Major League Baseball is full of young superstars, and Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado deserves to be included in such an elite group. After all, he just earned his second consecutive top-five finish in the American League MVP race.

Finishing fifth behind Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Jose Altuve and Josh Donaldsonis nothing to be ashamed of, but was there a way he could’ve further distinguished himself to become a finalist?

The answer to that question is yes.

Looking at Machado’s 2015 and 2016 statistics, it appears he experienced nearly identical performances, except for one glaring difference.

READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY