Triple Crown Might Not Be Enough For Marcell Ozuna to Win MVP

Marcell Ozuna is having an historic season with the Atlanta Braves, but it may not be enough to overtake Shohei Ohtani.

Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna is in the running for the National League triple crown. / Jordan Godfree-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna has lost some ground in the batting Triple Crown race as of late. Shohei Ohtani has caught up in RBIs - both have 94 as of Monday morning - and has pulled further away in home runs. At one point, they were tied with 35, and now Ohtani has a four-homer lead, 41 to 37. 

In turn, it’s not looking great for his MVP chances either. 

But let’s be honest, even if Ozuna made history with the first batting Triple Crown since 2012 and the first to do it in the National League since 1937, that might not be enough to take home the hardware. 

Ohtani is out in Los Angeles making his own history. On Friday night, he hit a walk-off grand slam against the Tampa Bay Rays to become the sixth member of the 40-40 club. 

#WALKOFF GRAND SLAM
TO JOIN THE 40-40 CLUB
THERE IS ONLY ONE SHOHEI OHTANI. pic.twitter.com/FksrBJCDSV

— MLB (@MLB) August 24, 2024

He might even be the first to have a 50-50 season when it’s all said and done. 

Precedent shows that it doesn’t always net you the MVP. Ronald Acuna Jr. won it just a year ago reaching the feat - with a historic 40-70 season in his own right - just last year, and Jose Canseco won the American League MVP with the first ever 40-40 season in 1988. However, Barry Bonds, Alfonso Soriano and Alex Rodriguez weren’t even finalists for the award when they did it. 

So, maybe that helps Ozuna. But that same argument for why it might not win Ohtani the MVP can be made for why Ozuna might not win it either. Being the first to do something in a long time doesn’t guarantee an MVP. 

Sure, Miguel Cabrera won an MVP in 2012 after being the first to win the batting Triple Crown in 45 years. Aaron Judge took home an MVP after being the first to hit 60 home runs in a season in over 20 years. There are absolutely cases where being the first to end a league-wide drought earns you MVP honors. Even Acuna could arguably fall into this category. Why not Ozuna? 

Here is an interesting precedent you might not be aware of where history doesn’t win you the MVP. Keep Ohtani’s chances at a 50-50 season in mind. 

In 1941, Ted Williams finished the season with a .406 batting average. That made him the first to bat .400 since Rogers Hornsby in 1925 - the addition of statistics from the Negro Leagues has since changed this, but at the time, this was the case. 

Only one player has batted .400 since then, and that was Josh Gibson two years later. It’s been over 80 years since someone did this. It was considered a big deal in 1941 to hit .400, and that .406 average has become synonymous with feats considered unreachable in the modern game. 

But Ted Williams didn’t win the MVP that year and wouldn’t win one until he returned from missing three seasons serving in the second World War in 1946. Sounds insane, right? Well, it might sound crazy today, but not so much in the context of the time. 

That same season, Joe DiMaggio happened to make history. He had a base hit in 56 consecutive games, which nobody has really come close to catching. He won the MVP over Williams. 

One historic moment emerged victorious over the other. The same could happen with Ohtani over Ozuna. Assuming Ozuna can win the Triple Crown and out-homer Ohtani during a 50-50 season, it likely won’t make a difference. 

The historic 50-50 season would likely trump the Triple Crown. Ozuna is going to be a finalist either way, but MVP hopes might have evaporated already.