Freddie Freeman 4th, Mookie Betts 5th in MVP voting

Freddie Freeman finished fourth and Mookie Betts fifth in 2022 National League MVP voting, which was announced by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Thursday.

Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt won NL MVP honors, capturing 22 of 30 first-place votes. Padres third baseman Manny Machado was second, and Nolan Arenado of the Cardinals was third.

Both Freeman and Betts were named on all 30 ballots, which run 10 players deep. But neither received a first-place vote.

Freeman got six second-place, six third-place votes, and 13 fourth-place votes. His first year with the Dodgers was a success, leading the majors in hits (199) and doubles (47), and leading the National League in on-base percentage and runs scored (117, tied with Betts). Freeman hit .325/.407/.511 with a 157 wRC+.

With runners in scoring position Freeman hit .391/.503/.576, the third-best batting average and fifth-best wRC+ (192) in the NL with at least 60 plate appearances in those situations.

This is the fourth year Freeman has finished in the top five of NL MVP voting, along with 2013, 2018, and his MVP-winning 2020 with Atlanta.

Betts received one third-place vote, one fourth-place vote, and 14 fifth-place votes. He set a career-high with 35 home runs this season, hitting .269/.340/.533 with 40 doubles and a 144 wRC+, and tied with Freeman for the league lead in runs scored.

Betts won a Gold Glove Award for his defensive prowess in right field, and a Silver Slugger as well for his offense. It’s the fifth time in the last seven years Betts won both awards in the same season.

This is the fourth top-five MVP finish for Betts, who won the 2018 American League MVP and finished second in the AL in 2016 and in the NL in 2020.

Turner also won a Silver Slugger Award this year at shortstop, the first of his career. He hit .298/.343/.466 with a 128 wRC+, 39 doubles, 21 home runs, and 27 stolen bases in 30 attempts. Turner was the 25th shortstop in National League/American League history with at least 100 runs and 100 RBI in the same season.

Turner finished in 11th place. He was named on 10 ballots, headlined by one fourth-place vote.

Julio Urías, who finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting, received one third-place MVP vote, good enough for eight points and 14th place in the MVP race.