Respected Cardinals writer unfairly ridiculed for bold MVP vote

The St. Louis Cardinals are as popular as ever with rival GMs but fans seem to have a different view on St. Louis media. After Shohei Ohtani was named the unanimous MVP of the National League, STL Post-Dispatch writer Derrick Goold released his votes to the public via Twitter.

Derrick Goold had two Phillies in the top five, but that was not enough to satisfy the city of Philadelphia

After Ohtani at the top, the MVP ballot was a shot in the dark, with plenty of deserving names, new and old, on both sides of the ball. Obviously, the Dodgers superstar was able to complete astonishing feats while both a pitcher and hitter, so him being named the league's Most Valuable Player was no surprise. Behind the two-way star, Goold had Juan Soto, Geraldo Perdomo, and Paul Skenes round out the top four before a pair of Phillies teammates, Kyle Schwarber and Cristopher Sanchez, finished five-six.

Usually, down-ballot votes don't gain much traction, especially when the number one spot is unanimous. Goold's order did nothing to sway the votes but Philly fans still found issue with the fact that Schwarber was "too low", despite him giving Sanchez the most love for the award out of any other writer. The Philadelphia ace put up a stellar season, but was a part of another unanimous vote as Paul Skenes left no doubt behind his award. Sanchez received all 30 second-place votes and Goold found that enough to be included in his top-6 spots on the ballot. There is little to argue with as Sanchez went 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA for the division champs. In the Cy Young vote, there was no shot for him to unseat the phenom Skenes, and he saw an equal hill to climb in the MVP ballot.

Directly above Sanchez was power-hitting DH Kyle Schwarber, who hit a league-leading 56 homers and 132 RBIs, good for a 150 OPS+. His batting average and strikeouts have always been issues for Schwarber, but with that type of production in the middle of the order, it is hard to argue that the Cardinals would not be better off with his bat, or a Schwarber-lite, in the lineup. Goold felt that his production, sans contact, was enough for a top-5 finish in a very strong field. Philly fans, though, disagreed and let him hear it in the comments saying Schwarber was ranked too low for putting up a stellar season. When one fan asked him about it, Goold's response was very clear and honest, a nice break from his typical online display.

I thought he explained it well, but when the outcome of the rest of the ballot after whatever name is written first, it really should not matter where your favorite player was placed. As his response shows, he could have very well swapped the two, but again, the overall results of the voting would not change. When it comes down to it, Schwarber finished second place with 260 points and Sanchez was well down the results, coming in at the 15th slot, well behind Brice Turang and ahead of Michael Busch and Manny Machado.