| Major League Baseball MVPs |
|
|
| Year |
National League |
American League |
| 1931 |
Frankie Frisch, St. Louis |
Lefty Grove, Philadelphia |
| 1932 |
Chuck Klein, Philadelphia |
Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia |
| 1933 |
Carl Hubbell, New York |
Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia |
| 1934 |
Dizzy Dean, St. Louis |
Mickey Cochrane, Detroit |
| 1935 |
Gabby Hartnett, Chicago |
Hank Greenberg, Detroit |
| 1936 |
Carl Hubbell, New York |
Lou Gehrig, New York |
| 1937 |
Joe Medwick, St. Louis |
Charlie Gehringer, Detroit |
| 1938 |
Ernie Lombardi, Cincinnati |
Jimmie Foxx, Boston |
| 1939 |
Bucky Walters Cincinnati |
Joe DiMaggio, New York |
| 1940 |
Frank McCormick, Cincinnati |
Hank Greenberg, Detroit |
| 1941 |
Dolph Camilli, Brooklyn |
Joe DiMaggio, New York |
| 1942 |
Mort Cooper, St. Louis |
Joe Gordon, New York |
| 1943 |
Stan Musial, St. Louis |
Spud Chandler, New York |
| 1944 |
Marty Marion, St. Louis |
Hal Newhouser, Detroit |
| 1945 |
Phil Cavarretta, Chicago |
Hal Newhouser, Detroit |
| 1946 |
Stan Musial, St. Louis |
Ted Williams, Boston |
| 1947 |
Bob Elliot, Boston |
Joe DiMaggio, New York |
| 1948 |
Stan Musial, St. Louis |
Lou Boudreau, Cleveland |
| 1949 |
Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn |
Ted Williams, Boston |
| 1950 |
Jim Konstanty, Philadelphia |
Phil Rizzuto, New York |
| 1951 |
Roy Campanella Brooklyn |
Yogi Berra, New York |
| 1952 |
Hank Sauer, Chicago |
Bobby Shantz, Philadelphia |
| 1953 |
Ray Campanella, Brooklyn |
Al Rosen, Cleveland |
| 1954 |
Willie Mays, New York |
Yogi Berra, New York |
| 1955 |
Roy Campanella, Brooklyn |
Yogi Berra, New York |
| 1956 |
Don Newcombe, Brooklyn |
Mickey Mantle, New York |
| 1957 |
Hank Aaron, Milwaukee |
Mickey Mantle, New York |
| 1958 |
Ernie Banks, Chicago |
Jackie Jensen, Boston |
| 1959 |
Ernie Banks, Chicago |
Nellie Fox, Chicago |
| 1960 |
Dick Groat, Pittsburgh |
Roger Maris, New York |
| 1961 |
Frank Robinson, Cincinnati |
Roger Maris, New York |
| 1962 |
Maury Wills, Los Angeles |
Mickey Mantle, New York |
| 1963 |
Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles |
Elston Howard, New York |
| 1964 |
Ken Boyer, St. Louis |
Brooks Robinson, Baltimore |
| 1965 |
Willie Mays, San Francisco |
Zoilo Versalles, Minnesota |
| 1966 |
Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh |
Frank Robinson, Baltimore |
| 1967 |
Orlando Cepeda, St. Louis |
Carl Yastrzemski, Boston |
| 1968 |
Bob Gibson, St. Louis |
Denny McLain, Detroit |
| 1969 |
Willie McCovey, San Francisco |
Harmon Killebrew, Minnesota |
| 1970 |
Johnny Bench, Cincinnati |
Boog Powell, Baltimore |
| 1971 |
Joe Torre, St. Louis |
Vida Blue, Oakland |
| 1972 |
Johnny Bench, Cincinnati |
Richie Allen, Chicago |
| 1973 |
Pete Rose, Cincinnati |
Reggie Jackson, Oakland |
| 1974 |
Steve Garvey Los Angeles |
Jeff Burroughs, Texas |
| 1975 |
Joe Morgan, Cincinnati |
Fred Lynn, Boston |
| 1976 |
Joe Morgan, Cincinnati |
Thurman Munson, New York |
| 1977 |
George Foster, Cincinnati |
Rod Carew, Minnesota |
| 1978 |
Dave Parker, Pittsburgh |
Jim Rice, Boston |
| 1979 |
Keith Hernandez, St. Louis |
Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh
Don Baylor, California |
| 1980 |
Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia |
George Brett, Kansas City |
| 1981 |
Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia |
Rollie Fingers, Milwaukee |
| 1982 |
Dale Murphy, Atlanta |
Robin Yount, Milwaukee |
| 1983 |
Dale Murphy, Atlanta |
Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore |
| 1984 |
Ryne Sandberg, Chicago |
Willie Hernandez, Detroit |
| 1985 |
Willie McGee, St. Louis |
Don Mattingly, New York |
| 1986 |
Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia |
