Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout, Milwaukee Brewers All-Star Christian Yelich and Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon were named finalists for Player of the Year in 2019 Players Choice Awards voting.
One noticeable absence from that list is Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Cody Bellinger, who was recently named a finalist for National Leagues Outstanding Player.
It comes as a bit of a surprise that the other three were named finalists over Bellinger, although it is an award voted on by the players themselves. The finalists for NL MVP and other BBWAA have not yet been revealed.
In 156 games this season, Bellinger hit .305/.406/.629 with 47 home runs, 121 RBI and 115 runs scored in addition to playing Gold-Glove-caliber defense at multiple positions.
Part of the reason that Bellinger was not nominated may be because of his second half. He only had a .917 on-base plus slugging percentage after the All-Star break compared to 1.124 before it.
The award is for the whole season’s body of work though, and his numbers are equivalent to, if not better than, those of the other candidates.
Trout and Yelich both had outstanding seasons that were cut short by injuries. Trout batted .291/.438/.645 with 45 home runs, 104 RBI and 110 runs scored in 134 games, while Yelich hit .329/.429/.671 with 44 home runs, 97 RBI and 100 runs scored in 130 games.
Both likely would have won the MVP awards for their respective leagues if it were not for the injuries, so it will be interesting to see how much them missing time at the end of the season affects that.
Rendon, who is set to become a free agent this winter and has been linked to the Dodgers, hit .319/.412/.598 with 34 home runs, 126 RBI and 117 runs scored in 147 games.
Despite not having a player nominated for Player of the Year, the Dodgers have been well-represented in the 2019 Player Choice Awards finalists. In addition to Bellinger be nominated for NL Outstanding Player, Hyun-Jin Ryu is also in the running for NL Outstanding Pitcher of the Year and NL Comeback Player.
