3. Christian Yelich’s (first) Cycle
Just before September, Christian Yelich was continuing to rake in the second half, and he was just starting to enter MVP conversations. The Brewers were in Cincinnati, and in a high scoring game, Yelich went off by going 6-6 including hitting for the cycle.
The Brewers needed all of his performance too, as they won the game 13-12 in extra innings. That game itself was a big moment for the Brewers. The Crew was scuffling a bit in August and needed to rattle off a ton of wins if they were going to punch their ticket to October baseball. This team didn’t give up no matter how many times the Reds came back. It was one of the more exciting games, even without Yelich hitting for the cycle.
That offensive firepower became a trend with Yelich as the second half went on, coming through when the Brewers needed him, and that’s why he is the believed to be the MVP of the NL. Hitting for the cycle gave him a lot more national attention, and put his name on many more people’s MVP radar.