BBWAA MVP Hose Jobs 1930 - 1965

by RiverRat on Oct 1, 2010 4:13 PM EDT

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We were discussing Willie Mays the other day, and in looking at his stats, I realized that Willie got jobbed on a regular basis in the MVP voting, which led me to search for the all time hose jobs at the hands of the BBWAA. To start, I'm going to use B-R exclusively, so if FG or somewhere else has some slightly conflicting numbers, sorry. I'll be using WAR heavily in this post. There wasn't really any rhyme or reason to who I picked, I just looked for obviously great seasons that weren't rewarded. I'm sure I've missed some, so feel free to add others in the comments.

1934

Lou Gehrig

So what does .363/.465/.706 and the AL Triple Crown get you in the 1934 MVP race? If you'd have said fifth place, you'd be dead on. The Iron Horse put up one of baseballs great seasons, generating 10.7 WAR during his triple crown campaign. The stat line to stop this galloping horse's run for the MVP? .320/.465/.412 and 4.3 WAR by Detroit's Mickey Cochrane.

Here's your MVP Lou.

1935

Arky Vaughan

Arky was a SS/3B for Pittsburgh from '32 - '41, and finished his career with the Dodgers. In 1935, he generated 9.1 WAR and OPS'd 1.098. His .385/.491/.607 led all NL MVP vote getters in '35, yet he finished third in the MVP race, behind Dizzy Dean (who had a damn fine year himself with 28 wins, 7.6 WAR, 3.04 ERA over 325 innings) and the winner Gabby Hartnett.

This becomes a pretty clear case of voting for a guy on the winning team, which I'm sure is going to be a theme in this Fan Post. Gabby put up a line of .344/.404/.545 and 5.2 WAR, which is respectable but doesn't hold up to poor Arky.

Arky, here's your MVP.

To finish up 1935, Hank Greenberg was as deserving of the AL MVP as anyone, but how does Lou Gehrig finish fifth with 9.2 WAR and a 1.049 OPS?

1940

Johnny Mize

1940 saw one of the best seasons in Cardinals history. Mize hit 43 dingers while compiling a .314/.404/.636 slash line. His 43 homers were the most in Cardinal history until 1998 and a certain Big Mac fellow showed up in St. Louis. The Big Cat lost out to Frank McCormick of the Reds, and his .309/.367/.482 .850 OPS. The Reds moved on to the Series that year, the Cards did not.

Here's your trophy Mr. Mize

1942

Ted Williams

In 1941, Ted Williams produced 11.3 WAR and a 1.287 OPS, finishing second to Joe DiMaggio in the MVP race. He followed that up in 1942 by winning the AL Triple Crown accumulating 11.0 WAR and .356/.499/.648 along the way. The Splendid Splinter finished second to Joe Gordon (.322/.409/.491 .900 8.4 WAR) and his Series bound Yankees.

Ted got the ole in 'n out again in 1947, losing out to DiMaggio while putting up 10.3 to Joe D's 5.6 WAR.

1944

Stan Musial

The only reason that I can come up with for Stan not winning the MVP in 1944 is that he asked the writers to give it to his good friend, Marty Marion. Marion posted .267/.324/.362 and 4.0 WAR, very respectable for a slap hitting SS in any year. However, Stan really took it in the shorts. Musial led the league in OBP and SLG, was second in the BA race, led the league in hits (197), doubles (51), and OPS+ (175.) His .347/.440/.549 was good for 9.1 WAR and fourth place in the 1944 MVP race, behind Marion, Bill Nicholson (6.5), and Dixie Walker (6.0).

Have another, Mr. Musial.

1955

Mickey Mantle Duke Snider

The 1955 AL and NL MVP's went to Yogi Berra (.272/.349/.470 3.8WAR) and Roy Campanella (.318/.395/.583 5.5 WAR.)This is where the playoff argument goes to hell. Mick and Yogi were obviously teammates, but his 9.5 WAR and .306/.431/.611 couldn't hold a flame to Yogi's great year. Mick took it in the shorts again in 1958.

As for Duke, he had a great year as well, .309/.418/.628 and 8.9 WAR, but once again he couldn't overcome his teammate, Roy Campanella, .318/.395/.583 5.5 WAR. 1955 was the year of the catcher, it seems.

