Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today
Three Questions: Shohei Ohtani’s unique MVP case
It is easy to get caught up in football right now. College football is full-bore ahead. NFL football starts in less than a week. But we should not forget that baseball is just entering its most entertaining part of the calendar.
I brought in columnist Tyler Kepner to help steer the way:
I think the debate around Shohei Ohtani and the NL MVP is fascinating. Do you think his play is good enough to overcome the no-defense aspect?
Tyler: It’s funny, isn’t it? It feels like Ohtani is a cinch to win MVP when he does double duty (pitching and hitting), and also when he’s strictly a hitter! That’s because, even without playing in the field, he is still doing things we’ve never seen before. He joined the 40/40 club with a week left in August, and if he gets to 50/50 (homers and steals), he’d be the first player ever to do that. He leads the league in slugging, OPS, total bases, homers, runs and wins above replacement. It doesn’t bother me that he’s not a fielder. The offense alone is so overwhelming that there’s no other choice for MVP.
We have multiple extremely close division races with just a month left. Which is most interesting to you?
I’m not sure it will end up being a race, but the top of the AL West fascinates me. The Astros have reigned for so long and the Mariners just can’t break their grip on the division — even with the reigning champs, the Rangers, out of the hunt. The Astros started so poorly, with a 33-40 record on June 18, when they were 10 games behind Seattle. It took Houston only 24 games to erase that 10-game lead, and by late August, Seattle had fired yet another hitting coach along with longtime manager Scott Servais. His replacement, Dan Wilson, guided Seattle to two series victories in his first week on the job, but the Mariners need to get really, really hot to chase down the battled-tested Astros. I’m not convinced they can do it, but their pitching gives them a chance and their schedule down the stretch is fairly easy. A comeback by Seattle, given the history in this division and the Mariners’ strange season, would be one heck of a story.
The last two years have seen two surprise teams make (and lose) the World Series. Who’s the best surprise candidate this year?
The Diamondbacks showed us last season that *any* team can make a surprise run to the World Series — and they’re better now than they were last October. But I’m going to go with the Padres here, because I really love their bullpen, and that’s such an important factor in the postseason. The Padres have been dominant since the All-Star break (27-12 through yesterday), and they’ll be getting deeper when Yu Darvish and Fernando Tatis Jr. return, as expected, in September. The Padres haven’t won a pennant since 1998 and — like two other contenders, the Brewers and Mariners — they’ve never won the World Series. It’s a thrill to cover something you’ve never seen before, especially when it’s something *nobody* has ever seen before. So I’m really intrigued by the possibilities this fall.
A big thank you to Tyler for the guidance. Moving on:
What We’re Watching: Get to know 5 NFL receivers
Say a hearty Pulse welcome back to Hannah Vanbiber. Take it away:
Be careful. “Receiver” might turn you into a Niners fan. (And Lions and Vikings and Raiders!)
The Netflix show, a follow-up to last year’s “Quarterback,” tracks the 2023-24 season of five NFL stars whose job is to catch the ball: the Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown, Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Raiders’ Davante Adams and two 49ers, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. I am now in a parasocial relationship with all of them.
- Why watch? For football fans, it’s a glimpse into how the game’s most dominant athletes approach their work mentally and physically. (My husband bought toe spacers after watching!) For casual fans, it’s a glimpse into their personalities and relationships.
- How does it stack up? Like “Quarterback,” “Receiver” can be slow but makes an excellent second-screen show. I thought it spent too much time explaining last season’s games at the expense of seeing timeless, raw life stuff, but you do get both. (Like Amon-Ra suffering hand, foot and mouth disease!?)
- “Breakout” star: George Kittle. What an absolutely lovable maniac.
- MVP: From Jefferson’s mom buying him bowls of candy to St. Brown’s (wild and crazy) dad urging him to drink Coke midgame to Kittle’s dad reciting the most unhinged prayer I’ve ever heard, the parents and families reveal who these men really are.
The verdict: Is it a bit of NFL propaganda? Sure. But, while it doesn’t quite get to the level of rawness I’d like, “Receiver” is worth a watch and will hype you up for this season. 🏈🏈🏈🏈❌
I leave you with the Kittle family pregame prayer: “May you have all the power that you need today: the courage, the leadership, and the tenacity to finish what must be done. Swift of foot, clarity of mind and just a complete a**-kicking … in the name of all that is holy, we pray. Amen.”
Watch and Listen
📺 CFB: USC vs. LSU
7:30 p.m. ET on ABC
I will be a basket case, and the tenor of tomorrow’s newsletter rides on this result (joking … sort of). Fill your NFL void with the only game of the day.
📺 EPL: Liverpool at Manchester United
11 a.m. ET on Peacock
I am most interested in seeing how Liverpool looks here early in the Arne Slot era. They’ve shown glimpses of high-minded purpose.
Get tickets to games like these here.
🎧 The Athletic FC Podcast previewed the Liverpool-Manchester United match, and club writers from both sides shared their best and worst memories from past meetings.
