Baseball/Most Valuable Player Award

In the game of baseball, both amateur and professional, it is tradition to annually recognize the one player in the league who has contributed the most to the success of their team.

In the United States, the awarding of the Most Valuable Player Award (or MVP) in Major League Baseball has changed hands several times but since the 1930s has been one of the better-implemented awards in baseball.

Chalmers Award, 1911-1914

The Chalmers Automobile Company awarded an automobile in 1910 to the batting average leader in each league. This led to a contoversy in the American League; Ty Cobb and Napoleon Lajoie[?] entered the final day of the season neck-and-neck. St. Louis, playing Lajoie's Cleveland team, played their infield back, allowing Lajoie to beat out seven bunt singles in a doubleheader and win the title. In the ensuing debacle, Chalmers awarded automobiles to both players. (The question of who really won the batting title is still debated.)

For 1911, the Chalmers Company decided that batting average was too narrow a focus for an award. The Chalmers Award was the first attempt to recognize a player for overall contributions to his team's success -- hence the designation Most Valuable rather than "player of the year", a distrinction which remains today.

	National League	American League
1911	Wildfire Schulte, Chicago Cubs	Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers
1912	Larry Doyle, New York Giants	Tris Speaker, Boston Red Sox
1913	Jake Daubert, Brooklyn Dodgers	Walter Johnson, Washington Senators
1914	Johnny Evers[?], Boston Braves	Eddie Collins[?], Philadelphia Athletics

League awards, 1922-1929

In the 1920s the leagues awarded MVP titles, but limited the ballot options to one player per team, which led to there being no National League MVP in 1922 or 1923. A League Award could also be one by a player only once, leading to unusual results like Babe Ruth's 1927 (one of the greatest offensive seasons of all time) not being eligible for the award. The rule was changed in time for Rogers Hornsby[?] to become the first man to win two MVP awards, in 1929.

	National League	American League
1922	No Award	George Sisler[?], St Louis Browns
1923	No Award	Babe Ruth, New York Yankees
1924	Dazzy Vance[?], Brooklyn Dodgers	Walter Johnson, Washington Senators
1925	Rogers Hornsby[?], St Louis Cardinals	Roger Peckinpaugh, Washington Senators
1926	Bob O'Farrell, St Louis Cardinals	George Burns, Cleveland Indians]
1927	Paul Waner[?], Pittsburgh Pirates	Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees
1928	Jim Bottomley[?], St Louis Cardinals	Mickey Cochrane, Philadelphia Athletics
1929	Rogers Hornsby[?], Chicago Cubs	No Award

BBWAA Awards, 1931 to present In 1931, the Baseball Writers Association of America began awarding the Most Valuable Player trophy.

In 1956 the Cy Young Award was first given to the best pitcher in each league. After that, the belief arose that the Most Valuable Player ought to be a position player, since pitchers had their own award. On occasion, though, pitchers still win the award, and the current rules for the MVP specifically state that pitchers are to be considered.