Roger Clemens, Boston |
| 1987 |
Andre Dawson, Chicago |
George Bell, Toronto |
| 1988 |
Kirk Gibson, Los Angeles |
Jose Canseco, Oakland |
| 1989 |
Kevin Mitchell, San Francisco |
Robin Yount, Milwaukee |
| 1990 |
Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh |
Rickey Henderson, Oakland |
| 1991 |
Terry Pendleton, Atlanta |
Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore |
| 1992 |
Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh |
Dennis Eckersley, Oakland |
| 1993 |
Barry Bonds, San Francisco |
Frank Thomas, Chicago |
| 1994 |
Jeff Bagwell, Houston |
Frank Thomas, Chicago |
| 1995 |
Barry Larkin, Cincinnati |
Mo Vaughn, Boston |
| 1996 |
Ken Caminiti, San Diego |
Juan Gonzalez, Texas |
| 1997 |
Larry Walker, Colorado |
Ken Griffey, Jr., Seattle |
| 1998 |
Sammy Sosa, Chicago |
Juan Gonzalez, Texas |
| 1999 |
Chipper Jones, Atlanta |
Ivan Rodriguez, Texas |
| 2000 |
Jeff Kent, San Francisco |
Jason Giambi, Oakland |
| 2001 |
Barry Bonds, San Francisco |
Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle |
| 2002 |
Barry Bonds, San Francisco |
Miguel Tejada, Oakland |
| 2003 |
Barry Bonds, San Francisco |
Alex Rodriguez, Texas |
| 2004 |
Barry Bonds, San Francisco |
Vladimir Guerrero, Anaheim |
| 2005 |
Albert Pujols, St Louis |
Alex Rodriguez, New York |
|
(See
the book"Heroes of the Hall: Baseball's Greatest Players by Ron Smith
at Amazon.com)
Professional Baseball
Becomes Firmly Established
Numerous baseball leagues came and went
for 13 years. In 1871, nine teams formed
the National Association of Professional
Baseball Players. The nine teams were from
New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland,
Washington, D.C., Rockford, Troy, New York
and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Brooklyn joined
the league in 1872. These teams paid just
$10 to join the league. Problems including
teams folding, domination by the Boston
team, players moving between teams and even
signing with more than one team, and gambling
plagued the league and it folded after five
seasons.
Out of the problematic
NAPBP (Are you keeping all of these initials
straight?), came the beginnings of the National
League. William Hulbert talked to other
financial backers about starting a professional
league run by owners, not players. In early
1876, while the NAPBP was technically still
in operation, Hulbert called a meeting with
representatives from seven other teams.
The National League of Professional Baseball
Clubs (no more initials, just the plain
old National League) played its inaugural
season in the summer of 1876.
The National League brought
stability and respectability to baseball.
Other rival leagues formed but only one
would last—the Western League, which
in 1901 became the American League.
The Rivalry Begins
When the Western League
started it had teams in midwestern cities
that had no National League clubs. In 1900,
however, the new league started invading
National League cities. Charles Comiskey
moved his club from Minnesota to Chicago.
Moves followed into Cleveland, Boston, Baltimore,
Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.
Needless to say, there
was no love lost between to the two leagues.
In 1903, the leagues did sit down and create
the concept of their respective champions
meeting in the World Series. The Pittsburgh
Pirates of the National League met the Boston
Pilgrims of the American League in the first
World Series. Boston won the eight-game
series 5-3. The next year, the National
League champion New York Giants refused
to play Boston. Since 1905, the World Series
has been played every year except 1994 when
it was cancelled by a players’ strike.
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