When National League MVP ballots for the 2019 season were revealed to the public, one name was conspicuously absent. Jeff McNeil, the Mets’ resident super utilityman, did not receive a single vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

The omission was glaring, especially when considering that McNeil led the NL in batting average for much of the season. Despite a hamstring injury that ultimately prevented him from winning the batting title, McNeil was easily one of the Senior Circuit’s ten most valuable players.

McNeil vs. LeMahieu

Jeff McNeil’s 2019 offensive production was comparable to that of the Yankees’ D.J. LeMahieu, who finished fourth in the American League MVP race. LeMahieu may have bested McNeil in the RBI department 102 to 75, but LeMahieu also had 37 more plate appearances with runners on base.

McNeil was actually the superior performer in several rate stats, including on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS+. However, while LeMahieu was viewed as a savior for an injury-riddled Yankee roster, McNeil’s remarkably similar offensive campaign was not viewed in the same light.

Elite Run Creation

Perhaps the most accurate metric for gauging McNeil’s offensive value in 2019 is Weighted Runs Created +, or wRC+. This statistic credits the batter for the value of each offensive outcome (single, double, etc.) and also accounts for factors like home ballpark and the league’s run scoring environment.

McNeil finished his 2019 season with a wRC+ of 143, the same total as his Rookie of the Year-winning teammate Pete Alonso. The only qualified NL hitters to exceed McNeil’s production in that category were Christian Yelich, Cody Bellinger, Anthony Rendon, and Ketel Marte, each of whom finished in the top four in MVP voting.

Simply put, McNeil’s ability to create runs made him one of the top offensive performers in the National League.

Doing It All on Defense

In addition to his elite offensive performance, McNeil also demonstrated an impressive defensive versatility. The “Flying Squirrel” logged at least thirty games at four different positions, effortlessly alternating between the infield and outfield. McNeil rated as average or above average at each of those positions, and he even led the Mets with four Defensive Runs Saved at third base.

The Mets were one of the majors’ worst teams in terms of defensive efficiency, but their inability to turn batted balls into outs cannot be pinned on McNeil.

Jeff McNeil’s 2019 season was certainly worthy of at least one down ballot MVP vote. Less deserving candidates like Paul Goldschmidt and Kevin Pillar were recognized by writers, further demonstrating the foolishness of leaving McNeil off the ballot. According to Baseball Reference, McNeil was worth five Wins Above Replacement, tying him with teammate Pete Alonso for tenth among National League position players.

Ultimately, while McNeil was criminally overlooked by awards voters, his 2019 season was nothing short of a revelation.