"War between New York & Los Angeles baseball writers" - Ex-NFL MVP thinks Shohei Ohtani vs. Francisco Lindor NL race hinges on intriguing factor

The race for the NL MVP Award might be closer than many fans may expect. Los Angeles Dodgers sensation Shohei Ohtani is on the cusp of becoming the only player in MLB history to record a 50 home run and 50 stolen base season. But there is another player making a case for himself.

Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets has been a major force for his club all season, both at the plate and on defense. As a result, Lindor finds himself right behind Ohtani in terms of WAR (wins above replacement). Ohtani currently sits at 7.0 WAR, whereas Lindor ranks right behind him with a 6.3 WAR.

All that being said, some analysts, including former NFL MVP Boomer Esiason, believe that the award race could come down to those covering the game. On the latest episode of Boomer and Gio, the former quarterback hinted at a potential behind-the-scenes competition taking place.

"This is New York versus LA man. This could be a war between New York baseball writers and the Los Angeles baseball writers [1:41]," Esiason said on the show.

Esiason posed the question to his co-host about which region of the United States has more writers covering teams. He compared the volume of writers covering the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels to those covering the New York Yankees and New York Mets.

His co-host Gregg Giannotti suggested New York, leading Esiason to lean toward the Mets shortstop.

"Lindor's gonna win [2:03]," Esiason said of the Mets star's odds of winning the award.

Regardless of which player finishes the season with the MVP Award in hand, it's clear that both Shohei Ohtani and Francisco Lindor are having tremendous season.

Entering the year, there were questions about how both players would perform in 2024. However, it's safe to say that they have exceeded expectations so far.

Esiason believes that people are overlooking the importance of defense when it comes to the MVP Award

Aside from Shohei Ohtani potentially becoming the first player to record a 50 home run and 50 stolen base season, he could also become the first designated hitter to be named MVP. This is something that doesn't sit right for Boomer Esiason who feels that defensive value should be taken into account.

"We're discounting how important a shortstop is to the game of baseball [9:27]," Esiason said of Lindor's defensive contributions.

The major case that Francisco Lindor has over Ohtani is the fact that he is an elite defender and the Dodgers star is simply a DH.

According to Baseball Savant, entering Thursday's action, Lindor ranks 4th in MLB in terms of OAA (outs above average). This is something that some believe should be taken into account come award season.