Mauer and Morneau won MVP awards without those numbers. There isn't any metric that equates to winning an MVP award, but if I had to pick one that seems to fit it would have to be OPS. If Buxton finishes a year with 1.000+ OPS, is he an MVP candidate? Yes. Can he do it? I think so. Last year, fans got excited over Buxton hitting well over the last month. This was premature. But he has now been hitting well for 45 days with no sign of slowing down and in fact he is getting BETTER even when playing near the top of the order. He has turned the corner. Does this mean he will never have a slump? No, all players have them.