Here’s a little diversion, while we shelter at home and wait for baseball to return.
TRIVIA QUESTION:
What somewhat unique achievement do the players in the following line up share? Hint: It was a stroke of good luck – against notable odds – to have a pitcher qualify for this squad and we’re not likely to see a Designated Hitter join the lineup any time soon.
P -Hal Newh0user … 1B – Jimmie Foxx … 2B – Joe Morgan … 3B – Mike Schmidt … SS – Ernie Banks … LF – Barry Bonds … CF – Mickey Mantle … RF – Roger Maris
Answer: They all won consecutive league Most Valuable Player Awards during their career.
Here’s a look at the All-Consecutive MVP lineup, some tidbits about their lives and careers – as well as a few comments on the additional players who won consecutive MVP Awards, but didn’t make the lineup (Dale Murphy, Frank Thomas, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera).
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Pitcher – Hal Newhouser
The only pitcher to capture consecutive MVP Awards was the Tigers’ southpaw Hal Newhauser – who was the AL MVP in 1944 and 1945. In 1944, Newhouser led the major leagues with 29 victories (nine losses) and strikeouts (187), as his Tigers finished second in the American League with an 88-66 record. He was also second in MLB in ERA, third in shutouts, fourth in complete games, third in W-L percentage, and third in innings pitched. Notably, the Al MVP race came down to Newhouser and his Detroit teammate Dizzy Trout. Newhauser got fewer first-place votes than Trout, but edged him in total points 236 to 232. Trout, by the way, went 27-14 and bested Newhauser and led MLB in ERA (2.12), innings pitched (352 1/3), shutouts (7) and complete games (33). This was a close one. Winning one of the closest-ever MVP races, put Newhauser in the position to become the only pitcher to capture consecutive league MVP Awards.
Who says pitchers can’t hit?
In his MVP seasons, Newhauser acquitted himself well as the plate, as well as on the mound. In 1944 and 1945, he went 57 for 229 (.249), with 18 runs scored and 22 RBI (in 878 games).
Newhouser followed up his 1944 success with a second MVP Award in 1945, when the Tigers finished first in the American League (88-65) and topped the Cubs four games-to-three in the World Series. That season, Newhouser again lead MLB in wins (25, versus nine losses), and also lead MLB in ERA (1.81), starts (36), complete games (29), shutouts (8), innings pitched (313 1/3) and strikeouts 212.
Newhouser followed up his 1945 MVP season with another worthy of MVP consideration, In 1946, he went 26-9, again leading MLB in wins (tied with Bob Feller) and ERA (1.94), while tossing 29 complete games and fanning 275 batters in 292 2/3 innings. That season, Newhouser finished second in the AL MVP race to Ted Williams, who went .342-38-123 for AL Champion Red Sox (the Tigers finished 12 games back, despite going 92-62).
Oh, Not to be 30-Something
Hal Newhauser made his first major league appearance at age 18 (one game for the Tigers in the 1939 season). When he beat the Red Sox (an 8-4 complete game victory) on his 30th birthday (May 20, 1951), Newhouser’s career record was 189-134, with a 2.96 ERA. He had, however, already faced shoulder and back issues and from his thirtieth birthday on (he retired as a player in 1955), Newhouser won just 18 more games (14 losses), with a 3.97 ERA.
Over a 17-season MLB career, Newhouser went 207-150, with a 3.06 ERA and 1,796 strikeouts in 2,993 innings pitched. He threw 212 complete games and had 33 shutouts in 374 starts. Newhouser was a six-time All Star and four times won 20 or more games in a season (leading his league in wins in all four of those campaigns). In his peak years, 1944-48, Newhauser went 118-56, with a 2.35 ERA. Note: Newhauser would have been a seven-time All Star, but (due to World War II) there were no official All Star selections in Newhouser’s 1945 MVP seasons.
Temper – Temper
Hal Newhouser was known as a perfectionist with a temper and at, at times, a hard-to-control fastball – not a great combination for a pitcher. After a slow start to his major-league career, Newhouser seem to settle into a groove. Some observers speculated that he gained control of his fastball when he gained control of his temper. Newhauser disagreed, maintaining “I didn’t win because I controlled my temper, I controlled my temper because I began to win.”
Source, Society for American Baseball Research Newhauser bio – by Mark Stewart.