1960 1961 1962 1963 1964

Willie Mays

This is really where I became interested in this subject. An argument can be made that the "Say Hey Kid" should have won the MVP from 1960 - 1965. Willie lost the award to Dick Groat in 1960 (.325/.371/.394 5.7WAR) Frank Robinson in '61 (.323/.404/.611 7.6WAR,) Maury Wills in '62 (.299/.347/.373 6.1 WAR,) Sandy Koufax in '63 (9.6 WAR, one of the all time greatest pitching seasons,) and our very own Ken Boyer in '64 (.295/.365/.489 5.6WAR.) Here's Willies stats for these 5 years:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
1960	29	SFG	NL	153	669	595	107	*190*	29	12	29	103	25	10	61	70	.319	.381	.555	.936	159	330	15	4	0	9	11	*8	AS,MVP-3,GG
1961	30	SFG	NL	154	659	572	129	176	32	3	40	123	18	9	81	77	.308	.393	.584	.977	159	334	14	2	0	4	15	*8	AS,MVP-6,GG
1962	31	SFG	NL	162	706	621	130	189	36	5	49	141	18	2	78	85	.304	.384	.615	.999	165	*382*	19	4	0	3	11	*8	AS,MVP-2,GG
1963	32	SFG	NL	157	671	596	115	187	32	7	38	103	8	3	66	83	.314	.380	.582	.962	175	347	15	2	0	7	5	*8/6	AS,MVP-5,GG
1964	33	SFG	NL	157	665	578	121	171	21	9	47	111	19	5	82	72	.296	.383	*.607*	.990	172	351	11	1	1	3	13	*8/356	AS,MVP-6,GG
22 Seasons				2992	12493	10881	2062	3283	523	140	660	1903	338	103	1464	1526	.302	.384	.557	.941	155	6066	251	44	13	91	192
162 Game Avg.				162	676	589	112	178	28	8	36	103	18	6	79	83	.302	.384	.557	.941	155	328	14	2	1
				G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
SFG (21 yrs)				2857	12012	10477	2011	3187	504	139	646	1859	336	98	1394	1436	.304	.385	.564	.949	157	5907	239	42	9	90	187
NYM (2 yrs)				135	481	404	51	96	19	1	14	44	2	5	70	90	.238	.352	.394	.746	112	159	12	2	4	1	5

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/1/2010.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	PA	Rbat	Rbaser	Rroe	Rdp	Rfield	Rpos	Rrep	RAR	WAR	oRAR	oWAR	dWAR	Salary	Pos	Awards
1960	29	SFG	NL	669	49	5	3	0	14	0	22	93	9.7	79	8.0	1.7	$75,000	*8	AS,MVP-3,GG
1961	30	SFG	NL	659	55	1	-1	1	14	0	22	92	9.4	78	7.9	1.5	$85,000	*8	AS,MVP-6,GG
1962	31	SFG	NL	706	59	4	0	-2	20	0	23	104	10.6	84	8.6	2.0	$90,000	*8	AS,MVP-2,GG
1963	32	SFG	NL	671	56	3	1	-2	12	0	22	92	10.2	80	8.9	1.3	$105,000	*8/6	AS,MVP-5,GG
1964	33	SFG	NL	665	50	7	0	-1	17	0	22	95	10.2	78	8.6	1.6	$105,000	*8/356	AS,MVP-6,GG
				PA	Rbat	Rbaser	Rroe	Rdp	Rfield	Rpos	Rrep	RAR	WAR	oRAR	oWAR	dWAR	Salary	Pos	Awards
SFG (21 yrs)				12012	807	75	14	-12	187	-13	392	1450	153.0	1263	134.3	18.7	$1,693,200
NYM (2 yrs)				481	8	-1	0	-2	-2	-2	14	15	1.7	17	1.9	-0.2	$165,000

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/1/2010.

Willie averaged 10 WAR for these five years, which is simply astonishing. In his particular case, he played against some great players, and I can't fault the Frank Robinson and Sandy Kofax picks, but Willie's numbers were right there with them.

**Edited for egregious omission of Stan Musial.

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Comments

the year Johnny Mize got snobbed is a classic case of not knowing OBP

understandable given the times… but 43 homers was easy to interpret well and its hard to believe they gave it to a guy with under a .500 slugging percentage (considerably lower homers and doubles – also available then)… even then a .314 average is greater than .307, i guess i could understand their thought process if he had a lower average but that was even better….

really no idea why Triple Crown winners weren’t automatic then… the three favorite stats back in the day would have led me to think they would be…

and as for willie mays, they clearly underestimated how good his defense was… if you take defense out (obviously you shouldn’t), then im sure the stats get much closer (as for Koufax’s year, i think i would have picked him still – 9.6 WAR for a pitcher is ridiculous)

from the lou and im proud AND st. louis (ahem bitches)

by stlcardsfan4 on Oct 2, 2010 1:10 AM EDT reply actions

I completely agree, I just threw

that year in there, because an argument could be made for Mays over Koufax, and it may have been then five greatest consecutive years of any career, and the guy got nothing for it.

