Adrian Gonzalez Could Become Unanimous American League MVP

Adrian Gonzalez is having an amazing year for the Boston Red Sox and could soon be the American League MVP. The debate now though, has shifted to whether he can win the award unanimously from the sportswriters. There are several other players having good seasons this year, but not that many which would be defined as "great" by MLB analysts.

According to MLB statistics, Gonzalez leads the American League in batting average at .353. That is 17 points ahead of Michael Young of the Texas Rangers. In a season where only 14 hitters are hitting over .300 (among those that qualify), Gonzalez is setting himself apart from the crowd. Adding in his power numbers of 18 home runs and 91 RBI really help him spring to the top of the MVP race.

Red Sox fans could not have expected more from Gonzalez, who is putting up numbers like Ted Williams did back in the 1930s and '40s. It is a rare breed of major league players that can hit for both power and average, and yet Gonzalez is making things look easy in Boston this year. No fan from the San Diego Padres is surprised at how well he is playing, but these numbers are great even for him. The high-water mark for Gonzalez in RBI was 119 in 2008, and the best batting average he has posted was .304 in 2006. He looks to shatter those numbers by the end of the 2011 campaign.

It's pretty difficult to get the sports writers to all agree on one thing; let alone who most deserves to win the American League MVP. That is the only thing that might keep him from winning the award unanimously. Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays is having another great season for himself, posting a .319 batting average, 33 home runs, and 73 RBI through the games of August 5. He is definitely a strong contender for the award, and if he can bump those numbers up to a .330 average and 50 home runs, his argument for winning might become stronger than that for Gonzalez.

Taking into account the "team success" quotient of any MVP discussion, there isn't anyone that rivals what Gonzalez is doing this season. The only other strong candidate from one of the winning teams this year is teammate Jacoby Ellsbury, who is hitting .319 with 18 home runs and 31 stolen bases.

This looks to be a year where Gonzalez walks away with quite a bit of hardware, but he would probably trade it all for a World Series ring.