Bryant, Rizzo front-runners for NL MVP

CHICAGO — Brace yourself.

The great National League MVP debate of 2016 is coming, if it is not already raging at your office, on your radio or in your favorite tavern.

Which one of the Cubs have you got? Kris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo?

Jake Arrieta, for what it’s worth, calls Bryant a “very special guy” but says Rizzo is “a tremendous player … pretty much our MVP about every year.”

In manager Joe Maddon’s perfect world, Bryant and Rizzo both could win.

“They really share one name — Bryzzo,” Maddon said, referring to the Bryzzo Souvenir Company ads for Major League Baseball. “Maybe Bryzzo could be named the MVP.”

Rizzo joked Thursday he might treasure the honor more than his younger teammate.

“He’s won an award the last 15 years, so I think it just would come natural [for him],” Rizzo said. “If it was me, I’d probably have it in my locker, sleep with it.”

Why not? If the Cubs hang onto their wide lead in the NL Central and either Rizzo or Bryant win the MVP, they’d become only the fourth Cub to be the MVP on a first-place team, joining Phil Cavarretta (1945), Gabby Hartnett (1935) and Rogers Hornsby (1929).

That’s how special this chance is.

Bryant has a chance to win the NL MVP Award the year after being named Rookie of the Year. Rizzo, who is in his fifth season with the Cubs, suffered through the rebuilding years at Wrigley Field before Bryant and other talented players arrived.

There are candidates outside of Chicago, of course. Daniel Murphy, Nolan Arenado, Buster Posey, among others. But this has been the Year of the Cubs in baseball, and Rizzo and Bryant certainly aren’t slowing down.

Rizzo’s “Fiddler on the Roof” walk across the top of a brick wall to catch a foul ball on Tuesday night epitomizes the defense of a team that leaves few possible outs on the field. But you win MVPs with your hitting, and Bryant had one of the best games of his career in Thursday’s 9-6 …

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