Called by Elston Howard (1963) the "Nobel Prize of baseball," the Most Valuable Player award attempts to capture more than statistics: it also attempts to identify the player who best served his team, and whose contributions to his team were in fact invaluable.
History Of The Award
In 1910, the idea to reward the player with the highest batting average began. The prize was a new Chalmers automobile. After a topsy-turvy final day of games, Nap Lajoie had edged Ty Cobb in the batting title by one-thousandth of a point (Lajoie had been thrown a lot of meat pitches and went 8-for-8 in a doubleheader - a slap in the face of the unpopular Georgia Peach). To avoid further confusion, the award was handed over to 11 sportswriters, who would select the league's most valuable player. An important clause was that no player could win twice. This award (colloquially named the Chalmers award) was discontinued in 1914, as Chalmers shifted their gears toward the war effort.
In 1922, the American League again began bestowing an MVP award on its favorite player (mostly to have something to enshrine on a newly proposed baseball monument in Washington, D.C.) and in 1924, the National League followed suit. In 1929, the award was again discontinued, mostly due to waning interest.
In 1931, the Baseball Writers Association of America began awarding the MVP award to one player from both the American and National League. The Sporting News presented the trophy until 1940, when the BBWAA took over this aspect as well.
Odds And Ends
- Fred Lynn (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001) are the only two players to win both Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season.
- Denny McLain (1968), Rollie Fingers (1981) and Willie Hernandez (1984) are the only three pitchers to win both the American League Cy Young Award and MVP in the same season.
- Despite winning the American League Triple Crown in both 1942 and 1947, Ted Williams lost both of those MVP races.
- Hal Newhouser is the only pitcher to win the award twice in a row (in 1944 and 1945.)
- In 2003, Alex Rodriguez became the first player in either league to win the MVP award while playing for a losing team. His Texas Rangers went 71-91, but A-Rod's stellar defense and 47 home runs still managed to stand out.
Winners
Here are the winners of the American League Most Valuable Player Award, in reverse chronological order:
2007
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees - 3B
2006
Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins - 1B
2005
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees - 3B
2004
Vladimir Guerrero, Anaheim Angels - RF
2003
Alex Rodriguez, Texas Rangers- SS
2002
Miguel Tejada, Oakland Athletics- SS
2001
Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners- RF
2000
Jason Giambi, Oakland Athletics - 1B
1999
Ivan Rodriguez, Texas Rangers - C
1998
Juan Gonzalez, Texas Rangers - OF
1997
Ken Griffey, Jr., Seattle Mariners - OF
1996
Juan Gonzalez, Texas Rangers - OF
1995
Mo Vaughn, Boston Red Sox - 1B
1994
Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox - 1B
1993
Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox - 1B
1992
Dennis Eckersley, Oakland Athletics - P
1991
Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore Orioles - SS
1990
Rickey Henderson, Oakland Athletics - OF
1989
Robin Yount, Milwaukee Brewers - OF
1988
Jose Canseco, Oakland Athletics - OF
1987
George Bell, Toronto Blue Jays - OF
1986
Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox - P
1985
Don Mattingly, New York Yankees - 1B
1984
Willie Hernandez, Detroit Tigers - P
1983
Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore Orioles - SS
1982
Robin Yount, Milwaukee Brewers - SS
1981
Rollie Fingers, Milwaukee Brewers - P
1980
George Brett, Kansas City Royals - 3B
1979
Don Baylor, California Angels - OF
1978
Jim Rice, Boston Red Sox - OF
1977
Rod Carew, Minnesota Twins - 1B
1976
Thurman Munson, New York Yankees - C
1975
Fred Lynn, Boston Red Sox - OF
1974
Jeff Burroughs, Texas Rangers - OF
1973
Reggie Jackson, Oakland Athletics - OF
1972
Richie Allen, Chicago White Sox - 1B
1971
Vida Blue, Oakland Athletics - P
1970
Boog Powell, Baltimore Orioles - 1B
1969
Harmon Killebrew, Minnesota Twins - 1B/3B
1968
Denny McLain, Detroit Tigers - P
1967
Carl Yastrzemski, Boston Red Sox - OF
1966
Frank Robinson, Baltimore Orioles - OF
1965
Zoilo Versalles, Minnesota Twins - SS
1964
Brooks Robinson, Baltimore Orioles - 3B
1963
Elston Howard, New York Yankees - C
1962
Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees - OF
1961
Roger Maris, New York Yankees - OF
1960
Roger Maris, New York Yankees - OF
1959
Nellie Fox, Chicago White Sox - 2B
1958
Jackie Jensen, Boston Red Sox - OF
1957
Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees - OF
1956
Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees - OF
1955
Yogi Berra, New York Yankees - C
1954
Yogi Berra, New York Yankees - C
1953
Al Rosen, Cleveland Indians - 3B
1952
Bobby Shantz, Philadelphia Athletics - P
1951
Yogi Berra, New York Yankees - C
1950
Phil Rizzuto, New York Yankees - SS
1949
Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox - OF
1948
Lou Boudreau, Cleveland Indians - SS
1947
Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees - OF
1946
Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox - OF
1945
Hal Newhouser, Detroit Tigers - P
1944
Hal Newhouser, Detroit Tigers - P
1943
Spud Chandler, New York Yankees - P
1942
Joe Gordon, New York Yankees - 2B
1941
Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees - OF
1940
Hank Greenberg, Detroit Tigers - OF
1939
Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees - OF
1938
Jimmie Foxx, Boston Red Sox - 1B
1937
Charlie Gehringer, Detroit Tigers - 2B
1936
Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees - 1B
1935
Hank Greenberg, Detroit Tigers - 1B
1934
Mickey Cochrane, Detroit Tigers - C
1933
Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia Athletics - 1B
1932
Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia Athletics - 1B
1931
Lefty Grove, Philadelphia Athletics - P
Source: Major League Baseball - http://www.mlb.com.
See Also:
American League Awards:
National League Awards:
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