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 (and along with it the no-repeat rule), 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 given in the NL but not the AL, and 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
- For the first and only time in history, 1979 saw co-MVPs in baseball, with rival first basemen Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Keith Hernandez of the New York Mets split the votes and the award.
- While Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Yogi Berra, and Mickey Mantle are tied in the American League with three MVPs apiece, in the National League it's no contest - the otherworldly Barry Bonds has won 7!
- With his victory in 1956, Don Newcombe became the first pitcher to win the MVP and National League Cy Young Award in the same season. The feat was repeated in 1964 by Sandy Koufax and in 1968 by Bob Gibson.
Winners
Here are the winners of the National League Most Valuable Player Award, in reverse chronological order:
2007
Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies - SS
2006
Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies - 1B
2005
Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals - 1B
2004
Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants - LF
2003
Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants - LF
2002
Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants - LF
2001
Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants - LF
2000
Jeff Kent, San Francisco Giants - 2B
1999
Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves - 3B
1998
Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs - RF
1997
Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies - RF
1996
Ken Caminiti, San Diego Padres - 3B
1995
Barry Larkin, Cincinnati Reds - SS
1994
Jeff Bagwell, Houston Astros - 1B
1993
Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants - LF
1992
Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh Pirates - LF
1991
Terry Pendleton, Atlanta Braves - 3B
1990
Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh Pirates - LF
1989
Kevin Mitchell, San Francisco Giants - RF
1988
Kirk Gibson, Los Angeles Dodgers - LF
1987
Andre Dawson, Chicago Cubs - LF
1986
Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies - 3B
1985
Willie McGee, St. Louis Cardinals - CF
1984
Ryne Sandberg, Chicago Cubs - 2B
1983
Dale Murphy, Atlanta Braves - LF
1982
Dale Murphy, Atlanta Braves - LF
1981
Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies - 3B
1980
Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies - 3B
1979
Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates - 1B
Keith Hernandez, New York Mets - 1B
1978
Dave Parker, Pittsburgh Pirates - RF
1977
George Foster, Cincinnati Reds - LF
1976
Joe Morgan, Cincinnati Reds - 2B
1975
Joe Morgan, Cincinnati Reds - 2B
1974
Steve Garvey, Los Angeles Dodgers - 1B
1973
Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds - RF
1972
Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds - C
1971
Joe Torre, St. Louis Cardinals - 3B
1970
Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds - C
1969
Willie McCovey, San Francisco Giants - 1B
1968
Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals - P
1967
Orlando Cepeda, St. Louis Cardinals - 1B
1966
Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates - LF
1965
Willie Mays, San Francisco Giants - CF
1964
Ken Boyer, St. Louis Cardinals - 3B
1963
Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers - P
1962
Maury Wills, Los Angeles Dodgers - SS
1961
Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds - LF
1960
Dick Groat, Pittsburgh Pirates - SS
1959
Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs - SS
1958
Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs - SS
1957
Hank Aaron, Milwaukee Braves - RF
1956
Don Newcombe, Brooklyn Dodgers - P
1955
Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers - C
1954
Willie Mays, New York Giants - CF
1953
Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers - C
1952
Hank Sauer, Chicago Cubs - LF
1951
Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers - C
1950
Jim Kostanty, Philadelphia Phillies - P
1949
Jackie Robinson, Brookyln Dodgers - 2B
1948
Stan Musial, St. Louis Cardinals - LF
1947
Bob Elliott, Boston Braves - 3B
1946
Stan Musial, St. Louis Cardinals - 1B/OF
1945
Phil Cavarretta, Chicago Cubs - 1B
1944
Marty Marion, St. Louis Cardinals - SS
1943
Stan Musial, St. Louis Cardinals - 1B/OF
1942
Mort Cooper, St. Louis Cardinals - P
1941
Dolph Camilli, Brooklyn Dodgers - 1B
1940
Frank McCormick, Cincinnati Reds - 1B
1939
Bucky Walters, Cincinnati Reds - P
1938
Ernie Lombardi, Cincinnati Reds - C
1937
Joe Medwick, St. Louis Cardinals - RF
1936
Carl Hubbell, New York Giants - P
1935
Gabby Hartnett, Chicago Cubs - C
1934
Dizzy Dean, St. Louis Cardinals - P
1933
Carl Hubbell, New York Giants - P
1932
Chuck Klein, Philadelphia Phillies - LF
1931
Frankie Frisch, Chicago Cubs - 2B
Source: Major League Baseball - http://www.mlb.com.
See Also:
American League Awards:
National League Awards:
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