NL MVP: Why Matt Kemp Didn't Win

Matt Kemp's breakout year seemed destined for the ultimate award of league MVP.

As he stacked up the distinguished awards of Silver Slugger, a Gold Glove and the Hank Aaron Award, it appeared as though Kemp would take home the most hallowed of all awards this year. 

And then he didn't.

But why? Before getting into that, let's take our hats off to Ryan Braun, who had a phenomenal season and deserved the MVP award. He absolutely earned this award; however, there are some outstanding factors that may have led voters to sway in Braun's direction instead of Kemp. 

Braun received twenty first-place votes, with Kemp receiving ten votes and Prince Fielder and Justin Upton receiving one first-place apiece.

What made the writers of the BBWAA vote for Braun instead of Kemp?

1. Team

Braun played on a winning team that made the postseason, and this undoubtedly worked in his favor for MVP votes. Although Braun had a tremendous impact on his team, so did Kemp, who had very little support from his fellow teammates. 

The argument for a team's success playing a factor in a player's chances of winning the MVP doesn't seem entirely warranted, as baseball is a nine-man sport. Ryan Braun is an excellent player, but also had the assistance of the bats of Prince Fielder, Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks. 

An injured Andre Ethier and a late-blooming James Loney provided very little support for Matt Kemp. Kemp drove in 126 runs this year. The runner-up, James Loney, drove in 65 runs.

It's safe to say Kemp carried the team along with Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw. 

The Brewers had a better regular season than the Dodgers, which seems to have had more weight than the players' relative influence on their teams. 

2. Playoffs

Validating the bestowal of the MVP to Ryan Braun has a simple explanation. "Braun led his team to the playoffs." But that's not the most accurate of statements in an nine-man game.

Yes, Braun helped lead his team to the playoffs, but he did not single-handedly lead an awful team out of the drudges and into prosperity. 

Win and losses are formulated by offensive and defensive play. A big factor in winning games is pitching, which the Brewers had to their advantage with Yovani Gallardo, Zack Greinke, Randy Wolf and Sean Marcum. 

The Dodgers had Clayton Kershaw. The rest of the Dodgers' pitching staff was average, but recorded 41 losses between regular starters Hiroki Kuroda, Chad Billingsley and Ted Lilly.

It's not possible to make the playoffs without good starting pitching, and using that as a factor in the MVP awarding serves as a disadvantage to Matt Kemp. 

3. History

Ryan Braun's breakout rookie season (34 HR 97 RBI .324 AVG) that earned him the Rookie of the Year in combination with his consistently spectacular five-year career made him due for a MVP.

Braun has fallen short of the award in past years but with the lack of mass competition for the award other than Kemp, this year provided an opportunity to give the slugger the award. 

Matt Kemp was all but due for a MVP award. He suffered a big decline in his 2010 season, finishing the year with a .249 batting average and seemed unfocused and uninterested in his play.

But Kemp made a huge turnaround in 2011, producing monster numbers and keeping the Dodgers' heads above the water amidst a franchise collapse due to the McCourts. 

Until this year, Kemp had potential and performed well, but was not discussed on a national level. Braun had national attention from the beginning of his rookie season, which had led him to be a fan favorite in homes all around the U.S.

To some degree, it's a popularity contest. 

Conclusion

Ryan Braun deserved this award, but so did Matt Kemp. Why not split the award? It's been done before. And if we can't split it, let's reassess our criteria for determining the winner.

Isn't it supposed to be founded upon the merit of the players' season? Not the success of the team or whether or not they made the playoffs. It's about each individual player, their merit, and how they influenced their teams.

If Kemp wasn't a Dodger this year, they would have finished well below .500. If Braun wasn't a Brewer, they arguably could have still made the playoffs on the shoulders of Prince Fielder. 

Tough call. The winner's deserving, but the runner-up was probably more deserving. Congrats to both Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp for stellar seasons. There will be plenty more to come for both of them.