Shohei Ohtani and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. used the final few months of the Major League Baseball season as their battleground for the American League Most Valuable Player award.
Guerrero was expected to be one of the award front-runners with the Toronto Blue Jays in playoff contention. Toronto did not reach its ultimate postseason goal, but Guerrero still turned in fantastic numbers.
Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels were not in the postseason mix, but he found a way to entertain us almost every night he swung the bat.
Over in the National League, another non-playoff team boasted a top MVP candidate.