{"id":2516117,"date":"2026-07-24T20:28:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T20:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2516117"},"modified":"2026-07-24T20:28:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T20:28:05","slug":"the-history-of-mvps-on-losing-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-history-of-mvps-on-losing-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"The history of MVPs on losing teams"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A strange thing is happening in the American League.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Despite capturing the All-Star Game, the American League has struggled this year compared to its National League brethren. For example, nine National League teams enter the day with winning records compared to just six American League clubs. Four of the top five winning percentages belong to N.L. teams while three of the five worst winning percentages belong to A.L. teams, the Kansas City Royals among them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the National League, there is a clear front-runner for the Most Valuable Player award, that being one of the greatest ballplayers to ever live, certainly the apex of the sport today: Shohei Ohtani.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The downturn in American League records, coupled with the unfortunate injury and long absence of the league\u2019s biggest star, Aaron Judge, means that the race for MVP is far more volatile than usual. While this is not, and should not, be the sole indicator of the award, the top three American League players in bWAR are Bobby Witt Jr. (4.9), Kevin McGonigle (4.8), and Yordan Alvarez (4.7).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u2019s one thing shared by Witt, McGonigle, and Alvarez?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Each of their teams has a losing record.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Bob, of course, plays for the Royals, who have, to put it mildly, struggled in 2026. At the time of this writing, after winning two straight against the Giants, the Royals are now 42-60, a smooth dozen games behind the White Sox and Guardians in the Central while 10.5 out of the final Wild Card spot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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McGonigle, a rookie for the Tigers, has been a highlight of a down year in the Motor City. After yesterday\u2019s 11-2 clobbering at the hands of the Cubs, Detroit is 47-54, ahead of only the Royals in the Central while five back of the last playoff spot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Alvarez\u2019s Houston Astros are in the best shape of the trio. Having won two in a row, and despite still being five games below .500, the Astros are only three games back of the Rangers in the West while four back of Boston in the Wild Card race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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According to odds over at ESPN from yesterday<\/a>, before Bob\u2019s placement on the Injured List, Alvarez was the favorite to win the AL MVP with Witt coming in third behind Tampa\u2019s Junior Caminero (4.1 bWAR). McGonigle didn\u2019t crack this particular Top 10, but his teammate, catcher Dillon Dingler (3.7 bWAR), did.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That means that three of the top ten listed, including two of the top three, the frontrunner among them, play for teams with losing records.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Major League Baseball hands out the MVP to players from teams with losing records more than any other professional league in North America\u2014MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While Bobby Witt Jr.\u2019s injury may set him back in joining this, um, select group, Yordan Alvarez has a real shot at it. Here are the fifteen others he\u2019d be joining with notes on four others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Al Rollins, Chicago Black Hawks, 1953-54<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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We begin with perhaps the most perplexing instance. It\u2019s so weird because a) a goalie won the Hart trophy, which is always strange, and b) a goalie won the Hart trophy as his team (note that \u201cBlack\u201d and \u201cHawks\u201d are two different words, so this is some time ago) finished 12-51-7, good for 31 points. The Black Hawks finished sixth in the NHL that year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Of course, there were only six teams in the NHL that year. The fifth-place team, the New York Rangers, finished with more than twice as many points as the Black Hawks earned. And yet, Chicago\u2019s goalie, who himself finished 12-47-7, took home the MVP.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks, 1955-56<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Another Hawk, this time in basketball and from St. Louis. Pettit led the league in scoring with 25.7 points per game as St. Louis finished 33-39 in their first year in Missouri after moving from Milwaukee, this all under legendary coach Red Holzman, who, until this year, was the most recent coach to lead the Knicks to a championship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Despite the losing record, the Hawks reached the postseason, even winning a round over the Minneapolis Lakers before falling to the Fort Wayne Pistons in the conference finals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Two years later, the Hawks won it all. Pettit followed that up in 1958-59 with his second MVP. In 1971, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs, 1958<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Lemme tell you something<\/a>: the fifties loved it some losing MVPs. Banks became the first baseball player to achieve the feat as the Cubs finished 72-82, 20 games back of the first-place Milwaukee Braves. Mr. Cub, though, certainly delivered, as he posted 9.3 bWAR, taking home 2\/3 of the Triple Crown with a league-leading 47 homers and 129 RBIs. He slashed .313\/.366\/.614.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Andy Bathgate, New York Rangers, 1958-59<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Our second, and penultimate, hockey entry, Bathgate put up 88 points (40 goals, 48 assists) on his way to the Hart trophy for a Rangers team that ended the season 26-32-12, fifth in the six-team NHL. For some reason, voters named him the MVP over two players on the first-place, eventual champion Montreal Canadiens: Jean B\u00e9liveau finished third in voting after posting 91 points (45, 46) and his teammate, Dickie Moore, finished fifth after collecting 96 points (41, 55), which led the league.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs, 1959<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Evidently, Banks loved baseball so much, he said, \u201cLet\u2019s play two!\u201d He loved winning the MVP for a bad team so much he immediately did it again in 1959: 10.2 bWAR, 45 home runs, 143 RBIs, .304\/.374\/.596.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cubs final record: 74-80-1.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers, 1975-76<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Big time jump as no North American professional athlete won the MVP as part of a losing team during all of the sixties and the first half of the seventies. Abdul-Jabbar ended up being the only one to achieve the feat in the seventies, doing so at the midway point for a Lakers team that finished just under .500, 40-42.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This was Abdul-Jabbar\u2019s fourth MVP trophy, and it just so happened to occur during his first year with the Lakers. Los Angeles finished fourth in the Pacific, two games back of the Suns for a playoff spot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That season, Abdul-Jabbar led the NBA in total rebounds per game (16.9) and blocks per game (4.1) while averaging 27.7 and 5 assists. He\u2019d again win the MVP the following year, then once more in 1979-1980.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The 1975-76 season is the only time Abdul-Jabbar missed the playoffs in his career.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Andre Dawson, Chicago Cubs, 1987<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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For those keeping track, this was the third time a baseball player won the MVP while part of a losing team, and all of them were Cubs. Gee, I wonder if any baseball team will top that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Andre \u201cThe Hawk\u201d Dawson\u2014another Hawk!\u2014posted only 4.0 bWAR in 1987, which tied for 18th among NL batters, but he did lead the league in home runs with 49 and RBIs with 137, both of which were career highs for the Hall of Famer. He slashed .287\/.328\/.568. The Cubs finished 76-85, last in the National League East.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins, 1987-88<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Just 22, Mario Lemieux paced the National Hockey League in points in 1987-88 with 168, including a league-leading 70 goals and a staggering 98 assists. Lemieux posted even better numbers the following season, but came in second in voting for the Hart behind some guy named Wayne Gretzky.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Serious question: would you rather have a healthy Lemieux or Gretzky at his peak? I\u2019m not so sure there\u2019s an easy answer. Sure, one\u2019s nicknamed \u201cThe Great One,\u201d but if Lemieux didn\u2019t miss so much time, it might be No. 66, not No. 99, retired across the NHL.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Penguins finished 36-35-9, which is under .500 in hockey terms. Three years later, they lifted Lord Stanley\u2019s Cup for the first time ever.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore Orioles, 1991<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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To this day, Ripken\u2019s Iron Man streak overshadows how good of a ballplayer he was. Sure, he wouldn\u2019t have started so many games in a row if he were a bum. But fans today forget that he posted nearly 100 bWAR while winning two Most Valuable Player awards, one when he was 22 in 1983, and this one, when he was 30.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For an awful Orioles team, one that finished 67-95, 24 games back of Toronto, Ripken, pardon the pun, ripped. He posted a career-high 11.5 bWAR while setting other career highs in home runs (34), RBIs (114), on-base percentage (.374), total bases (368, which led the league), and OPS+ (162). He also earned his first Gold Glove.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Alex Rodriguez, Texas Rangers, 2003<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Another bit of a time-jump before Alex Rodriguez joins the club. A-Rod spent three years with the Rangers, who posted losing seasons all three years, with 2001 being the high mark with 73 wins.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In 2003, his last season not as a Yankee, Rodriguez won the first of three MVP awards. Rodriguez led the AL in bWAR (8.4), runs (124), home runs (47), and slugging percentage (.600) while capturing his second straight Gold Glove.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Oddly, 2003 looks like Rodriguez\u2019s worst statistical season in Texas. I mean, dig it:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels, 2016<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The Angels finished 74-88 when Mike Trout won his second MVP. Trout led the league in bWAR (10.4), runs (123), walks (116), on-base percentage (.441), and OPS+ (173).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As you\u2019re about to see, this sort of thing is about to become a trend in Anaheim.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins, 2017<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Stanton had a season for the ages in his last year with the Marlins. He just missed 60 home runs on the year, still leading the Majors with 59. He added 132 RBIs, scored 123 runs, and slugged .631 for a Marlins team that finished 77-85, second in the National League East, but a full 10 games back of the final Wild Card.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The following offseason, Stanton forced his way out of Florida, choosing the Yankees as his next team. Injuries have hampered him during his time in the Bronx, though he did capture the ALCS MVP in 2024. He could very well become the first non-steroid tainted member of the 500-homer club to not make the Hall of Fame, but I doubt he gets there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels, 2019<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Trout again. He won the MVP this time despite finishing behind others in bWAR, such as Houston\u2019s Alex Bregman and Oakland\u2019s Marcus Semien.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This was Trout\u2019s third and, in all likelihood, final Most Valuable Player award. He has never won a postseason game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels, 2021<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels, 2023<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Grouping these last two together as it\u2019s the same dude with the same team. Man, Arte Moreno is a bad owner. Ten times has a player won the MVP in baseball while playing for a team with a losing record, and four of those have happened in the past decade with the Angels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While Trout remains, Ohtani bolted in free agency for the Dodgers, where he\u2019s enjoyed enormous success, individually and, more importantly, as a member of the team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Before that, though, Ohtani languished with the Angels. The two-way star won his first MVP in 2021 as the Angels finished 77-85. At the plate, Ohtani scored 103 runs while smoking 46 home runs and driving in 100 RBIs. He slashed .257\/.372\/.592. On the mound, Ohtani started 23 games, going 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA, 1.090 WHIP, and 3.52 FIP. In total, he posted 9.0 bWAR\u20144.9 at the plate and 4.1 on the mound.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Two years later, as the Angels finished 73-89, Ohtani posted even better numbers at the plate as he slashed .304\/.412\/.654 with 44 homers and 95 RBIs. Pitching, he went 10-5 over 132 innings with 167 strikeouts, a 3.14 ERA and a 4.00 FIP.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As you probably noticed, no NFL player has ever won the MVP while playing for a losing team. Since the AP started voting on the MVP in 1957, the closest a player has come to this is Barry Sanders in 1997, when the Lions finished 9-7.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From 1938 to 1946, the MVP equivalent was called the Joe F. Carr Trophy. Twice did a player win that hardware while playing for a team that finished 5-5-1. Cleveland Rams halfback Parker Hall did so in 1939 followed by Pittsburgh Steelers halfback Bill Dudley in 1946.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Finally, as far as I can tell, only one Major League Baseball player has won the MVP for a team that finished exactly<\/em> .500\u2014Robin Yount for the 1989 Milwaukee Brewers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.royalsreview.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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