5 MLB Triple Crown winners who did not win the MVP award that season
By today's MLB standards, it seems unfathomable that a player could win the Triple Crown award but not be granted the Most Valuable Player award. After all, how could anyone be more valuable than the player who led the Majors in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in? Short answer: nobody could be.
Since 1878, only 16 players have achieved Triple Crown statistics, with two players accomplishing it twice, for a total of 18 awards. On average, that means the MLB only sees a Triple-Crown-caliber player once every ten years. They are generational talents who have been objectively the League's most valuable players during their careers.
Who are the 5 MLB Triple Crown winners who did not win the MVP award in that season?
But the MVP voters haven't always seen it that way. Here are the five Triple Crown winners who missed out on MVP awards in the same seasons.
#5 - Rogers Hornsby (1922)
Rogers Hornsby is one of the greatest hitters baseball has ever seen. Over his 23-season career, the legend hit .358 with 301 home runs and 1,584 RBIs. In 1922, Hornsby played for the St. Louis Cardinals and recorded a monster .401 batting average, 42 home runs, and 152 RBIs. The numbers were enough to win him the Triple Crown, but they didn't catch the attention of MVP voters. Although the American League named George Sisler the 1922 season's MVP, the National League didn't bother to name anybody as MVP.
That didn't stop Hornsby from repeating his league-topping performance in 1925. This time, he batted .403 with 39 home runs and 143 RBIs. The MVP voters finally gave him the recognition he deserved and named him the National League's most valuable player.
#4 - Chuck Klein (1933)
Get this: Chuck Klein won the National League MVP award in 1932 but not in 1933 when he won the Triple Crown. Over his 17-year career, Klein played for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Chicago Cubs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. During the '32 season, Klein hit .348 with 38 home runs and 137 RBIs. In 1933, his average shot up to .368, but his home run numbers declined to 28 and his RBIs to 120. Those numbers were still the best in the National League, but the MVP voters decided that starting pitcher Carl Hubbell was more deserving of the award.
Chuck Klein was the second-last National League player to win the Triple Crown, and he doesn't even have the 1933 MVP award to show for it.
#3 - Lou Gehrig (1934)
People around the world remember Lou Gehrig for far more than his baseball career. The legend died in 1941 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which Americans commonly refer to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease" in his memory.
However, Gehrig also played 17 seasons with the New York Yankees and posted phenomenal numbers. In 1934, Gehrig led the American League with 49 home runs, 166 RBIs, and a .363 batting average. Despite these insane numbers, the American League decided that Micky Cochrane of the Detroit Tigers, with a .320 average, two home runs, and just 76 RBIs, was more deserving of the MVP award. Folks, some things just don't make sense.
Lou Gehrig wins the Triple Crown with 49 home runs, 165 RBI, and a .363 average, Mickey Cochrane, with two home runs, 76 RBI, and a.320 average, is named American League Most Valuable Player, November 3, 1934. https://t.co/5tA9gn0ygv
"Lou Gehrig wins the Triple Crown with 49 home runs, 165 RBI, and a .363 average, Mickey Cochrane, with two home runs, 76 RBI, and a.320 average, is named American League Most Valuable Player, November 3, 1934." - @ Baseball In Pics
#2 - Ted Williams (1942)
Ted Williams played 19 seasons in the MLB and played in the All-Star Game for every one of those seasons. He was a career Boston Red Sox first baseman and one of the most renowned sluggers in the game.
In 1942, Williams recored a .366 average with 46 home runs and 142 RBIs. He won the American League Triple Crown, but not the MVP. The League bestowed that honor upon New York Yankees second baseman Joe Gordan, who only hit 18 home runs and 103 RBIs. Once again, the League denied a legend the MVP award.
#1 - Ted Williams (1947)
Yes, you read that right. Ted Williams won the Triple Crown twice without winning the MVP award. The season after Joe Gordan topped him in MVP voting, Williams enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served his country for three years.
#RedSox Ted Williams from 1941 to 1947:
1941 - batted .406
1942 - Triple Crown
1943 - WWII
1944 - WWII
1945 - WWII
1946 - MVP
1947 - Triple Crown
"#RedSox Ted Williams from 1941 to 1947: 1941 - batted .406 1942 - Triple Crown 1943 - WWII 1944 - WWII 1945 - WWII 1946 - MVP 1947 - Triple Crown" - @ Ryan M. Spaeder
In 1946, he returned to the Red Sox and won the MVP but not the Triple Crown. The following season, Williams posted an American League-best .343 average, 32 home runs, and 114 RBIs to win the Triple Crown. In a tight MVP race, however, Williams lost the MVP by one vote to New York Yankees superstar Joe Dimaggio.