Marte’s offensive brilliance recognized as NL MVP finalist
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When he watched second baseman Ketel Marte in Spring Training last March, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo sensed something different about him.
Arizona was coming off a run to the World Series thanks in part to the contributions Marte made during the regular season and in the NL Championship Series, when he won the Most Valuable Player Award.
Marte had long been a very good player, but had largely flown under the radar while playing in a small market. The postseason gave him the chance to perform on a big stage, and Lovullo felt that gave Marte extra motivation to be great.
“He’s been very engaged, very hungry,” Lovullo said in Spring Training. “And I've been really impressed by that. I've watched him mature over the past seven-plus years in a very, very good way. And he’s taken on a lot of responsibility. I’m watching the work habits, I’m watching the energy and the focus every single afternoon. It’s very impressive and I’m very grateful for that.”
On Monday, Marte was named as one of the three finalists for the 2024 NL MVP Award along with the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani and the Mets’ Francisco Lindor.
While he understood that the incredible season that Ohtani had would likely win him the NL Most Valuable Player Award, Lovullo wanted to see Marte get some attention for the season he had as well.
"I want him to get some MVP consideration," Lovullo said. "I see Lindor gets a lot of attention, deserved attention, and Ketel's numbers are better than his in a lot of different areas. So, I just want his name to be brought up in everybody's MVP consideration."
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Marte was voted to start at second base for the NL in the All-Star Game and continued to put up MVP-type numbers throughout the season.
Overall, Marte ranked among the top NL leaders in the following categories: SLG (2nd, .560), offensive win pct. (2nd, .729), AB per HR (2nd, 14.0), bWAR (4th, 6.8), offensive bWAR (3rd, 5.8), OPS (2nd, .932), AVG (6th, .292), OBP (6th, .372), win probability added (7th, 3.3), total bases (T-8th, 282) and RBI (10th, 95).
“His skill set is pretty rare in the game,” Arizona GM Mike Hazen said. “I mean, being a switch hitter who’s proficient at both sides, plays in the middle of the diamond … Like, you just don't run across players like that all that often. It's gratifying to see that he's getting some of the recognition that he's deserved for a while.”
The NL MVP Award winner will be announced on MLB Network on Nov. 21. The show, which will also unveil the AL winner, will begin at 4 p.m. MST.