The Francisco Lindor MVP discourse is about to become intolerable

In about a month we'll learn when MLB Network is planning to announce each of the Baseball Writers Association of America's postseason awards.

The "finalists" — really, the top-three vote-getters in each category — should be revealed soon after the World Series ends. Then, a week or two later, we'll learn who wins each award.

The process is drawn out by design. It keeps the just-completed season in the national discourse for longer, and keeps baseball closer to the front of fans' mind as football takes center stage. The result is one of the best weeks on the calendar for a sports fan to take a vacation and delete any social media apps.

This year's National League MVP race has the chance to produce one of the more deplorable spin cycles in recent memory. It got a head start in September, when David Ortiz evoked a racist trope to contrast the MVP case of New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor with that of Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani.

Ortiz's comments aside, the crux of the debate is this:

• Mets fans are rooting for Lindor to win the award. Dodgers fans are rooting for Ohtani.

• Ohtani led the NL in the two most prominent public versions of Wins Above Replacement, something no DH has ever done. Lindor had to play defense in a season Ohtani could not because of his recovery from elbow surgery — and did so at a high level at a prominent position (shortstop) while playing through his own injury down the stretch.

• Lindor's supporters will argue playing defense is a prerequisite for an MVP award, something no DH has ever won. Ohtani's supporters will argue his 55-homer, 59-steal season (no player has ever had 50 of each in one season) ends the debate.

The problem looming in November is this: as Lindor continues to deliver clutch performances in the Mets' surprising playoff run — including a grand slam in their NLDS-clinching win Wednesday against the Phillies — fans will have Lindor's October in the front of their minds. MVP ballots were due before the postseason began. MLB Network viewers will (have to be?) reminded of this daily in November until the winner each award is revealed.

(Full disclosure: although I am a BBWAA member, I did not vote in any awards races this season.)

When MVP ballots were due, Ohtani's 6-for-6, 3-homer game in Miami that clinched his 50-50 season was at the front of fans' and voters' minds. It didn't help that Lindor missed nine games down the stretch with a back injury.

But if the Dodgers fail to advance deep in the playoffs (they're currently tied 2-2 in their best-of-five NLDS against the San Diego Padres), Ohtani's heroics will be a distant memory.

None of this should matter to the discourse, of course. The MVP vote is decided by regular season statistics, not postseason vibes.

Baseball fans should keep this in mind in November, when there isn't much else to talk about. But they won't.