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C – Yogi Berra
Yogi Berra played on some Yankee teams that were loaded with All Stars and MVP candidates. In fact, during Yogi’s 19-season tenure (1946-63, 1965) with the team, the Yankees won 14 AL Pennants and ten World Series Championships. During that period, Berra won three AL MVP Awards (1951, 1953 and 1954). To illustrate how tough the competition was – even from just his own team – other Yankees to bring home MVP hardware during that time included Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Elston Howard.
You Can Quote Me on That
He (Yogi Berra) seemed to be doing everything wrong, yet everything came out right, He stopped everything behind the plate and hit everything in front of it.
Hall of Famer Mel Ott
He’d (Yogi Berra) fall I a sewer and come up with a gold watch.
Hall of Famer Casey Stengel
In 1954, Berra won his second MVP Award (and the first of his two consecutive MVP honors), despite the fact that the Yankees finished second to the Indians (the Yankees did post a 103-51 record that season, but the Indians went 111-43). Berra topped the Indian’s Larry Doby by a 230-to-210 point margin. Berra may have been helped a bit by the way the votes split out. Four of the top six finishers were from the Indians (Doby, Bobby Avila, Bob Lemon and Early Wynn). Doby, Avila and Wynn each garnered five first-place votes, while Berra picked up seven. For the season, Berra finished in the American League’s top ten in average (sixth, games played (ninth), doubles (fourth), home runs (seventh) and runs batted in (second). Berra’s 1955 MVP Award saw him outdistance second-place finisher Al Kaline by 16 points (218-201).
That’ll Do in a Pinch
On October 2, 1947 – in the seventh inning of the third game of the Yankees-Dodgers World Series, – Yogi Berra hit the first-ever World Series pinch-hit home run – bringing the Yankees to within one run of the Dodgers (who were leading 9-7 at the time and would win the contest 9-8). Berra hit the long ball off a pitcher who would give up an even more historic home run in the future – Ralph Branca.
Berra’s Hall of Fame career spanned 19 seasons, over which he hit .285 (2,150 hits), with 358 home runs and 1,430 RBI. He was an All Star in 15 of those seasons. Berra hit 20 or more home runs in 11 seasons and topped 100 RBI in four. He played on ten World Series Champions and holds the career World Series records for games played (75), at bats (259), hit (71), doubles (10).
It’s Not Exactly Brain Surgery
When Yogi Berra appeared on the soap opera General Hospital in 1962, he played a brain surgeon.
Yogi Berra Museum
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First Base – Jimmie Foxx
Those eligible for this lineup atsfirst base (winners of consecutive MVP Awards) are pretty impressive – Jimmie Foxx, Albert Pujols and Frank Thomas. Foxx earns this spot for having the most dominating pair of MVP season of the trio. In Pujols’ consecutive MVP seasons (2008-2009), he put up stat lines of .357-37-116 and .327-47-135 – leading the league in home runs in 2009. Frank Thomas earned consecutive MVP awards in 1993 and 1994, with stat lines of .317-41-128 and .353-38-101. He did not lead the AL in any of those categories in either season (although they were both clearly MVP-caliber campaigns). Foxx – the first player ever to capture consecutive MVP Awards – was the most dominant of the three first-sackers. He won the Triple Crown with a .356-48-163 season in the second of his consecutive MVP campaigns (1933).
Notably, Foxx had even better numbers in all three categories as MVP the year before (.364-58-169), when he led the AL in home runs and RBI. Under today’s qualifying rules, Foxx would, in fact, have captured the Triple Crown in 1932. He finished second in the AL to Dale Alexander in batting average (by .003). Under today’s rules, Alexander- who had 454 plate appearances that season – would need 477 plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. In his two consecutive MVP seasons, Foxx’ Philadelphia Athletics finished second (1932) and third (1933).
Two-for-Three … Not a Bad Day (or season)
When Jimmie Foxx won the American League Triple Crown in 1933, it marked the only season when both the AL and NL boasted Triple Crown winners – and they played in the same city. Foxx was taking the field for the Philadelphia Athletics, while the NL winner, Chuck Klein, played for the Phillies.
Hall of Famer Foxx, nicknamed Double X and The Beast, was known as one of the – if not THE – most powerful and feared sluggers of his time. He played 20 MLB seasons (1925-42, 1944-45). He was an All Star in nine seasons and a three-time American League MVP. He finished with a .325 batting average (2,646 hits), 534 home runs, 1,922 RBI and 1,751 runs scored. He led his league in home runs four times (had 12 consecutive seasons of 30 or more); RBI three times (13 seasons of 100+ and four seasons pf 150+), batting average twice (topping .300 nine times) and runs scored once (with 100+ runs scored in 11 seasons). Foxx also hit .344-4-11 in 18 post-season games.
