Sporting News Player of the Year Award

Player of the Year
Awarded for	Most Outstanding Player in Major League Baseball
Country	United States
Presented by	Sporting News
First awarded	1936
Currently held by	Josh Donaldson

This is a list of the Major League Baseball players awarded by Sporting News (formerly TSN, now SN) since 1936 as recipients of the Sporting News Player of the Year. ^[1]

History

The Sporting News established in 1936 the Player of the Year award. It is the oldest and most prestigious award given to the single player in MLB who had the most outstanding season. Until 1969, it was the only major award given to a single player from MLB, rather than to a player in each league. In 1969, Baseball Digest began its Player of the Year award for one player in all of MLB. In 1993, the first Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Award was given. In 1998, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) began its own Player of the Year award, for one player in all of MLB, as part of its Players Choice Awards. Baseball America also began its Major League Player of the Year award in 1998.

Winners

Key

Hall of Famer Ted Williams, five-time winner

Hall of Famer Stan Musial, two-time winner

NL	National League
AL	American League
P	Pitcher
C	Catcher
1B	First baseman
2B	Second baseman
3B	Third baseman
SS	Shortstop
OF	Outfielder
BA	Batting average
RBI	Run batted in
HR	Home runs
W-L	Win Loss Record
K	Strikeouts
ERA	Earned run average
SB	Stolen bases
R	Runs scored
	Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
	Player is active
*	Led League

Awardees

Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, 2-time winner.

Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, 2-time winner.

Hall of Famer Willie Mays in 1954.

