George Springer Is On His Way To Earning MVP Votes
Springer has had one heck of a season, and the Blue Jays slugger deserves some major recognition for defying Father Time.
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The Toronto Blue Jays currently hold the best record in the American League, and while they’ve gotten strong performances from franchise superstars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, the best performance thus far for the Jays has been from veteran slugger George Springer.
Springer is in the fifth year of a six-year, $150 million deal that he signed with the Blue Jays shortly before the 2021 campaign, and 2025 has been by far his most successful season north of the border. He’s not only setting career-highs across the board offensively, but he’s leading the Blue Jays to what might be the franchise’s best season in about a decade.
Despite the fact that he’s the oldest hitter on the team, Springer is hitting like he’s in his prime. He’s been one of the Blue Jays’ most reliable hitters thus far in 2025, and his continued success will be critical for Toronto in October.
Unc’s Still Got It
In his age-35 season (he turned 36 earlier this month), Springer’s been on an absolute tear at the plate, slashing .306/.395/.552 with 30 home runs, 80 RBI, and 26 doubles on the season. He’s currently setting career highs in batting average, on-base percentage, and wRC+ (163), and this is his ninth season with 20+ home runs. He’s one of nine players to reach the mark nine times since his debut year of 2014.
Springer somehow wasn’t voted to the American League All-Star team this season, despite putting up his best performance in years. Here are some statistical thresholds Springer has reached/passed in 2025, and the year he last hit those numbers:
- First time achieving since 2022 (last All-Star season): 75+ RBI, 25+ home runs, .260+ batting average, .330+ on-base percentage, .450+ slugging percentage, 110+ wRC+
- First time achieving since 2019 (last Silver Slugger-winning season): 90+ runs, >60 walks, .270+ batting average, 150+ OPS+, 30 home runs, 250+ total bases, >4.0 fWAR.
This has not only been a resurgent season for Springer, but one of the best years of his big league career. This is the strongest version of the veteran outfielder that Blue Jays fans have seen since his signing with the team in 2021, and he’s more responsible than anyone else for the Jays being in a playoff position. In a year in which Toronto has largely been without free agent acquisition Anthony Santander, Springer has stepped up in a big way.
As a primary DH this season, with only a portion of his games coming in the outfield, Springer has the third-highest fWAR among primary DHs, behind only NL MVP candidates Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber.
He ranks in the top 10% of MLB hitters in expected batting average (.300), chase rate (20.4%), and barrel rate (15.9%) this season. Springer is also fifth in all of MLB in Baseball Savant’s offensive Run Value metric with a mark of +44. Run Value is a metric to quantify a player’s value, and Springer sits behind only the two aforementioned DH sluggers and the generational talents that are Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
As the oldest active hitter on the Blue Jays’ roster in 2025, Springer currently leads the team in home runs, runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, fWAR, and wRC+. He’s been a crucial part of Toronto’s success – and he’s not only doing it with his bat.
36-Year-Old Speed Demon??
Yes, you heard that right, George Springer has been an absolute demon on the basepaths this season, leading the Blue Jays in stolen bases. However, his prowess as a baserunner transcends merely stealing bases. It’s also about the threat he poses once he reaches base.
Springer is one of only two players in MLB this season to steal at least 16 bases without being thrown out, standing alongside speedy slugger Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins and his perfect 24 steals.
Among players at or above the age of 35, Springer sits atop the leaderboard with +2.7 BsR, a FanGraphs metric measuring a player’s baserunning compared to the league average.
He also has the highest Baserunning Value according to Baseball Savant (+3) among hitters at least 35 years old, and he ranks in the 83rd percentile in this metric. It’s the fourth time in George’s career that he’s notched a BRV of +2 or higher.
MVP Votes Incoming
While it’s pretty clear Springer won’t be elected MVP in the American League this season, he will likely finish among the top 10 in voting. Dotingly referred to by Toronto fans as “Unc,” he’s proven everyone wrong in their predictions for the aging veteran.
Springer is poised to receive his first MVP votes in a Blue Jays uniform and his first since the 2020 season. And his accolades don’t need to end in the regular season…
He notoriously took home the 2017 World Series MVP Award for the Houston Astros in what has become an infamous series in recent baseball memory due to the ensuing Astros cheating scandal.
However, Springer still has a strong postseason resume, albeit mostly in Houston, and has proven himself pretty capable in the limited playoff experience he’s had in Toronto. He’s tallied four hits in the Jays’ four playoff games since 2020, but the Jays are still looking for their first October victory since the 2016 ALCS against Cleveland.
While there are younger stars like Guerrero, Bichette (JB’s Silver Medal Hitter of the Month in August), and Santander (who just returned from the IL) that can help lead the Jays on a deep postseason run, Springer might be the dark horse that Toronto needs to make it happen. His 136 career postseason wRC+ is certainly something to worry about if you’re facing off against him in the playoffs.
Springer ranks among the top 10 in all-time postseason home runs (19) and championship WPA (68.6). He has also had some of the best playoff performances of all time when he was part of the dynastic Astros’ core. If he can perform like he has all season when the playoffs come around, he’ll be the most dangerous bat in Toronto’s lineup and could make waves in October.
Closing Thoughts
George Springer has been one of the league’s most valuable players this season and has revitalized his perennial All-Star capabilities to defy Father Time for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2025. While he’s not going to go home with an MVP Award, his performance this season has been exactly what the Jays needed to find success.
As the playoffs draw nearer and the season comes to a close within the next two weeks, Springer’s production at the plate will be more important than ever, especially if Toronto is able to make a deep run into October.
Will Springer also be able to tap into his World Series MVP status from 2017? The next month holds the answers to questions like that, but there’s one thing that’s already clear: Unc has certainly still got it.
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Ethan has been writing for Just Baseball since 2024 and is fascinated by how sabermetric statistics can assist our understanding of outcomes and probability in baseball.…