While Foxx was best known for his prestigious home runs, the surprise of his stellar career may have come in his final season (1945), when the 37-year-old – a sure Hall of Famer by this time – answered the call when his team (then the Phillies) found itself short of pitching. Foxx who had taken the mound only once in his career (a 1-2-3 inning for the Red Sox in 1939) volunteered to step on the bump and into the breach. How did the veteran do? He made nine appearances, two starts – going 1-0, 1.52 in 22 2/3 innings (fanning ten and walking 14). With his one clean 1939 inning, Foxx had a 1.59 career ERA. Side note: Jimmie Foxx’ lone career mound win came on August 19th, as his Phillies topped the Reds 4-2. The losing pitcher was another Fox (single X), Reds’ starter Howie Fox.
Mystery Solved
When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, he and all the space scientists were puzzled by an unidentifiable white object. I knew exactly what it was. That was a home run hit off me in 1937 by Jimmie Foxx,
Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez
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Second Base – Joe Morgan
If you like lumber and leather, Hoe Morgan fits the bill. In 1975 and 1976, when he turned in consecutive MVP seasons to lead his Reds to a pair of NL pennants (and World Series Championships), Morgan was not only one of the best offensive second basemen in MLB, he also earned a pair of Gold Gloves for his defensive play. (Morgan won five consecutive Gold Gloves at 2B … 1973-77).
How valuable was Morgan? In 1975 he earned 21 of 23 first-place votes in the MVP race and outscored runner up Greg Luzinski 321 to 154. The following year, he got 19 of 24 first place votes (the other five went to teammate George Foster) and led runner up Foster 311 to 221 overall.
Doesn’t Flinch in the Clutch
In 1975, Joe Morgan hit .339 with two out and runner in scoring position; while in 1976 he hit .327 in those situations.
Joe Morgan played 22 MLB seasons (1963-84). The Hall of Famer was an All Star in ten seasons . He retired with a .271 average (2,517 hits), 268 home runs, 1,133 RBI, 1,650 runs scored and 689 steals (eleventh all time). He led his league in runs scored once, triples once and walks four times. His keen batting eye helped him to lead his league in on-base percentage four times and compile a .392 career OBP. While he never led the league in steals, Morgan brings speed to this lineup. He swiped 40 or more bags in nine seasons, including a high of 67 in both 1973 and 1975. He also topped 20 home runs in three seasons and had 100+ walks in eight campaigns.
Getting the Jump on the Opposition
A good base stealer should make the whole infield jumpy. Whether you steal or not, you’re changing the rhythm of the game. Of the pitcher is concerned about you, he isn’t concentrating enough on the batter.,
Joe Morgan
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Third Base – Mike Schmidt
There was plenty of competition at both corner infield spots for a place in this lineup. (We’ve already talked about the first-base candidates.) At third base, two players have earned consecutive league MVP honors – Mike Schmidt and Miguel Cabrera. BBRT gives Schmidt a slight edge. In his consecutive MVP seasons (2012-13), Cabrera went a combined .338-88-276, with 398 hits and 212 runs scored for the Tigers. Included in that total was his 2012 Triple Crown season. Schmidt’s consecutive MVP seasons (1980-81) produced a .298-79-212 line, with 182 runs scored. (We need to keep in mind that the 1981 season was strike-shortened). Schmidt led the NL in home runs and RBI in each of his consecutive MVP seasons. The difference maker between Cabrera and Schmidt? Schmidt earned a Gold Glove for his defense in each of his consecutive MVP seasons. Schmidt, by the way, received all 24 first-place votes for NL MVP in 1980 and 21 of 24 in 1981. Cabrera received 22 of 28 votes in 2012 and 28 of 30 in 2013.
Alone at the Top of the List
Mike Schmidt’s 509 home runs, while in the lineup as a third baseman, are the most by any third sacker ever.