3-time winner Rodriquez as a New York Yankee

3-time winner Albert Pujols

2-time winner Cabrera

Hall of Famer Ripken, 2-time winner at Yankee Stadium

Year	Name	Club	League	Pos	Notes	References
1936	Hubbell, CarlCarl Hubbell	New York Giants	NL	P	W-L: 26*-6, ERA: 2.31*, K: 123	[2][3]
1937	Allen, JohnnyJohnny Allen	Cleveland Indians	AL	P	W-L: 15-1, ERA: 2.55, K: 87	[4][5]
1938	Vander Meer, JohnnyJohnny Vander Meer	Cincinnati Reds	NL	P	W-L: 15-10, ERA: 3.12, K: 125	[6][7]
1939	DiMaggio, JoeJoe DiMaggio	New York Yankees	AL	OF	BA: .381*, RBI: 126, HR: 30	[8] [9]
1940	Feller, BobBob Feller	Cleveland Indians	AL	P	W-L: 27*-11, ERA: 2.61*, K: 261*, AL Triple Crown	[10][11]
1941	Williams, TedTed Williams^(1)	Boston Red Sox	AL	OF	BA: .406*, RBI: 120, HR: 37*, Runs: 135*, BB: 147*	[12][13]
1942	Williams, TedTed Williams^(2)	Boston Red Sox	AL	OF	BA: .356*, RBI: 137*, HR: 36*, Runs: 141*, BB: 145*, MLB Triple Crown	[12][13]
1943	Chandler, SpudSpud Chandler	New York Yankees	AL	P	W-L:20*-4, ERA:1.64*, K:134	[14]
1944	Marion, MartyMarty Marion	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	SS	BA: .263, RBI: 63, HR: 6	[15]
1945	Newhouser, HalHal Newhouser	Detroit Tigers	AL	P	W-L: 25*-9, ERA: 1.81*, K: 212*, MLB Triple Crown	[16][17]
1946	Musial, StanStan Musial^(1)	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	1B	BA: .365*, RBI: 103, HR: 16, Runs: 124*	[18][19]
1947	Williams, TedTed Williams^(3)	Boston Red Sox	AL	OF	BA: .343*, RBI: 114*, HR: 32*, Runs: 125*, BB: 162*, AL Triple Crown	[12][13]
1948	Boudreau, LouLou Boudreau	Cleveland Indians	AL	SS	BA: .355, RBI: 106, HR: 18	[20]
1949	Williams, TedTed Williams^(4)	Boston Red Sox	AL	OF	BA: .343, RBI: 159*, HR: 43*, Runs: 150*, BB: 162*	[12][13]
1950	Rizzuto, PhilPhil Rizzuto	New York Yankees	AL	SS	BA: .324, RBI: 66, HR: 7	[21]
1951	Musial, StanStan Musial^(2)	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	OF	BA: .355*, RBI: 108, HR: 32, Runs: 124	[18][19]
1952	Roberts, RobinRobin Roberts	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	P	W-L: 28*-7, ERA: 2.59, K: 148	[22][23]
1953	Rosen, AlAl Rosen	Cleveland Indians	AL	3B	BA: .336, RBI: 145, HR: 43	[24]
1954	Mays, WillieWillie Mays	New York Giants	NL	OF	BA: .345*, RBI: 110, HR: 41, Runs: 119	[25]
1955	Snider, DukeDuke Snider	Brooklyn Dodgers	NL	OF	BA: .309, RBI: 136*, HR: 42, Runs: 126*	[26]
1956	Mantle, MickeyMickey Mantle	New York Yankees	AL	OF	BA: .353*, RBI: 130*, HR: 52*, Runs: 132*, MLB Triple Crown	[27]
1957	Williams, TedTed Williams^(5)	Boston Red Sox	AL	OF	BA: .388*, RBI: 87, HR: 38, BB: 119	[12][13]
1958	Turley, BobBob Turley	New York Yankees	AL	P	W-L: 21*-7, ERA: 2.97, K: 168	[28][29]
1959	Wynn, EarlyEarly Wynn	Chicago White Sox	AL	P	W-L: 22*-10, ERA: 3.17, K: 179	[30][31]
1960	Mazeroski, BillBill Mazeroski	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	2B	BA: .273, RBI: 64, HR: 11, Gold Glove	[32]
1961	Maris, RogerRoger Maris	New York Yankees	AL	OF	BA: .269, RBI: 141*, HR: 61*, Runs: 132*, Single Season Home Run Record	[33]
1962	Wills, MauryMaury Wills	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	SS	BA: .299, RBI: 48, HR: 6, SB: 104*	[34]
1962	Drysdale, DonDon Drysdale	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	P	W-L: 25*-9, ERA: 2.83 K: 232*	[35][36]
1963	Koufax, SandySandy Koufax^(1)	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	P	W-L: 25*-5, ERA: 1.88* K: 306*, MLB Triple Crown	[37][38]
1964	Boyer, KenKen Boyer	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	3B	BA: .295, RBI: 119*, HR: 24	[39]
1965	Koufax, SandySandy Koufax^(2)	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	P	W-L: 26*-8, ERA: 2.04* K: 382*, MLB Triple Crown	[37][38]
1966	Robinson, FrankFrank Robinson	Baltimore Orioles	AL	OF	BA: .316*, RBI: 122*, HR: 49*, Runs: 122, AL Triple Crown
1967	Yastrzemski, CarlCarl Yastrzemski	Boston Red Sox	AL	OF	BA: .326*, RBI: 121*, HR: 44*, Runs: 112*, AL Triple Crown
1968	McLain, DennyDenny McLain	Detroit Tigers	AL	P	W-L: 31*-6, ERA: 1.96 K: 280	[40][41]
1969	McCovey, WillieWillie McCovey	San Francisco Giants	NL	1B	BA: .320, RBI: 126*, HR: 45*
1970	Bench, JohnnyJohnny Bench	Cincinnati Reds	NL	C	BA: .293, RBI: 148*, HR: 45*
1971	Torre, JoeJoe Torre	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	3B	BA: .363*, RBI: 137, HR: 24
1972	Williams, BillyBilly Williams	Chicago Cubs	NL	OF	BA: .333*, RBI: 122, HR: 37
1973	Jackson, ReggieReggie Jackson	Oakland Athletics	AL	OF	BA: .293, RBI: 117*, HR: 32*, Runs: 99*
