Major League Baseball

Stanton or Kershaw for NL MVP? Who does McCutchen like?

Published Oct. 21, 2014 8:21 p.m. ET

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Last season's NL MVP Andrew McCutchen has weighed in on who he believes should win the award in 2014.

A guest on FOX Sports Radio's "Jay Mohr Sports" show Tuesday, the Pirates' four-time All-Star said Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton and Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw are "both deserving of it," and went on to say who he would vote for and why.

Stanton finished with an NL-best 37 homers, 105 RBI and a .288 batting average in 145 games. He was the league's RBI leader when his season ended abruptly after getting hit in the face by a pitch from Milwaukee's Mike Fiers on Sept. 11 (Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez passed Stanton in the final two weeks, finishing with 116 RBI to lead the NL).

The Marlins were 71-74, 5½ games out of the second wild-card spot, the day Stanton was injured. They would go 6-11 in their final 17 games without their biggest bat in the lineup.

Kershaw is basically a lock to win a second consecutive and third career Cy Young Award after going 21-3 with an MLB-best 1.77 ERA and 239 strikeouts, which was third in the NL. The Dodgers went 23-4 in his 27 starts.

McCutchen, the 28-year-old Pirates center fielder, had a decent season himself in hitting .314 with 25 homers, 83 RBI and an MLB-best .410 on-base percentage.

So who did McCutchen pick for MVP?

He also discussed the World Series and his pick to win it, pitchers throwing at batters in retaliation, being on the cover of a video game, what he plans on doing during the World Series, how he proposed to his fiancée on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," and more.

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