I kept trying to get there. In my baseball soul, I believe that the total player is the most valuable element in the game. I favor the guy who helps every day in some way. And there were moments late this season when I thought Francisco Lindor and Bobby Witt Jr.

This has been the case on an annual basis since 1924, though there have been MVPs as far back as 1911. For decades, the league split made perfect sense. The two leagues didn't play each other at all.

If it weren't for the historic campaign that New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was putting together, Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. would be a deserving MVP in his own right.