1974	Brock, LouLou Brock	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	OF	BA: .306, RBI: 48, HR: 3, SB: 118*, R: 105
1975	Morgan, JoeJoe Morgan^(1)	Cincinnati Reds	NL	2B	BA: .327, RBI: 94, HR: 17, SB: 67, R: 107
1976	Morgan, JoeJoe Morgan^(2)	Cincinnati Reds	NL	2B	BA: .320, RBI: 111, HR: 27, SB: 60, R: 113
1977	Carew, RodRod Carew	Minnesota Twins	AL	1B	BA: .388*, RBI: 100, HR: 14, SB: 23, R: 128*
1978	Guidry, RonRon Guidry	New York Yankees	AL	P	W-L: 25*-3, ERA: 1.74* K: 248	[42][43]
1979	Stargell, WillieWillie Stargell	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	1B	BA: .281, RBI: 82, HR: 32
1980	Brett, GeorgeGeorge Brett	Kansas City Royals	AL	3B	BA: .390*, RBI: 118, HR: 24
1981	Valenzuela, FernandoFernando Valenzuela	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	P	W-L 13-7, ERA: 2.48 K: 180*	[44][45]
1982	Yount, RobinRobin Yount	Milwaukee Brewers	AL	SS	BA: .331 RBI: 114, HR: 29
1983	Ripken, Jr., CalCal Ripken, Jr.^(1)	Baltimore Orioles	AL	SS	BA: .318 RBI: 102, HR: 27, Runs: 121*
1984	Sandberg, RyneRyne Sandberg	Chicago Cubs	NL	2B	BA: .314 RBI: 84, HR: 19, Runs: 114
1985	Mattingly, DonDon Mattingly	New York Yankees	AL	1B	BA: .324 RBI: 145*, HR: 35
1986	Clemens, RogerRoger Clemens	Boston Red Sox	AL	P	W-L: 24*-4, ERA: 2.48*, K: 238	[46][47]
1987	Bell, GeorgeGeorge Bell	Toronto Blue Jays	AL	OF	BA: .308 RBI: 134*, HR: 47
1988	Hershiser, OrelOrel Hershiser	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	P	W-L: 23*-8, ERA: 2.26, K: 178	[48][49]
1989	Mitchell, KevinKevin Mitchell	San Francisco Giants	NL	OF	BA: .291 RBI: 125*, HR: 47*
1990	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds^(1)	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	OF	BA: .301, RBI: 114, HR: 33	[50][51]
1991	Ripken, Jr., CalCal Ripken, Jr.^(2)	Baltimore Orioles	AL	SS	BA: .323, RBI: 114, HR: 34
1992	Sheffield, GaryGary Sheffield	San Diego Padres	NL	OF	BA: .330*, RBI: 100, HR: 33
1993	Thomas, FrankFrank Thomas	Chicago White Sox	AL	1B	BA: .317, RBI: 128, HR: 41
1994	Bagwell, JeffJeff Bagwell	Houston Astros	NL	1B	BA: .368, RBI: 116*, HR: 39, Runs: 104*
1995	Belle, AlbertAlbert Belle	Cleveland Indians	AL	OF	BA: .317, RBI: 126*, HR: 50*, Runs: 121*
1996	Rodriguez, AlexAlex Rodriguez^(1)	Seattle Mariners	AL	SS	BA: .358*, RBI: 123, HR: 36, Runs: 141*	[52][53]
1997	Griffey, Jr., KenKen Griffey, Jr.	Seattle Mariners	AL	OF	BA: .304, RBI: 147*, HR: 56*, Runs: 125
1998	Sosa, SammySammy Sosa	Chicago Cubs	NL	OF	BA: .308, RBI: 158*, HR: 66, Runs: 134*
1999	Palmeiro, RafaelRafael Palmeiro	Texas Rangers	AL	1B	BA: .324, RBI: 148, HR: 47
2000	Delgado, CarlosCarlos Delgado	Toronto Blue Jays	AL	1B	BA: .344, RBI: 137, HR: 41, Runs: 115
2001	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds^(2)	San Francisco Giants	NL	OF	BA: .328, RBI: 137, HR: 73*, Runs: 129, BB: 177*, Single Season Home Run Record	[50][51]
2002	Rodriguez, AlexAlex Rodriguez^(2)	Texas Rangers	AL	SS	BA: .300, RBI: 142*, HR: 57*, Runs: 125, Gold Glove	[52][53]
2003	Pujols, AlbertAlbert Pujols^(1)	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	1B	BA: .359*, RBI: 124, HR: 43, Runs: 137*	[54][55]
2004	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds^(3)	San Francisco Giants	NL	OF	BA: .362*, RBI: 101, HR: 45, Runs: 129, BB: 232*	[50][51]
2005	Jones, AndruwAndruw Jones	Atlanta Braves	NL	OF	BA: .263, RBI: 128, HR: 51*, Runs: 95*, Gold Glove
2006	Howard, RyanRyan Howard	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	1B	BA: .313, RBI: 149*, HR: 58*, Runs: 104
2007	Rodriguez, AlexAlex Rodriguez^(3)	New York Yankees	AL	3B	BA: .314, RBI: 156*, HR: 54*, Runs: 143*	[52][53]
2008	Pujols, AlbertAlbert Pujols^(2)	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	1B	BA: .357, RBI: 116, HR: 37, Runs: 100	[54][55]
2009	Pujols, AlbertAlbert Pujols^(3)	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	1B	BA: .327, RBI: 135, HR: 47*	[54][55]
2010	Hamilton, JoshJosh Hamilton	Texas Rangers	AL	OF	BA: .359*, RBI: 100, HR: 32
2011	Verlander, JustinJustin Verlander	Detroit Tigers	AL	P	W-L: 24*-5, ERA: 240*, K: 250*, AL Triple Crown	[56][57]
2012	Cabrera, MiguelMiguel Cabrera^(1)	Detroit Tigers	AL	3B	BA: .330*, RBI: 139*, HR: 44*, Runs: 109, AL Triple Crown	[58][59]
2013	Cabrera, MiguelMiguel Cabrera^(2)	Detroit Tigers	AL	3B	BA: .348*, RBI: 137, HR: 44, Runs: 103	[58][59]
2014	Kershaw, ClaytonClayton Kershaw	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	P	W-L: 21*-3, ERA: 1.77*, K: 239	[60]
2015	Donaldson, JoshJosh Donaldson	Toronto Blue Jays	AL	3B	BA: .297, RBI: 123*, HR: 41, Runs: 122*	[61]

