The best MLB MVP races of all time

The 1937 race was airtight between Detroit’s workman second baseman Gehringer and superstar in the making DiMaggio. In his second season, DiMaggio had led the American League with 46 home runs, 151 runs scored and a .673 slugging percentage. However, despite failing to drive in 100 runs for the first time in five years and finishing 13 games behind the eventual world champs in the Bronx, Gehringer edged out DiMaggio for MVP honors by four first-place votes on the heels of leading the American League with a .371 batting average.

The greatest damned if you do, damned if you don’t moment in MVP voting history happened in 1941, when the decision came down to picking between the 56-game hitting streak of DiMaggio or the year from Williams, who hit .406 in his third season. In the end, the majesty of the streak won out, as DiMaggio took home his second MVP in three years. Williams would have to settle for his first of six batting titles via the final .400 season to date.

One of the more uninspiring races of all time still was decided by the narrowest of margins. Cardinals shortstop Marty Marion, who had a great offensive season for a shortstop at the time, hitting .267 with 63 RBI, beat out Bill Nicholson by a single point. It was quite a decision considering Nicholson hit 33 home runs and drove in 122 runs. However, Marion was undoubtedly aided by association with the MLB-best Cardinals, who won 105 games en route to a World Series title.

While it was understandable that Williams took a tough-luck second-place finish six years before, being runner-up to DiMaggio again in ’47 had to be a much tougher pill to swallow. The Splendid Splinter won the AL Triple Crown, after hitting .343, with 32 home runs and 114 RBI. However, he still managed to lose the award to DiMaggio, who hit only .315 with 20 home runs and 97 RBI due to a writer leaving Williams off his ballot in full due to one of the infamous disputes that the irritable Red Sox slugger had with the media.

Anytime teammates are pitted against each other for MVP honors, hairs are required to be split. In 1955, with the Brooklyn Dodgers en route to finally breaking through for a long, elusive World Series title, Duke Snider and Roy Campanella traded terms in leading "Dem Bums" to prosperity. In the end, Campanella edged out Snider for his third MVP win after hitting 32 home runs and driving in 107, despite Snider hitting 42 homers and leading the NL with 136 RBI. Campanella’s presence behind the plate in guiding the Dodgers' staff played a big part in him claiming the upper hand.

The 1957 National League MVP picture was a crowded one with four Hall of Famers competing at their best. On one hand, there was Aaron, who led the NL in home runs (44) and RBI (132) for the NL champion Milwaukee Braves. Joining him was teammate Red Schoendienst, who topped the NL with 200 hits. Meanwhile, Stan Musial won a batting title for the Cardinals, hitting .351, and Mays hit .333 with 20 triples and an NL-best 38 stolen bases for the Giants. In the end, Aaron prevailed over Musial by just 3 percent of the vote, with Schoendienst and Mays following closely behind in an MVP vote that was separated by just 65 points between first and fourth place.

Two neighbors in the Yankees outfield posted two of the tightest MVP races of all time — in consecutive years. By 1960, Mantle had claimed the throne as the premier icon in the game and was already a two-time MVP winner. It appeared he was on course for a third in 1960, when Mantle led the AL with 40 home runs — however Maris edged him after hitting one fewer homer but gathering a Gold Glove and leading the AL in RBI with 112. The next season, the two embarked on one of the great home run competitions in history, with Maris ultimately breaking Babe Ruth’s single-season record with his 61st on the year, while Mantle finished second with 54. Maris took MVP honors in both seasons despite finishing one first-place vote behind Mantle in the two-year total.

Wills and Mays took different routes in creating one of the closest NL MVP races ever in the summer of ’62. Mays posted one of his finest all-around seasons, hitting .304 with 141 RBI, a .615 slugging percentage and NL-best 49 homers while leading the Giants to a National League title. Meanwhile in L.A., the speedy Wills stole 104 bases — the most in 68 years — along with 208 hits and 10 triples. In the end, Wills edged Mays by a single first-place nod and seven total votes.

It was a showdown between a pair of all-time greats who saw their careers end tragically early for the 1966 NL MVP. In his final season, Koufax (who had won the NL MVP the year prior) won the pitcher’s Triple Crown, winning 27 games with a 1.73 ERA and 317 strikeouts over 323 innings. However, it was Clemente who took home MVP honors after posting 202 hits and a .317 average, with a career-best 29 home runs and 119 RBI.

1969 was an "Amazin" year for the Mets, spearheaded by their ace, Seaver. The third-year hurler won a league-high 25 games with five shutouts en route to the NL Cy Young Award. In guiding the previously woebegone Mets to the top of the National League standings, Seaver moved himself into MVP territory as well. However, McCovey had an exceptional year in San Francisco, posting one of the top power seasons of the decade, clubbing NL bests in home runs (45), RBI (126) and a 1.108 OPS en route to winning MVP honors by 18 votes, despite tying for first-place ballots with Seaver.

