It didn't take too long for Josh Donaldson to fit in with the Toronto Blue Jays. The 29-year-old won the AL MVP in his first season with the team.
The Baseball Writers Association of America gave 23 first-place votes to Donaldson and just seven to the runner-up, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout. Kansas City Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain finished in third.
Check out the BBWAA's voting breakdown here.
.@BringerOfRain20 is your @officialBBWAA AL #MVP: https://t.co/PqSG3Kcr3L pic.twitter.com/z6Rh0scGi8
— MLB (@MLB) November 19, 2015
Congrats to @BringerOfRain20 on being named American League MVP! #ComeTogether pic.twitter.com/23h6eRA9zF
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) November 19, 2015
Donaldson finished top-10 in the MVP voting in 2013 and 2014 and finally captured the award after batting .297/.371/.568/.939 with 122 runs scored, 41 home runs and 123 RBI in 158 games during his second straight All-Star season. The 29-year-old led the MLB in runs scored and was tops in the AL in RBI and total bases (352).
Behind his potent offense and stellar defense at third base, the Blue Jays reached the playoffs and clinched the AL East division for the first time since 1993. His numbers were especially impressive with runners in scoring position: he hit .353/.440/.618 with 7 home runs and 79 RBI.
Donaldson and the Blue Jays made it to the ALCS after their most successful season in over two decades, but fell to the eventual World Series Champion Kansas City Royals in six games. Donaldson contributed nine runs, three homers and eight RBI in 11 postseason games with Toronto this year.
The last member of the Blue Jays to win the MVP Award was George Bell back in 1987. That year Bell hit .308/.352/.605 with 111 runs scored, 47 home runs and 134 RBI in 156 games.
Donaldson was snubbed last week when he didn't win a Gold Glove, but he gets the laugh last in this one after taking home his first career Silver Slugger and MVP Awards.
Here's a good take from Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star as to why Donaldson's case for MVP was better than Trout's:
"[Donaldson] led the majors in walk-off home runs and walk-off hits this season, while 28 of his 41 homers either tied the game or gave the Jays the lead (compared to 24 of Trout's 41). Donaldson also posted the league's highest Win Probability Added - which measures how each individual play increases or decreases a team's chances of winning - with a 5.75 mark to Trout's 5.32, which means Donaldson played a greater role in Jays' victories than Trout did for the Angels. Donaldson also hit for a higher batting average in high-leverage situations (when a lead could change hands), though Trout had the better on-base-plus-slugging percentage."