Multiple Wins

Players

Several players have won the award more than once. Ted Williams, Joe Morgan, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera are the only players to win the award in consecutive years. Ted Williams won the award five times. Sandy Koufax is the only pitcher to win the award more than once. Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds are the only players to win the award while playing with different teams. Stan Musial and Alex Rodriguez are the only players to win the award while playing different positions. The only tie was in 1962, when Don Drysdale and Maury Wills shared the honor.

Winning multiple SN Player of the Year awards has been seen as guaranteed admission to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds is the only player with multiple awards, eligible for the Hall of Fame, but not a member of the Hall of Fame. The table is of the Players that have won two or more awards and the year they were inducted into Major League Baseball Hall of Fame sorted by the year they entered the Hall of Fame.^[62] Active players are not eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Player	# of Awards	Years	Year inducted into HOF
Ted Williams	5	1941–1942, 1947, 1949, 1957	1966
Stan Musial	2	1946, 1951	1969
Sandy Koufax	2	1963, 1965	1972
Joe Morgan	2	1975–1976	1990
Cal Ripken Jr.	2	1983, 1991	2007
Barry Bonds	3	1990, 2001, 2004	-
Albert Pujols	3	2003, 2008–2009	Active-Not Eligible
Alex Rodriguez	3	1996, 2002, 2007	Active-Not Eligible
Miguel Cabrera	2	2012–2013	Active-Not Eligible

Outfielder and Pitchers have won the award most. Stan Musial and Alex Rodriguez are the only players that had won the award at one position then went on to win the award at a second position.

