Robbed of the MVP | Mario Soto's Blog

1934 AL

NameABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsCochrane437.320.42818014028Gehrig579.363.465208210499

Mickey Cochrane won the hardware because he was the catcher on the best team. Cochrane had a good year, but Gehrig won the triple crown. Gehrig only finished fifth in the voting. He led the league in total bases, the triple crown stats, batting wins and times on base. I guess Lou's cold personality turned the media away, but man, he had a tremendous year.

1935 NL

NamesABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsHartnett413.344.404151142131Vaughan499.385.481190192194

This was another case of the best player on the best team winning the award. Arky Vaughan put up one of the best ever seasons by a shortstop, but Gabby Hartnett still won. Hartnett failed to lead the league in any category. Arky had a 190 OPS plus, along with a league leading batting average, OBP, batting wins (6.8), times on base (296), and runs created (147).

1941 AL

NamesABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsDiMaggio541.357.440184193304Williams456.406.553235185372

One of the most infamous MVP seasons ever. Most every baseball fan knows this was the year of .406 and the 56-game hitting streak. But which was more valuable? Well, DiMaggio did have an OPS plus of 184, 125 RBIs, and 193 hits. Ted Williams on the other hand, had a ridiculous .553 OBP, an OPS plus of 235 and 9.8 batting wins. In other words, he had the most ridiculously awesome season by a MVP runner-up.

1942 AL

NamesABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsGordon538.322.4091551731812Williams522.356.499217186363

The media's hatred of Ted Williams led to another undeserving Yankee, Joe Gordon, winning the MVP. Ted won the triple crown, and led the league in 17 categories according the baseball-reference.com. Joe Gordon only led the league in strikeouts and GIDP.

1944 NL

NamesABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsMarion506.267.3249113561Musial568.347.440175197127

In the NL Marty Marion won the awards, despite the fact his teammate Stan Musial had a far superior season. Marion played SS, but he had an OPS plus of 91. Stan the Man led the league in hits, OPS plus, and runs created, to name just a few categories.

1944 AL

NamesWinsERA plusWHIPInningsStrikeoutsNewhouser291611.17312187Trout271681.13352144

In the AL two teammates competed for the award, but the wrong player won. Hal Newhouser and Dizzy Trout, pitchers for the Detroit Tigers, had a close vote. Hal had more wins and Ks and won the award, but Dizzy pitched more innings, had a lower ERA, and had a lower WHIP. He was also a fairly good hitter as he hit five home runs. Trout deserved the award.

1947 AL

NamesABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsDiMaggio534.315.391154168203Williams528.343.499205181320

Joltin Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams competed for the hardware again this season, but the outcome was the same. Joe won because he was on a better team and was well liked. Ted won the triple crown, had 162 walks, and had a 205 OPS plus. DiMaggio did not lead the league in any category, while Ted had black ink in 17 categories.

1958 AL

NamesABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsJensen548.286.396148157359Mantle519.304.4431881584218

This season hosted one of the rare times a Yankee player should have won the award, but did not. Mickey Mantle deserved the award in my opinion. He stole 18 bases, hit 42 homers, and had an OPS plus of 188. Jackie Jensen, the winner, had a lot of RBIs, but did not possess the all around greatness that Mantle brought to the game.

1970 AL

NamesABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsPowell526.297.412163156351Yastrzemski566.329.4521771864023

Boog Powell was the winner in this season, but he didn't deserve it. Yaz should have won, due to his great fielding and batting. He led the league in OBP with a career high .452. He also led in times on base, OPS plus, batting wins, and runs created. Boog just was the best player on the best team.

1987 AL & NL

NamesABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsDawson NL621.287.3281301784911Clark NL419.286.459176120351Bell AL610.308.352146188475Trammell AL597.343.4021552052821

This season was host to the worst MVP selections ever. Andre Dawson and George Bell won, due to fancy looking power numbers. In the AL Alan Trammell put together a great season for a shortstop. His OPS plus of 155 ranked fifth, his 205 hits ranked third, and his 137 runs created ranked second. Bell had a lot of RBIs and runs, but he ranked seventh in OPS plus, and he was a bad fielder. In the league with no DH, Andre Dawson won playing on a last place team and with an OBP below the league average. I think either Ozzie Smith, with his tremendous defense and decent offense, or Jack Clark, who led the league in OPS plus and batting wins, should have won. Darryl Strawberry also had a great year, with a 162 OPS plus, 30 plus steals, and 30 plus homers.

1995 AL

NamesABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsVaughn550.300.3881441653911Belle546.317.401177173505

This was a terrible vote. Mo Vaughn won because he was liked more than Albert Belle. Belle put up better stats in every category except steals. Belle had 50 homers, batted .317, and had an OPS plus of 177. Mo had 39 homers, batted .300, and had an OPS plus of 144.

1996 AL

NamesABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsGonzalez541.314.368145170472Rodriguez601.358.4141602153615

Juan Gonzalez won due to his massive RBI and home run totals. Arod played great defense at short, won the batting title, and led the league in total bases. He also had 215 hits, 141 runs, and created 157 runs. He was no doubt the best player, while Juan played on a great team.

2001 AL

NamesABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsIchiro692.350.381126242856Giambi520.342.477198178382

Ichiro had one of the best seasons by a rookie, but he didn't deserve the MVP he got. While he played on one of the best regular season teams ever, he wasn't as valuable Giambi. Giambi created 171 runs, had 7.9 batting wins, and was on base 320 times. I loved what Ichiro brought to the game, but it wasn't enough to earn him an MVP.

2007 NL

NamesABBAOBPOPS plusHitsHome RunsStealsRollins716.296.3441182123041Holliday636.340.4051502163611

The most recent MVP robbery occurred last year. Jimmy Rollins won due to his 200 hit/20 double/20 triple/20 homer/20 steal season and his team making the playoffs. However, Rollins committed the eighteenth most outs in a season ever, with 527. His OBP was worse than the league average, and he batted leadoff. In my opinion Matt Holliday deserved the hardware. During the last two weeks, Matt had big hit after big hit, and was the chief reason the Rockies made the playoffs. He scored the winning run in sudden death game against the Padres. Holliday had the most hits, won the batting title, created the most runs, and had the most total bases. I believe he was more valuable.

That concludes my robbed/gypped/hoodwinked series. I hope it brought back some good or bitter memories.

By Aaron of www.DugoutCentral.com