Angels' Torii Hunter Would Vote For Adrian Beltre For AL MVP

In all likelihood, as we head down the very final stretch of the 2012 regular season, the American League MVP is down to a two-man race, between the Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera--who is making a strong play to become the first AL Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski back in 1967--and Angels’ rookie phenom Mike Trout.

But if Trout’s teammate Torii Hunter got a vote, neither of these (both very deserving) guys would get it. Hunter recently said that he would vote for none other than the Texas Rangers’ Adrian Beltre for baseball’s highest individual honor, if he got a vote. His reasoning?

“Why did Michael Jordan win all those MVPs?” Hunter said, per Fox Sports. “Because his team won.”

We highly doubt that Beltre has a real shot at the award of course, but Hunter’s point is well taken, and the AL All-Star at least deserves to be mentioned in the discussion.

Beltre has been the Rangers’ most consistent player through 2012--their campaign for a third consecutive AL West Crown--and the numbers are right there with just about anyone. Going into the final two games of Texas’ regular season, Beltre has a .319 average with 36 homers and 101 RBIs, and that’s to say nothing of (a) what Beltre brings on defense and (b) what he brings to the clubhouse.