It's that time of year, right? Time to invent reasons to not vote for Mike Trout as the AL MVP. I've discussed voter fatigue before and it's a real thing. There have been multiple articles on national outlets recently touting Alex Bregman of the Astros for AL MVP over Trout.  The thing is, it's not crazy at this point. 

Let's look at the stats:

Trout: .291/.438/.645, 184 OPS+, 27 2B, 2 3B, 45 HR, 104 RBI, 11 SB, 110 R, 8.3 WAR, 5.2 WPA

Bregman: .298/.421/.595, 163 OPS+, 37 2B, 2 3B, 40 HR, 110 RBI, 5 SB, 119 R, 8.2 WAR, 3.9 WPA

If you want to look at that -- and some other stats that definitely matter -- and conclude that Bregman has been the better player this year, I won't stand in your way. 

The problem is an argument for Bregman ultimately leads up to the team component. Bregman is not a more valuable player because he has awesome teammates and Trout has mostly bad teammates. I've used this line of thinking so many times I hate to do it again, but here we are: This isn't basketball where Trout can touch the ball every single possession and guard the opponent's best player. Mike Trout can bat once every nine times and can only field balls hit his way. There's only so much one baseball player can do in a game of individual matchups.  

It's exhausting to have to continually point that out. Again, if you want to argue Bregman's been better this season, please feel free to do so. Do it without mentioning the rest of the team. 

There's generally a Straw Man involved in this line of thinking, too. That is, something like "recently, voters have started to judge the award as a Best Player award and back in the day, value used to mean something." 

This is patently false. Here's a parade of examples: 

Andre Dawson, 1987 NL MVP. As someone who wore number eight in Little League because of idolizing The Hawk, this was the first one that popped into my mind. The Cubs finished in last place and Dawson won the MVP. 

Ernie Banks, 1958-59 NL MVP. The Cubs were 72-82 in 1958 and 74-80 in 1959. I wonder if there were a bunch of columnists writing stuff like "how valuable can he be if his team would've still missed the postseason without him?" 

Larry Walker, 1997 NL MVP. The 83-win Rockies could've definitely finished seven games out of a playoff spot without Walker, am I right? 

Hank Sauer, 1952 NL MVP. The Cubs finished 77-77 and in fifth place. 

Ernie Lombardi, 1938 NL MVP. Those Reds did finish 14 games over .500, but it was only good enough for fourth place in an eight-team league. 

Rod Carew, 1977 AL MVP. The Twins were seven games over .500 in that season, which was good for fourth place at 17 1/2 games out of first. Sometimes you'll hear about how it's easier to perform when players aren't playing for anything -- which is utter nonsense, this is their livelihood -- so I guess we have to wonder if things were easier for Carew? We gotta be fair, right? 

Chuck Klein, 1932 NL MVP. The 1932 Phillies were just two games over .500, finishing a whopping 23 games out. 

Robin Yount, 1989 AL MVP. The Brewers finished exactly .500 that season, eight games out. 

Joe Medwick, 1937 NL MVP. The Cardinals that year, like Lombardi's Reds the following season, finished fourth place in an eight-team league. 

Alex Rodriguez, 2003 AL MVP. The Rangers in 2003 were 71-91, 24 games out of a playoff spot.

Bobby Shantz, 1952 AL MVP. The A's that season were only four games over .500 and 16 games out. 

Jackie Jensen, 1958 AL MVP. Again, the Red Sox were only four games over .500. They finished 13 games out. 

Cal Ripken, 1991 AL MVP. This one is extreme. The Orioles were 67-95 in 1991 and yet, Ripken won the MVP with relative ease. 

Jimmie Foxx, 1933 AL MVP. The second of Double X's three MVPs came on a team that was seven games over .500 and finished 19 1/2 games out.  

I jumped around in terms of years for a reason, and that was to show that things have never really changed. When you see arguments about "value" and how dumb voters nowadays are, remind them about Mr. Ernie Lombardi and his fourth-place Reds. That'll show 'em! 

But hey, keep telling yourself it's a "recent trend" to vote for the best player as the MVP, guys. Just as long as you don't have to vote for Mike Trout, who has somehow only won two MVPs to this point in his historically great career.