Oakland Athletics: Who Was the 2015 A’s MVP?

Jul 12, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher Stephen Vogt (21) and starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) celebrate after the Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians 2-0 at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The Catcher: Stephen Vogt

Samantha Riley: I am going to have to go with the obvious choice – Stephen Vogt. Even though his production declined during the second half of the season, his overall performance and leadership is what makes Vogt the Oakland Athletics’ 2015 MVP. Vogt ended the season leading the team in OBP with .341 and had the second most home runs and RBI. Additionally, he was a leader in the clubhouse, and the press always commended Vogt’s approachability and willingness to speak with them despite the A’s dismal season.

From spending the first two months of the 2014 season in Triple-A to becoming the everyday starting catcher in 2015, Vogt is a late bloomer who is just hitting his stride at 30 years old. His story is pretty special, and his progress over the past year and a half deserves some recognition.

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Katrina Putnam: I contemplated picking Sonny Gray, because by WAR, he’s literally the most valuable – but since I phrased the question in such a way as to imply Gray was not a valid selection, I’ll go with a position player, too.

I love Billy Burns, and he’s easily my favorite player on the team to watch, but I have to pick Stephen Vogt for MVP. Vogt was not only brilliant on offense, as everyone else has explained, but he had the hardest job in baseball: spending nine innings a night behind the plate, catching terrible pitches and trying to hold down the running game. The fact that he still managed to say nice things about his pitchers in the post-game interviews is pretty impressive, given the effort level he had to put in on defense on a nightly basis.

The combination of defensive skills, intelligence and work ethic that goes into catching are often hard to find, and Vogt possesses all three, plus a powerful bat. Burns is fun to watch, and Josh Reddick can definitely make a case for being the offensive centerpiece of the team, but to me, Vogt’s contributions behind the plate are what put him a step above his teammates in this imaginary MVP contest.

Honorable mention goes to whoever styles Mark Canha’s hair, though. No matter what happened during the game, Canha’s hair stayed perfect. That takes talent.

Next: A's MVP: The Rookie