Position	# of Awards
Outfield	26
Pitcher	19
First Baseman	13
Shortstop	9
Third Baseman	8
Second Baseman	4
Catcher	1

See also

• Players Choice Awards Player of the Year (in MLB; for all positions) (there are also Outstanding Player and Outstanding Pitcher awards in each league)
• Baseball America Major League Player of the Year (in MLB; for all positions)
• Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Award (in MLB; for all positions)
• Baseball Digest Player of the Year (in MLB; for position players) (from 1969 to 1993, included all positions; in 1994, a separate Pitcher of the Year award was added)
• MLB GIBBY / This Year in Baseball Awards (in MLB; Hitter of the Year, Starting Pitcher of the Year, Closer of the Year, Setup Man of the Year)
• Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (in each league; for all positions)
• Cy Young Award, MLB award for top pitcher in each league
• The Sporting News Most Valuable Player Award (in each league) (discontinued in 1946)
• Baseball awards
• List of MLB awards
• TSN Pitcher of the Year
• TSN Rookie of the Year
• TSN Reliever of the Year
• TSN Comeback Player of the Year
• TSN Manager of the Year
• TSN Executive of the Year

References

1. "Baseball Almanac Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
2. "Carl Hubbell Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
3. "Carl Hubbell Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
4. "Johnny Allen Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
5. "Johnny Allen Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
6. "Johnny Vander Meer Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
7. "Johnny Vander Meer Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
8. "Joe DiMaggio Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
9. "Joe Dimaggio Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
10. "Bob Feller Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
11. "Bob Feller Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
12. "Ted Williams Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
13. "Ted Williams Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
14. "Spud Chandler Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
15. "Marty Marion Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
16. "Hal Newhouser Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
17. "Hal Newhouser Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
18. "Stan Musial Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
19. "Stan Musial Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
20. "Lou Boudreau Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
21. "Phil Rizzuto Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
22. "Robin Roberts Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
23. "Robin Roberts Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
24. "Al Rosen Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
25. "Willie Mays Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
26. "Duke Snider Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
27. "Mickey Mantle Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
28. "Bob Turleys Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
29. "Bob Turley Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
30. "Early Wynn Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
31. "Early Wynn Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
32. "Bill Mazeroski Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
33. "Roger Maris Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
34. "Maury Wills Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
35. "Don Drysdale Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
36. "Don Drysdale Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
37. "Sandy Koufax Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
38. "Sandy Koufax Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
39. "Ken Boyer Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
40. "Denny McLain Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
41. "Denny McLain Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
42. "Ron Guidry Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
43. "Ron Guidry Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
44. "Fernando Valenzuela Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
45. "Fernando Valenzuela Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
46. "Roger Clemens Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
47. "Rogers Clemens Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
48. "Orel Hershiser Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
49. "Orel Hershiser Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
50. "Barry Bonds Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
51. "Barry Bonds Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
52. "Alex Rodriguez Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
53. "Alex Rodriguez Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
54. "Albert Pujols Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
55. "Albert Pujols Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
56. "Justin Verlander Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
57. "Justin Verlander Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
58. "Miguel Cabrera Baseball Almanac Awards". Baseball Almanac.
59. "Miguel Cabrera Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
60. Spector, Jesse (October 23, 2014). "Clayton Kershaw edges Mike Trout for Sporting News Player of the Year". Sporting News. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
61. 4659598-sporting-news-mlb-awards-2015-josh-donaldson-blue-jays-bryce-harper-nationals
62. Members of Baseball Hall of Fame