Trevor Story is having an MVP-caliber season for the Rockies in 2020

In 1997, Rockies fans saw history from Larry Walker. That year, Colorado’s right fielder won the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award.

Walker is the only Rockies player to win the honor, but there’s a current player on the Rockies roster that could write history on the corner of 20th and Blake. Yes, Nolan Arenado is making history at third base and is playing Hall of Fame-caliber baseball, but Trevor Story should seriously be considered to win NL MVP this year.

The comparisons between Story, Walker and reigning American League MVP Mike Trout are there. The experts need to take notice at the Rockies shortstop and give him the credit he deserves.

Walker finally got into Cooperstown, getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame and for great reason. His 1997 MVP season told the story to baseball writers and voters that altitude shouldn’t impact greatness. The numbers and rankings are staggering.

That season, he led the National League with 49 home runs, had 130 RBIs which, ranked third in the NL, and a batting average of .366, which was second best in the NL. Walker also had 33 stolen bases, making him a member of the 30-30 club. He was a starter in that years All-Star game and even participated in the Home Run Derby, won the NL Silver Slugger Award and the Rawlings Gold Glove trophy.

Even with the hot start of Story, it’s impossible to reach those high numbers Walker put up in ’97 due to the shortened season. But if Story continues his dominance in the three phases of the game – hitting, fielding and on the bases – he rightly deserves the MVP award for the National League. Right now, Story has four home runs through 10 games, while hitting .303 and driving in five runs.

The reigning AL MVP, Mike Trout, wears the No. 27, and so does Trevor Story, who is 27 years old. The number 27 is just a coincidence, but being a multi-faceted player like Trout gets you far in the voting process for MVP. We all know Trout can hit the ball, but surprisingly Trout has never won a Gold Glove since he has entered the league. It’s his hitting that has ensured him never finishing below fourth in voting for MVP since 2012.

Sure, Story isn’t nationally known like Trout, but the parallels are there too. For example, both have won a considerable amount of hardware with Silver Slugger awards from 2019. Story’s hitting statistics were 35 home runs, 85 RBIs and a batting average of .294 for that season. Trout last year hit 45 HRs, drove in 104 runs and posted a .291 batting average. Let’s not forget that Trout is one year further into the league than Story.

The one thing Story has against Trout is stolen bases, which in comparison Story had 12 more than Trout in the 2019 season with a total of 23. Hitting the long ball, driving in the runs are and fielding are great, but if Story continues to be a thief on the bases like Walker did, that could propel him to the M-V-P chants when fans are back in the stands.

Coors Field and the altitude will always hurt Rockies greats when it comes to winning awards. Being a mid-market team without any signs of success, analysts say the team should trade their best players for prospects and not take a run at pennants or division titles.

It took Larry Walker his 10th and final year on the ballot to get into the Hall of Fame just on the bias of where he played. If the Rockies continue their hot streak in 2020, experts and analysts will have to mention have Trevor Story’s name for the conversation of NL MVP.

For Story to win this award, he will need to win his first-ever Gold Glove, be top five in hitting and be top 10 in stolen bases this year. He’s well on his way.