MESA Jonathan Lucroy Jersey , Ariz. (AP) —and fall in the wild card game to end the 2018 season, reasons as to why a 95-win season finished short of equaling expectations began to surface.One that was echoed by the front office and the players was the level of leadership that seemed to walk out of the clubhouse with David Ross’ retirement after the 2016 World Series.“I think they made it clear to everybody,” starting pitcher Jon Lester said Wednesday about the front office’s belief there was a lack of leadership. “I think they hit the nail on the head.”Clearly it was something that had to be addressed by the players already in the clubhouse but the front office did its part by bringing in a veteran like Daniel Descalso.The 32-year old came up in the Cardinals system and has earned the reputation as hard-nosed, clutch, fundamentally strong player who also plays the game hard while at multiple positions.It’s that kind of pedigree that is respected in the game, and it gives him leeway to have a voice in the clubhouse during the latter years with the Cardinals (2011-14), and then with the Rockies (2015-16) and Diamondbacks (2017-18).Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he had a discussion with Descalso, who has played every position other than catcher and center field in his career, at the Cubs Convention about stepping into a leadership role when the timing is right.Descalso, who will get a look at second base especially against right-handed starters, said he knows he has to find a comfort level before being too boisterous.“I’ve been the new guy in the clubhouse a couple of times,” he said. “If you come in and you are the loud guy and start ruffling feathers right away then you can put some guys off. You have to feel your way out the early parts of spring training and into the season and then you can really get a feel for the team and the clubhouse.“There are a lot of accomplished players in here. It’s why they have been successful the last few years and why the expectations are high. Its’s not like I’m coming to a team full of rookies.”Veterans like Jason Heyward, Anthony Rizzo and Lester have their place but a new voice can go a long way in reaching an established group.“I am so thrilled we got him,” Maddon said. “He is a good baseball player. This is old school scouting to understand how good Daniel is.”Descalso, who hit .238 with 13 home runs, 57 RBIs and a career-high OPS of .789 in 138 games in 2018, said he is ready to see where he fits in and then go from there.“I’ll be myself and get to know the guys and get to know my way around the staff,” said Descalso http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-bettis-jersey , who signed a two-year, $5-million deal in December. “I have to go out and make plays and lead by example at first. It is about building that trust. A lot of these guys don’t know me very well. You try to get know those guys on a personal level and then you develop that trust.“When you do speak or pull them aside you have already developed that trust so it is easier to get through to them.”While Maddon is happy to have Descalso in the clubhouse, having a new toy for his ever-changing lineup might be an even bigger draw.Maddon has embraced multi-positional players like Tony Phillips, Mark McLemore, Sean Figgins and Ben Zobrist over the years and helped break the negative connotation that used to come with someone being labeled a utility player.“I always thought when you got a guy like that it lengthens your bench during the game,” Maddon said. “He also provides an opportunity to rest people because you don’t feel like you are losing anything by putting this guy in the lineup.”Descalso takes pride in being able to be counted in just about anywhere in the field and up and down the lineup.“My job for a lot of years now is to mix and match, be a puzzle piece and just fit in and do something to help us win that night where it is off the bench or starting,” he said. “That’s not new to me and it is something I am used to and comfortable with.“I take pride in the fact that I could do that.” Beyond leading Martinez in batting average, Betts also has him beat in on-base percentage (.432 to .400), OPS (1.057 to 1.029) andOPS+ (179 to 174).There's no contest in the baserunning or defense departments. Betts has 28 stolen bases to Martinez's five, and he's one of the AL's most valuable overall baserunners. He's also second among AL outfielders with 21 defensive runs saved.Because Baseball Writers' Association of America voters aren't given a "clear-cut definition of what Most Valuable means," MVP debates don't stop at the WAR rankings.Hence why there are also cases for Mike Trout, Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Alex Bregman, Khris Davis and Matt Chapman in addition to Betts and Martinez.And yet, both WAR and the Vegas odds point to Betts as the man to beat.Perhaps things would be different if there were an outcry for BBWAA members to subscribe to logic that Martinez must be named the MVP if he earns the Triple Crown. But if it even exists, such an outcry is difficult to hear.Which brings us to the other inevitable part of this article: My DJ LeMahieu Jersey , how things have changed since 2012.Paul Sancya/Associated PressThe AL MVP battle between Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout six years ago had the same basic setup as this year's Martinez vs. Betts battle, but it inspired completely different arguments.Cabrera was the guy chasing the Triple Crown who succeeded with a .330 average, 44 homers and 139 RBI. Trout, meanwhile, was a sabermetrician's platonic ideal of a baseball player. He slashed .326/.399/.564 with 30 homers, 49 steals, 19DRS and 10.5 WAR to Cabrera's 7.1.Cabrera winning the AL MVP in a landslide, however, was reflective of the logic of the day. Although his backers also brought up the Detroit Tigers' playoff berth, the Triple Crown was the main draw."I think [Cabrera and Trout are] both fantastic players, tremendous players, both of them," Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost told reporters that October, "but if Cabrera wins the Triple Crown, he has to be the MVP, absolutely."Mind you, the notion that a Triple Crown must equal an MVP wasn't historically accurate. That didn't work for Chuck Klein in 1933. Nor for Lou Gehrig in 1934. Nor for Ted Williams in 1942 or 1947.Still, that didn't stop HISTORY from assuming an all-caps role in the matter. This was the Triple Crown http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-bettis-jersey , after all. Its roots as the ultimate measure of hitting excellence went deep. To boot, Cabrera was the first to wear it since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.In the face of all this, Trout's supporters tried to push that he'd actually been a better hitter than Cabrera (true), as well as more clutch (also true) and generally more of an impactful player (see above). Coupled with how his Los Angeles Angels actually won more games than Cabrera's Tigers, his MVP case should have been hard to deny.However, making those claims required pointing to statistics that hadn't yet broken into the mainstream. Writers and fans reacted accordingly. WAR, especially, was either dismissed as "obscure" or mocked via repurposed Edwin Starr lyrics.But if nothing else, the Cabrera vs. Trout debate broke down the wall that stood between new-school statistics and the mainstream. And rather than being forced back out, their role in the argument has only increased in the ensuing years.WAR, in particular, is now referenced on baseball cards and in TV broadcasts. Heck, it even appears on stadium scoreboards. Those same scoreboards are also bound to reference all manner of Statcast data, which has completely revolutionized (read: "geek-ified") how baseball is discussed over the last four years.In an environment such as this, Martinez simply can't be granted the same kind of treatment that Cabrera got back in 2012. To do so would be to engage in blatantly out-of-touch behavior.This is not to suggest that Martinez has no shot at winning the AL MVP. His numbers are damn impressive, andMLB.com'sMike Lupicaand The Athletic'sKen Rosenthalhave (rightly) opined that his transcendent effect on the Red Sox lineup can't be ignored.Regardless, 2018 will succeed in doing something that should have been done back in 2012: It will render the Triple Crown from a supreme achievement to a mere oddity. Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.