	National League	American League
1931	Lefty Grove, Philadelphia Athletics P	Frankie Frisch[?], St Louis Cardinals 2B
1932	Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia Athletics 1B	Chuck Klein[?], Philadelphia Phillies OF
1933	Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia Athletics 1B	Carl Hubbell[?], New York Giants P
1934	Mickey Cochrane, Detroit Tigers C	Dizzy Dean[?], St Louis Cardinals P
1935	Hank Greenberg, Detroit Tigers 1B	Gabby Hartnett[?], Chicago Cubs C
1936	Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees 1B	Carl Hubbell[?], New York Giants P
1937	Charlie Gehringer[?], Detroit Tigers 2B	Joe Medwick[?], St Louis Cardinals OF
1938	Jimmie Foxx, Boston Red Sox 1B	Ernie Lombardi[?], Cincinnati Reds C
1939	Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees OF	Bucky Walters, Cincinnati Reds P
1940	Hank Greenberg, Detroit Tigers OF	Frank McCormick, Cincinnati Reds 1B
1941	Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees OF	Dolph Camilli, Brooklyn Dodgers 1B
1942	Joe Gordon, New York Yankees 2B	Mort Cooper, St Louis Cardinals P
1943	Spud Chandler, New York Yankees P	Stan Musial[?], St Louis Cardinals OF
1944	Hal Newhouser, Detroit Tigers P	Marty Marion, St Louis Cardinals SS
1945	Hal Newhouser, Detroit Tigers P	Phil Cavarretta, Chicago Cubs 1B
1946	Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox OF	Stan Musial[?], St Louis Cardinals 1B
1947	Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees OF	Bob Elliot, Boston Braves 3B
1948	Lou Boudreau[?], Cleveland Indians SS	Stan Musial[?], St Louis Cardinals OF
1949	Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox OF	Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers 2B
1950	Phil Rizzuto[?], New York Yankees SS	Jim Konstanty, Philadelphia Phillies P
1951	Yogi Berra, New York Yankees C	Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers C
1952	Bobby Shantz, Philadelphia Athletics P	Hank Sauer, Chicago Cubs OF
1953	Al Rosen, Cleveland Indians 3B	Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers C
1954	Yogi Berra, New York Yankees C	Willie Mays, New York Giants OF
1955	Yogi Berra, New York Yankees C	Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers C
1956	Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees OF	Don Newcombe, Brooklyn Dodgers P
1957	Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees OF	Hank Aaron, Milwaukee Braves OF
1958	Jackie Jensen, Boston Red Sox OF	Ernie Banks[?], Chicago Cubs SS
1959	Nellie Fox[?], Chicago White Sox 2B	Ernie Banks[?], Chicago Cubs SS
1960	Roger Maris, New York Yankees OF	Dick Groat, Pittsburgh Pirates SS
1961	Roger Maris, New York Yankees OF	Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds OF
1962	Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees OF	Maury Wills, Los Angeles Dodgers SS
1963	Elston Howard, New York Yankees C	Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers P
1964	Brooks Robinson[?], Baltimore Orioles 3B	Ken Boyer, St Louis Cardinals 3B
1965	Zoilo Versalles, Minnesota Twins SS	Willie Mays, San Francisco Giants OF
1966	Frank Robinson, Baltimore Orioles OF	Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates OF
1967	Carl Yastrzemski, Boston Red Sox OF	Orlando Cepeda[?], St Louis Cardinals 1B
1968	Denny McLain, Detroit Tigers P	Bob Gibson, St Louis Cardinals P
1969	Harmon Killebrew[?], Minnesota Twins 3B	Willie McCovey[?], San Francisco Giants 1B
1970	Boog Powell, Baltimore Orioles 1B	Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds C
1971	Vida Blue, Oakland As P	Joe Torre, St Louis Cardinals 3B
1972	Dick Allen, Chicago White Sox 1B	Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds C
1973	Reggie Jackson, Oakland As OF	Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds OF
1974	Jeff Burroughs, Texas Rangers OF	Steve Garvey, Los Angeles Dodgers 1B
1975	Fred Lynn, Boston Red Sox OF	Joe Morgan[?], Cincinnati Reds 2B
1976	Thurman Munson, New York Yankees C	Joe Morgan[?], Cincinnati Reds 2B
1977	Rod Carew[?], Minnesota Twins 1B	George Foster, Cincinnati Reds OF
1978	Jim Rice, Boston Red Sox OF	Dave Parker, Pittsburgh Pirates OF
1979	Don Baylor, California Angels DH	Keith Hernandez, St Louis Cardinals 1B Willie Stargell[?], Pittsburgh Pirates 1B
1980	George Brett, Kansas City Royals 3B	Mike Schmidt[?], Philadelphia Phillies 3B
1981	Rollie Fingers, Milwaukee Brewers P	Mike Schmidt[?], Philadelphia Phillies 3B
1982	Robin Yount[?], Milwaukee Brewers SS	Dale Murphy, Atlanta Braves OF
1983	Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore Orioles SS	Dale Murphy, Atlanta Braves OF
1984	Willie Hernandez, Detroit Tigers P	Ryne Sandberg, Chicago Cubs 2B
1985	Don Mattingly, New York Yankees 1B	Willie McGee, St Louis Cardinals OF
1986	Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox P	Mike Schmidt[?], Philadelphia Phillies 3B
1987	George Bell[?], Toronto Blue Jays OF	Andre Dawson[?], Chicago Cubs OF
1988	Jose Canseco, Oakland As OF	Kirk Gibson, Los Angeles Dodgers OF
1989	Robin Yount[?], Milwaukee Brewers OF	Kevin Mitchell, San Francisco Giants OF
1990	Rickey Henderson, Oakland As OF	Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh Pirates OF
1991	Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore Orioles SS	Terry Pendleton, Atlanta Braves 3B
1992	Dennis Eckersley[?], Oakland As P	Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh Pirates OF
1993	Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox 1B	Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants OF
1994	Frank Thomas[?], Chicago White Sox 1B	Jeff Bagwell[?], Houston Astros 1B
1995	Mo Vaughn[?], Boston Red Sox 1B	Barry Larkin[?], Cincinnati Reds SS
1996	Juan Gonzalez[?], Texas Rangers OF	Ken Caminiti[?], San Diego Padres 3B
1997	Ken Griffey Jr.[?], Seattle Mariners OF	Larry Walker[?], Colorado Rockies OF
1998	Juan Gonzalez[?], Texas Rangers OF	Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs OF
1999	Ivan Rodriguez[?], Texas Rangers C	Chipper Jones[?], Atlanta Braves 3B
2000	Jason Giambi[?], Oakland As 1B	Jeff Kent[?], San Francisco Giants 2B
2001	Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners OF	Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants OF
2002	Miguel Tejada[?], Oakland As SS	Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants OF