Despite not being voted Most Valuable Oriole this season, Orioles third baseman Manny Machado finished fourth in the 2015 AL MVP voting, well ahead of slugging teammate Chris Davis.
The only player in the majors to appear in all 162 regular-season games in 2015, Machado received four third-place votes, 11 fourth-place votes, and five fifth-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America as he finished behind only winner Josh Donaldson of Toronto, Los Angeles outfielder Mike Trout, and Lorenzo Cain of Kansas City. Davis finished 14th despite leading the majors with 47 home runs and being named 2015 Most Valuable Oriole by the local media.
Machado not only proved his worth as the Orioles’ real most valuable player in 2015, but the 23-year-old finished fifth among AL position players in wins above replacement (7.1), according to Baseball Reference. In addition to hitting .286 with a career-high 35 home runs, 86 RBIs, and an .861 on-base plus slugging percentage, Machado also won the second Gold Glove of his career, further proving he has recovered fully from serious injuries to both knees.
Despite not receiving much love from BBWAA voters in the MVP voting, Davis is expected to cash in with one of the most lucrative contracts in free agency this winter. Machado is only entering his first arbitration-eligible offseason and won’t become a free agent until after the 2018 season.
Former Oriole Nelson Cruz finished sixth in the MVP voting after hitting 44 homers in his first season with Seattle.
