The making of a most-valuable-player candidate, the process that transformed Andrelton Simmons from light-hitting defensive whiz to one of baseball's best all-around players, did not begin with a prodigious home run or a flurry of drives to the gaps.
It began in the video room, with Simmons' left thumb in a splint, the Angels shortstop's torn ligament shutting him down for five weeks in the first half of 2016 and opening his eyes to a different offensive approach.
He returned on June 15 and hit .302 with a .744 OPS, three homers, 18 doubles and 36 RBIs in the final 93 games, and he's been the Angels' most consistent and productive hitter not named Mike Trout ever since.