Courtesy of MLB.com Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve won the World Series two weeks ago and is now crowned the Most Valuable Player in the American League. On paper, the matchup could've been close, but Altuve ran away with the vote, garnering 27 of 30 first-place votes, to Aaron Judge's two. The win caps off a career-best season for the Venezuelan infielder. Altuve had great statistics with a .346 batting average (career-high), 24 home runs (ties career-high) and 81 RBI, along with 112 runs scored (another career-high) and 32 stolen bases on 38 attempts. Of course, rookie Aaron Judge also had an astronomical rookie season. Judge hit .284 with 52 home runs and 114 RBI for the New York Yankees, leading them to a postseason berth in what started out as a "rebuilding year." Despite his lower average and higher strikeout rate, Judge led Altuve in in on-base percentage (.422 to .410) and obviously slugging percentage (.627 to .547) Aaron Jud...
by Billy Sakmann, B.S. Sports Management '17