In a career that was defined by the number of hits he accumulated, Rose was at his peak powers in the summer of ’73, leading the majors with 230 hits and pacing the NL with a .338 average for the NL West champion Reds. Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, Willie Stargell posted 87 extra-base hits while leading the league in home runs, doubles and RBI. Ultimately, Rose inched away with his lone MVP win by a difference of only two first-place nods.

Stargell was again in the mix at the end of the decade, as he led the "We Are Family" Pirates toward a World Series title. In the process, he had one of the great old-age seasons ever, hitting 32 home runs and driving in 82 in 126 games. Meanwhile in St. Louis, Hernandez won the NL batting title with a .344 average, while also pacing the circuit in runs scored (116) and doubles (48). When the dust settled, while Stargell out-gained Hernandez in first-place votes 12-to-4, Hernandez pulled ahead in volume from the writers, and MVP honors were split for the only time in MLB history.

One of the more interesting races for the award in history, Oakland A’s speedster Rickey Henderson faced off against Brewers closer Rollie Fingers. In a season interrupted by the players strike early in the year, the Brewers' relief ace led the AL in saves with 28. Meanwhile, Henderson was just getting started in his trailblazing career, leading the league in hits (135), runs scored (89) and stolen bases (56) in just 108 games. In the end, Fingers became the first relief pitcher to ever win MVP honors by a slim 11-vote margin.

The first season back from the strike of ’94 saw one of the great slugger showdowns of all time. Belle went on a tear throughout the summer, becoming the first player to ever hit 50 home runs and 50 doubles in the same season, while also tying for the AL in lead in RBI. Meanwhile, the man he tied for the league in RBI was Vaughn, who also connected for 39 home runs and a .300 average. In one of the more mystifying votes ever, Vaughn garnered one more first-place vote than Belle, which landed him the MVP nod by only eight votes and a 2 percent share.

The second closest MVP race in history took place in 1996, one that was decided by only three points. A-Rod became the third youngest batting champ at age 20 when he hit .358 in his second season while leading the circuit in doubles (54) and runs scored (141) as well. Meanwhile, Gonzalez hit .314 with 47 home runs and 144 RBI while leading the Rangers to an AL West title over Rodriguez’s Mariners, which gained him the ever-so slight upper hand in landing the first of his two MVP nods.

Pudge posted a historic season for catchers in 1999, setting a new AL record for home runs from the position with 35. In the process, he became the first catcher to have 30 home runs, 100 runs scored and 100 RBI in MLB history. Coupled with his usual unparalleled defensive standard, he edged out a dominant season from Martinez, who was at the height of his powers. Pedro went 23-4 with 313 strikeouts while leading the AL in 11 separate major categories as he won his second Cy Young Award.

Seven years after winning his last MVP, the Big Hurt was back in the MVP picture again in 2000, hitting a career-best 43 home runs and 143 RBI. He was confronted by Oakland first baseman Jason Giambi, who finished in the AL top 10 in batting average (.333), home runs (43), RBI (137) and leading the majors with 137 walks and a .476 on-base percentage. Giambi’s season helped Oakland break an eight-year postseason drought and landed him a tight edge in the AL MVP race.

Giambi mounted a strong campaign in defense of the award a year later. The reigning MVP hit 38 home runs while leading the AL in doubles (47), on-base (.477) and slugging (.660). However, he was confronted by a challenger who was not in the majors the year before, as Ichiro embarked upon a sensational debut in America. He led the AL in batting average (.350), stolen bases (56) and hits (242), while gathering a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger and rather obvious Rookie of the Year. It was good enough to pull the MVP away from Giambi by a tight eight-point difference.

Jeter did a great many things over his distinguished MLB career, and in 2006 the Captain mounted his strongest push for picking up MVP honors. Jeter led the AL in WAR, posting a 7.1 figure built around finishing second in the AL batting race with a personal-high .343 average. Meanwhile, following a midseason breakout, Morneau hit 34 home runs while finishing sixth in batting average (.321) and slugging (.559) en route to rallying to win the AL MVP honors.

By 2012, it had been 45 years since Carl Yastrzemski produced the last Triple Crown season, long enough to have many question if it would happen again. However, Cabrera climbed the seemingly impossible triple summit feat by leading the American League with a .330 average, 44 home runs and 139 RBI. Under normal circumstances, it should have made him a shoo-in for MVP honors, but it just so happened to occur in the same year as the historic debut of Trout with the Angels. The rookie sensation hit .326 with 30 home runs while leading the AL in runs scored (129) and stolen bases (49). It was a performance strong enough to see him post a WAR over three games greater than Cabrera’s incredible season. And while Cabrera easily won over the vote for pulling off the elusive feat, it still remains a point of contention among many if even a Triple Crown campaign was better than Trout's overall impact upon arrival.