After finishing behind Miguel Cabrera for the second straight year in the American League MVP voting, it’s Mike Trout’s award to lose this time around. The 22-year old from Millville, New Jersey has had an incredible season thus far and is without a doubt the favorite to win the American League MVP. The “Millville Meteor” continues to impact the ball club in a variety of ways. If the youngster isn’t beating you with his bat, it’s with his glove. If it’s not his glove, it’s his legs. But more often than not, it’s all three.
A day after notching his first All-Star MVP, I did some digging on what MLB players in the history of the game have captured both the All-Star MVP and League MVP during the same season and as you might expect, the list is a short one. There are only five players in the history of the MLB to win both MVP’s in the same season:
1962: Maury Wills
1969: Willie McCovey
1974: Steve Garvey
1986: Roger Clemens
1991: Cal Ripken, Jr.
So there it is. You can check another “Mike Trout is one of only a few players ever to…” off the list. That is of course, if he continues his MVP caliber season. He’s hitting .310 with 22 homers, 73 RBIs and 10 steals. His slash line of .310/.400/.606 while leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 57-37 record at the break puts him as the clear-cut frontrunner to finally win his first MVP award.
Who knows, if the contending Angels can find a way to experience postseason glory, he could claim three MVP’s in 2014. I know it’s a farfetched hypothetical, but the possibility is there; and that folks, has never been done before in MLB history.