Mike Schmidt enjoyed an 18-season MLB career (1972-89 …. all with the Phillies). He hit .267 (2,234 hits) with 548 home runs, 1,595 RBI, 1,506 runs scored and 174 stolen bases. Schmidt was a 12-time All Star. He led the NL in round trippers eight times (topping 30 home runs in 13 seasons). He also led the NL in runs scored once, RBI four times (with 100+ nine times), walks four times and slugging percentage five times. He earned a total of three league MVP Awards (1980, 1981, 1986).
Tied at the Top of the List
Mike Schmidt also holds a share of the record for most home runs in a game. On April 17, 1976, he sent four balls over the fences in a five-for-six, eight-RBI day.
In addition to his power, Schmidt showed good speed, reaching double-digits in steals eight times, with a high of 29 stolen bases in 1975.
Near the top of the list
Only Babe Ruth won more home runs titles (12) than Schmidt (8).
Only Brooks Robinson has more Gold Glove at third base (16) than Schmidt (10).
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Shortstop – Ernie Banks
Ernie banks has a unique distinction among players with two consecutive MVP Awards. Not only is he the only shortstop to achieve the feat, he is also the only player to win consecutive MVP Award while playing on losing team for both seasons – and one of only two players to twice win an MVP Award (consecutively or not) while playing on a losing squad.
Banks, who was bucking the image of shortstops as glove men, base stealers and slap hitters, won his first MVP in 1958, when he led the NL in games played, home runs (a career high 47) and RBI and finished sixth in batting average.
He followed that with another MVP season in 1959, again leading the NL in games played and RBI (a career-high 143), while finishing tenth in batting average.
The First Ever Moon Shot.
In 1954, Ernie Banks finished second to the Cardinals’ Wally Moon in the NL Rookie of the Year balloting. Moon went .304-121-76 and got 17 votes. Banks went .275-19-79 and got four votes. Two Braves finished third and fourth – Gene Conley and Hank Aaron.
Banks played 19 MLB seasons (1953-71 … all for the Cubs) and was an All Star in eleven of those campaigns. He led the National in games played six times (in his seven first full seasons), home runs twice (topping 20 home runs in 13 seasons – with forty+ dingers in five of those), RBI twice (with 100+ eight times). He also won one Gold Glove. For his career, the Hall of Famer hit .274, with 512 home runs and 1,636 RBI. He was known, deservedly, in Chicago as “Mr. Cub.”
For the Love of the Game
Ernie Banks was synonymous with a childlike enthusiasm for baseball. It was not just great talent, but also his relentless spirit of optimism that made him a back-to-back National League MVP, a Hall of Famer, a member of our All-Century Team, a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and, indeed, forever Mr. Cub.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig
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Left Field – Barry Bonds
What can you say about Barry Bonds – good and bad – that hasn’t already been said? The man won a record seven MVP Awards, including two consecutive (1992 and 1993) and another streak of four consecutive (2001-2004.) And, he nearly had two streaks of four consecutive MVP recognitions. Bonds won the NL MVP Award in 1990, finished a close second (274-259 and 12 first-place votes to ten) behind the Braves’ Terry Pendleton in 1991, and then won the honor again in 1992 and 1993. The chart below provides the stats for those MVP seasons – and they are remarkable. But then, of course, there is that PED “elephant in the room.” In the seven seasons that Bonds won the NL MVP Award, his team finished first in their division four times and second three times.
Bonds had a 22-season MLB career, during which he was an All Star 14 times, a Silver Slugger winner 12 times, home run champion twice and batting champion twice. He holds the MLB single-season home run record at 73 (2001, Giants), as well as the career record for long balls (762). He retired with a .298 average (2,935 hits), 762 home runs, 1,996 RBI, 2,227 ruins scored and 514 stolen bases. He hit 30 or more home runs in 14 seasons, drove in 100 or more tallies in 12 campaigns and hit over .300 11 times (a high of .370 in 2002). Bonds also earned eight Gold Gloves
A Real Mover and Shaker
Barry Bonds is the only player to win the Most Valuable Player Award in two consecutive seasons while playing for two different team – Pirates (1992) and Giants (1993).
How feared was Barry Bonds at the plate? Bonds led the NL in walks 12 times, amassing an MLB-record 2,558 career walks. He also led the league in intentional walks 12 times, being intentionally passed an MLB-high 688 times. In 2004, he was intentional passed a record 120 times. No other player has been intentionally walked more than 45 times in a season (Willie McCovey, 45 in 1969).
The rest of us play in the major leagues, He’s at another level.
