In the 2016 season, Colorado Rockies third baseman, Nolan Arenado, hit .294 with 41 homers and 133 RBI’s. He lead the National League in home runs and RBI for the second straight year, yet he isn’t a finalist for National League Most Valuable Player. Say what you want about the ‘Coors Field’ effect, but Arenado’s monstrous season still deserves recognition.

According to Major League Baseball, Kris Bryant, Daniel Murphy, and Corey Seager outperformed the Rockies star this season as they were awarded MVP finalists. Dodgers rookie, Corey Seager, finished the season .308/25/72. Arenado had 61 more RBIs than Seager. I’ll say it again because apparently Major League Baseball neglected this stat. Nolan Arenado had 61 more RBIs than Corey Seager. To put this into perspective, the Dodgers five hole hitter, Joc Pederson, finished with 68 RBIs. Essentially, Arenado matched the Dodgers production from the three and five hole hitters and nearly doubled Seager’s RBI total; however, that was not enough to earn him a MVP nomination. Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs, the likely MVP winner, trailed Arenado in home runs, average, RBI, hits, and only had five more runs scored in the 2016 campaign. If Nolan Arenado’s stats are superior to the NL MVP, how is he not a finalist?

Even if Arenado was nominated for the award, I wouldn’t expect him to win because of the Rockies lackluster season. Although, many experts expect Mike Trout to win the AL MVP even though the Angels finished with a worst record than the Rockies. Another example of the insensitivity shown to Colorado athletes by MLB.

Nolan Arenado has the most RBIs in the big leagues over the past two years, third in home runs, and fourth in runs scored over that span; and I haven’t even mentioned Arenado’s supernatural defensive abilities. He is on the verge of winning his fourth straight Rawlings Gold Glove and is without a doubt the best defensive player in the National League. Many experts rave about Kris Bryant’s ability to play multiple positions, but any manager in the league would rather have the best defender at one position rather than an average one at multiple places.

The Rockies third baseman is one of the best players in the Major Leagues, yet he receives insufficient recognition in the baseball world because of the park he plays in. Regardless of the park he plays at, Arenado is still one of the elite players in the world, and after putting up tremendous stats the past two seasons, my question is: What does Nolan Arenado have to do to win MVP?