Asshattery: it's an epidemic.
Second base….I’ve played second base, how hard can it be? -TLR
Also, Dave Concepcion.

by RiverRat on Oct 2, 2010 9:19 AM EDT up reply actions

very cool, high five

"I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It's only after a get acquainted period that I see what I've been about. I've no fears about making changes for the painting has a life of its own." -Jackson Pollock

by Cards Fan in Chitown on Oct 2, 2010 4:05 AM EDT reply actions

fuck the bbwaa

All I've got is a broken heart, memories & dreams that I can't drink away

by gdm426 on Oct 2, 2010 6:48 AM EDT reply actions

I knew that Mays and Williams got hosed a lot

But that season by Arky Vaughan is insane. Not many players every put up a near-.500 OBP. Ridiculous! Also, any year when a player wins the “Slash Stats Triple Crown” is pretty awesome.

Albert Pujols does not have "down" years. He has "~6 WAR" years.

by mattybobo on Oct 2, 2010 9:00 AM EDT reply actions

rec'd

Baseball is only a game. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole.

by Dave Pendleton on Oct 2, 2010 1:30 PM EDT reply actions

That gerhig hose job is unfathomable

If that happened to a Yankee nowadays, there would be a riot

"Albert hits good pitches hard and bad pitches even harder. And when he gets in the batter's box, if you pray, then you start praying. And if you don't pray, you think about starting."--Brian Bannister

That guy we gave a lot of money in the offseason to protect albert is dead to me...DEAD TO ME

by VolsnCards5 on Oct 2, 2010 4:05 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

This is a fine FanPost, sir

Well done!

VivaElBirdos: Celebrating glorious mustaches since 2009

by redbirdnation8206 on Oct 4, 2010 10:42 AM EDT reply actions

Thanks

Asshattery: it's an epidemic.
Second base….I’ve played second base, how hard can it be? -TLR
Also, Dave Concepcion.

by RiverRat on Oct 4, 2010 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions

No mention of Marty Marion?

by outraged on Oct 4, 2010 2:44 PM EDT reply actions

I must have over looked the year that he hosed Stan.

I’ll add it tonight, when I have some time.

Asshattery: it's an epidemic.
Second base….I’ve played second base, how hard can it be? -TLR
Also, Dave Concepcion.

by RiverRat on Oct 4, 2010 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions

1944

St. Louis shortstop Marty Marion won the MVP. Here are his stats:

.267/.324/.362/.686, 6 HR, 63 RBI, 135 H, 50 R, 4.0 WAR

Stan Musial, who inexplicably finished fourth in the voting, put up these stats:

.347/.440/.549/.990, 12 HR, 94 RBI, 197 H, 112 R, 9.1 WAR

"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."

--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS

by bgh on Oct 4, 2010 4:19 PM EDT reply actions

Yep, I was editing the post as you posted this.

I must have just missed that year when I was putting this together.

Asshattery: it's an epidemic.
Second base….I’ve played second base, how hard can it be? -TLR
Also, Dave Concepcion.

by RiverRat on Oct 4, 2010 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Cardinal on Cardinal theft must not have registered.

"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."

--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS

by bgh on Oct 4, 2010 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions

No, I just completely missed it.

Must have got distracted at work.

Asshattery: it's an epidemic.
Second base….I’ve played second base, how hard can it be? -TLR
Also, Dave Concepcion.

by RiverRat on Oct 4, 2010 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions

It's weird how few homers he hit his first several years in the majors.

Musial I mean. Also, it’s not very easy to put up a .990 OPS and 9.1 WAR when you hit twelve homeruns. Musial was so awesome.

Albert Pujols does not have "down" years. He has "~6 WAR" years.

by mattybobo on Oct 4, 2010 11:39 PM EDT up reply actions

That's a very good point.

Musial led the league in hits that season, led the league in doubles, and had 14 triples (down from 20 the year before), which was good for 4th in the National League. Oh, and he had just 28 strikeouts.

"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."

--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS

by bgh on Oct 5, 2010 10:14 AM EDT up reply actions

I found this part interesting:

Mize hit 43 dingers while compiling a .314/.404/.636 slash line.

What’s amazing is that nearly every season of Albert’s career has a slash line better than that one.

1940 saw one of the best seasons in Cardinals history.

I took this to mean:>

1940 saw one of the best seasons in Cardinals history, if all Pujols, Musial, Hornsby, Medwick, McGwire, and Edmonds seasons are excluded

By OPS+, Mize was actually better the year before, in 1939, although he only hit 28 homers that year.

I also think it’s a crime that Bruce Sutter is on the wall and Johnny Mize isn’t. Mize had as many good years in a Cardinal uniform as Sutter, even if he did end up finishing his career with the Giants.

Can Colby round out our new MV3?

by fourstick on Oct 5, 2010 10:42 AM EDT reply actions