Betts, Yelich win AL, NL MVP awards

Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts became the latest player to deny Mike Trout a third American League MVP award, while Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich captured the National League MVP in a nearly unanimous vote.

Betts joins elite company among those who have stood in Trout's way since the Angels outfielder debuted in 2012: Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera finished just ahead of Trout in 2012 and 2013, while former Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson forced Trout into second in 2015. Trout won in 2014 and 2016, finishing fourth in 2017.

Trout had to settle for a fourth second-place finish in 2018, which ties a record he shares with Albert Pujols, Ted Williams and Stan Musial. Betts ran away with the award after hitting .346 with 32 home runs for the eventual World Series champions. Betts received 28 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Trout earned one first-place vote, while another went to Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez.

Despite the relatively marginal support at the top of the ballot, Trout presented a compelling case. He missed time in August with a wrist issue, but still played in more games (140) than Betts (136). Trout led the sport in onbase percentage (.460) and on-base plus slugging percentage (1.088) — setting career highs for himself in the process in both categories.

Yelich received 29 first-place votes from the writers. The only other player to get a first-place vote was Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, who won the Cy Young Award on Wednesday. DeGrom finished fifth in the MVP voting.