Giants’ infielder Rich Aurelia
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Center field – Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantles’ two consecutive MVP Awards came in 1956 and 1957 and included his .353-52-130 Triple Crown campaign in 1956. Notably, in addition to the 1956 and 1957 MVP honors, Mantle won the MVP award in in 1962 and finished second in 1960, 1961 and 1964 – while playing on Yankee teams that were loaded with potential MVP candidates. Two of Mantle’s three second-place finishes were to teammate Roger Maris, who is also in this lineup of consecutive MVP winners. In his 1956 MVP season, Mantle led both leagues in average (.,353), slugging percentage (,705), runs scored (132), total bases (376), home runs (52) and runs batted in (130).
Walk, Don’t’ Run
Only Jim Thome hit more regular-season walk-off home runs in his career (13) than Mickey Mantle (12). Note: Mantle is tied with Jimmie Foxx, Stan Musial, Albert Pujols, Frank Robinson and Babe Ruth at 12.
Mickey Mantle played 18 major league seasons (1951-68 … all with the Yankees). The Hall of Famer was an All Star in 16 of those seasons. He led his league in runs scored five times, home runs four times, walks five times, and batting average and triples once each. He retired with a .298 average (2,415 hits), 536 home runs (hitting 30 or more in nine seasons), 1,509 RBI (100+ four times), 1,676 runs scored (topping 100 in eight seasons), 1,733 walks and 153 stolen bases. He won a Gold Glove in his 1962 MVP season. He put up those numbers, despite suffering from Osteomyelitis and dealing with a series of injuries that dampened his numbers (shoulder, rib cage, hip abscess, fractured finger, knee surgeries, broken foot).
Nearly an Annual Affair
In 18 MLB seasons, Mickey Mantle played in 12 World Series. He holds the all-time record for World Series home runs (18), runs batted in (40) and runs scored (42) in 65 games).
The Final Word … On two good legs, Mickey Mantle would have been the greatest ballplayer that ever lived.,
Hall of Famer Nellie Fox
Also qualifying for this spot was Braves ‘CF Dale Murphy , who won consecutive NL MVP Awards in 1982 and 1983. In 1982, Murphy went .281-36-109, with 232 steals and a Gold Glove. He followed that up in 1983 with a .302-36-121 season (30 steals and another Gold Glove). Still, Mantle’s Triple Crown season gives him the edge. Murphy, be the way, hit .265 over 18 MLB seasons, with 398 homers, 1,266 RBI, 161 steals, seven All Star selections and five Gold Gloves.
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RF – Roger Maris
Roger Maris was traded from the Kansas City Athletics to the Yankees after the 1950 season – part of a multi-player deal. At the time, he had three major-league seasons under his belt – with a .249 average, 58 home runs and 203 RBI in 388 games. His best season had been 1958, when he hit .240-28-80 in 150 games. Whether it was joining the powerful Yankee lineup or just maturing as a hitter, the move to New York changed Maris’ career path, as he was the American MVP Award his first two seasons in Yankee pinstripes.
A Change of Scenery
In his first three seasons in pinstripes, Roger Maris average 44 home runs and 118 RBI per campaign. They were the only seasons in which he reached 30 homers or 75 RBI.
In 1960, as the Yankees won the pennant with a 97-59 record, Maris set new career highs with a .283 average, 39 home runs and a league-leading 112 RBI – and threw in a Gold Glove for good measure. In 1961, as the Yankees went 109-53 (and won the World Series), Maris, of course, made history. He won his second consecutive MVP Award, while also setting a new (since broken) single-season home run record of 61.
Making It Count
On October 1, 1961, when Roger Maris hit his historic 61st home run of the season, he made it count. The blast came in the bottom of the fourth inning and accounted for the only run in a 1-0 Yankee win over the rival Red Sox,
Maris played 12 major-league seasons (1957-68) and put up a .260 average, with 275 home runs and 850 RBI. He was a four-time All Star and led his league in RBI twice and runs, home runs and total bass once each.
Going Yard in Football, Too
Roger Maris set a national high school record, returning four kick-offs for touchdowns in a single game, while playing for Shanley High School in Fargo, North Dakota. He was offered a football scholarship by the University of Oklahoma, but chose instead to start his baseball career (right out of high school) in the Cleveland Indians organization.
Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; MLB.com; Baseball-Almanac.com
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Forgotten on this list is Dale Murphy, and he was here long before Barry Bonds got juiced up