My MVP ballot, explained

Last year’s vote was, I thought, the toughest in the five years I’ve voted for this award. This year’s vote was challenging in other ways: The winner was clear, but spots two through 10 on the ballot were challenging.

Bryce Harper’s season was stellar. He led the majors in OBP, slugging, OPS and OPS+. His .330 average was behind only batting champ Dee Gordon’s .333. He hit 42 homers, tied for the NL lead with Nolan Arenado and behind only Chris Davis and Nelson Cruz in all of baseball.

In 654 plate appearances across 153 games, the 23-year-old Harper compiled a 195 OPS+, a statistic which weights a player’s on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) to account for the effect their ballpark has on their performance and the league in which they play. An OPS+ of 100 is league average. The only players with a higher OPS+ at age 23 or younger are Ted Williams and Ty Cobb. Only 23 other players of any age have ever compiled an OPS+ of 195 or higher since 1901.

Harper was worth 9.9 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) according to Baseball-Reference.com, tied with Zack Greinke for most in MLB. Fangraphs’ WAR calculation had Harper at 9.5. He added nearly 10 wins of value to the Nationals.

Here are the official criteria as set out by the Baseball Writers Association of America:

Dear Voter:

There is no clear-cut definition of what Most Valuable means. It is up to the individual voter to decide who was the Most Valuable Player in each league to his team. The MVP need not come from a division winner or other playoff qualifier.

The rules of the voting remain the same as they were written on the first ballot in 1931:

1. Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense.

2. Number of games played.

3. General character, disposition, loyalty and effort.

4. Former winners are eligible.

5. Members of the committee may vote for more than one member of a team.

You are also urged to give serious consideration to all your selections, from 1 to 10. A 10th-place vote can influence the outcome of an election. You must fill in all 10 places on your ballot. Only regular-season performances are to be taken into consideration.

Keep in mind that all players are eligible for MVP, including pitchers and designated hitters.

My ballot:

1. Bryce Harper, Nationals

2. Joey Votto, Reds

Votto finished one point behind Harper in OBP at .459 and led MLB with 143 walks. His ability to get on base remains unparalleled, but he augmented that with 29 home runs. Votto hit .362 with a .535 OBP and .617 slugging percentage in the second half of the season, giving him a 1.152 OPS. His average, OBP and OPS after the All-Star break ranked first among qualified hitters, and since the first time there was an All-Star break, in 1933, only Barry Bonds and Ted Williams have posted higher second-half OBPs.

3. Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks

Goldschmidt was one of four players to go 20-20 this season (33 homers, 21 steals). He also hit .321/.435/.570. He and Votto were very close, and Votto’s edge in walks, OBP and strikeout rate made the difference.

4. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates

McCutchen rebounded nicely from his slow start and finished with an OBP of more than .400 for the fourth year in a row. He hit at least 21 homers for the fifth consecutive season, but stole only 11 bases, hampered on and off by a sore left knee. McCutchen’s 14.3 percent walk rate ranked fifth in the NL, and three of the four players above him were Harper, Votto and Goldschmidt. McCutchen plays a premium defensive position – you can debate how well he plays it, but he plays it – so I listed him here ahead of Rizzo.

5. Anthony Rizzo, Cubs

Rizzo had a great year: 31 homers, hit .278 with a .387 OBP, 5.5 WAR and a weighted on-base average (wOBA) of .384.

6. Buster Posey, Giants

The difference between Posey and Rizzo came down to how much you value Posey playing behind the plate, a premium up-the-middle position, versus first base; and how much you value Rizzo hitting 12 more homers, walking more and posting a higher OBP. I went with Rizzo, but it wasn’t by much.

7. Zack Greinke, Dodgers

I struggled with where to put these three. I have no problem with a pitcher winning the MVP – I voted for Kershaw last year – but there were several strong performances by position players. Greinke was a stud, finishing with a 1.66 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 2222/3 innings. He never pitched fewer than six innings; Arrieta did three times. While Arrieta had a record-setting second half, Greinke was masterful all season, keeping his ERA less than 2.00 the entire time. Greinke had a miniscule edge in hits allowed and opponent OBP, and Arrieta allowed 20 more stolen bases.

8. Jake Arrieta, Cubs

We’re splitting hairs here, and Arrieta was more than deserving. He had a 0.75 ERA in the second half, a record. MLB-low 5.9 hits per nine, 0.4 homers per nine. He had a 1.77 ERA, 236 strikeouts in 229 innings and was this year’s NL Cy Young award.

9. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers

How can someone who led the majors in innings pitched and struck out 301 batters with a 2.13 ERA be ninth, and behind two other pitchers? Tough ballot. Kershaw, like Arrieta, pitched fewer than six innings three times. He also was not as consistent early in the season. But from May 26 on, he had a 1.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 1741/3 innings, very Kershaw-esque.

10. A.J. Pollock, Diamondbacks

I considered several players for this final spot: Jason Heyward, Kris Bryant, Nolan Arenado, Matt Carpenter, Matt Duffy, Dee Gordon, Brandon Crawford. In the end, I went with Pollock because of how well-rounded a player he is. He hit .315/.367/.498. He showed power – 20 homers. He had speed: 39 steals. He played defense: 14 Defensive Runs Saved at a premium position, center field, good for a Gold Glove.