By Cory Fallon
Normally the MVP is the best player in the league, but for some reason, these five guys nabbed the honor.
1) Mickey Cochrane, AL 1934
1934 World Series – Babe Ruth shakes hands with player/managers Frankie Frisch of the St. Louis Cardinals and Mickey Cochrane of the Detroit Tigers pic.twitter.com/T4EChFIbCa
— OldTimeHardball (@OleTimeHardball) July 29, 2020
This is probably one of the most absurd selections of all time. Of the 19 players who received AL MVP votes in 1934, Cochrane had the 12th best WAR at just a measly 4.5. He tallied a .840 OPS with two home runs and 75 RBI while not leading the league in any offensive categories. Poor Lou Gehrig placed fifth after a 1.172 OPS and 207 OPS+ season, leading the AL with a 10.1 WAR and winning the triple crown with 49 home runs, 166 RBI and a .363 average. Sure, Cochrane was a player/manager, but this was a highway robbery.
2) Marty Marion, NL 1944
On this date in 1916, #CardsHOF SS Marty Marion was born.
An 8x All-Star, “Mr. Shortstop” was known for his elite defense and lead the club to three World Series titles. He was the first NL SS ever to win an MVP award, taking home the honor in 1944. pic.twitter.com/uEEs9y5pIB
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) December 1, 2019
Marion won the 1944 NL MVP by one point over Bill Nicholson, who was way more deserving than ole Marty here. Marion slashed .267/.324/.362 with six home runs, 63 RBI and a 4.6 WAR. Nicholson led the NL in runs, home runs and RBI while tallying a .935 OPS and an even 6.0 WAR. Heck, Stan Musial finished fourth with a .990 OPS, a league-leading 197 hits and 8.9 WAR! I have no idea what the voters were thinking, but Marion wasn’t even the best player on his own team, let alone the whole league.
3) Joe DiMaggio, AL 1947.
On this date in 1947, Joe DiMaggio edged out Ted Williams for the AL MVP by one vote!
Who finished third? #MLBNow #ThinkBaseball pic.twitter.com/ffDaYaFHqe
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 27, 2017
This isn’t going to be a Joey D hit piece, but he just simply shouldn’t have won MVP in 1947. While he put together a solid season, Ted Williams won the freaking triple crown and was slighted. Teddy Ballgame led the American League with a 9.5 WAR, 125 runs, 32 home runs, 114 RBI and 162 walks while slashing .343/.499/.634 to the tune of a 1.133 OPS. DiMaggio wasn’t even close to any of those totals but somehow found himself with the MVP trophy at years end.
4) Boog Powell, AL 1970
“Old Days”Johnny Bench blocks the plate against Boog Powell during the 1970 Reds-Orioles World Series in Baltimore.#Reds #Cincinnati #Orioles #Baltimore #MLB #1970s pic.twitter.com/aEa6MGYnlf
— Tom's Old Days (@sigg20) February 16, 2022
Boog had a very respectable season, but it wasn’t close to the best in the American League in 1970. He racked up a 5.1 WAR thanks to 35 home runs and 114 RBI, which came to the tune of a .962 OPS. But compare that to Carl Yastrzemski’s season? It should have been a no-brainer. Yaz led the league with a 9.5 WAR, 1.044 OPS and 125 runs while blasting 40 bombs and driving in 102 runs. Despite that season, he finished fourth in the voting while playing in all but one game for Boston.
5) Willie Stargell, NL 1979
Here’s Willie Stargell taking batting practice shirtless at Three Rivers Stadium like the goddamn folk hero he was.pic.twitter.com/Mc1T7CWNl0
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) June 7, 2022
Don’t get me wrong, I love Pops and think he’s one of the greatest of all time, but no way should he have shared MVP honors with Keith Hernandez in 1979. His 2.5 WAR was the 25th best of the 28 men to receive NL MVP votes that year, and he didn’t lead the NL in any offensive categories. Hernandez on the other hand, was tops in runs scored and batting average, while Dave Winfield, who finished 3rd, led the league in RBI and had an 8.3 WAR, nearly six higher than Stargell.
Photo Credit: Oleg Anisimov
