red in that thread, and it seemed churlish to exclude any of them, so this will be a six-way poll. Here are your nominees for 2022 Most Valuable Player on the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Zac Gallen

Nominated by Jack Sommers. “The pitcher vs. position player is always an interesting debate. Here are a couple of points to consider: Zac Gallen was involved in 714 PA against during the course of the season. That’s more PA than any Dback hitter had. Also they have Gold Glove and Silver Slugger and MVP awards....,in other words there are multiple awards with overlap. So personally I don’t have a problem with giving the MVP to a pitcher if he provided the most value.”

Merrill Kelly

Nominated by Jeremy C. Young. “ A durable workhorse #2 who pitched more innings, and took care of the team deeper into games, than Gallen. I probably wouldn’t vote for him over the others, but he deserves to be on the ballot. He turned in an outstanding and totally unexpected season, providing value every time he was on the field.”

Jake McCarthy

Nominated by Diamondhacks. “He wasn’t our best player in a statistical or holistic sense and MVP is rightfully proxy for your best player. But he was our best player some nights. And more nights than that, he was The Man. The rook was such a bad hitter he was sent down, and wound up batting third, not because he was necessarily our best hitter, but because he was The Man. He wasn’t our fastest or best baserunner, but almost single-handedly manufactured runs in close games, beating out hits, stealing bases late when everyone knows you’re going, and rattling nerves. On the bases, he was The Man. He wasn’t our best defender, on a team of good ones, but able and aggressive, and made inspiring plays.

The game isn’t played on paper. It’s played by young men, against other men. Talents, egos, fears. An important asset for young men to rally around is that special ‘athlete’ who can break the ice of stalemate, who can do things others cant, especially when the opponent knows he’s going to. People will laugh or roll their eyes at this last part, but it’s even better if he ‘looks good’ doing it. At 6’2’ and 215, McCarthy’s the same size as Kirk Gibson and Babe Ruth. And runs like the wind. Maybe it’s the hair...lol. Maybe it’s the gazillion touchdowns at Scranton High ( I bet you didnt know that.) But young guys want someone like Jake McCarthy on their side of the field. Not because he’s the best player, but because he’s big and fast and very comfortable being in the middle of things. Because he’s The Man.”

Josh Rojas

Nominated by NikT77. “He strikes me as that sort of utility guy like Daniel Descalso was 2017. Maybe doesn’t produce the most of any player, but he produces when it counts, and in ways that aren’t measured by any statistic such as clubhouse presence, etc.”

Daulton Varsho

Nominated by imstillhungry95. “He was a leader on the field and in the clubhouse, anchoring the offense all season. His defense was amazing on top of it. Arguably the best overall player from opening day until the end of the season”

Christian Walker

Nominated by MrRbi17. “He played in 160 games, slugged 36 HRs, and turned in a .804 OPS.Walker was rock-solid on defense, winning a Gold Glove. Not much got by him and he made only 5 errors all season. I’m happy to see Christian establish himself as a major league regular. He sure paid his dues in the minor leagues and I wish him continued success.”

The ballot is below, or linked here. SnakePit members only get to vote, to avoid ballot-box stuffing, and the result will be announced on Saturday, bringing our award season to a close.