The 2024 MLB season provided fans with two of the best individual seasons of all time. After becoming the first player with 50 home runs and 50 steals, Shohei Ohtani was a shoo-in to win the National League MVP. Likewise, Aaron Judge had one of the best seasons ever for a right-handed hitter, as he smashed 58 homers en route to batting .322. Those stats made him a lock for the American League MVP as well.
MVPs have been named in MLB for a long time now, and there are plenty of other elite ball players who were named as the best players in baseball as far back as the early 20th century. In this article, you can find every MLB MVP ever.
League awards (1922-1929)
1922: George Sisler, St. Louis Browns (American League)
1923: Babe Ruth, New York Yankees (American League)
1924: Walter Johnson, Washington Senators (American League)/Dazzy Vance, Brooklyn Robins (National League)
1925: Roger Peckinpaugh, Washington Senators (American League)/Rogers Hornsby, St. Louis Cardinals (National League)
1926: George Burns, Cleveland Indians (American League)/Bob O'Farrell, St. Louis Cardinals (National League)
1927: Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees (American League)/Paul Waner, Pittsburgh Pirates (National League)
1928: Mickey Cochrane, Philadelphia Athletics (American League)/Jim Bottomley, St. Louis Cardinals (National League)
1029: Rogers Hornsby (2), Chicago Cubs (National League)
American League MLB MVP winners
1931: Lefty Grove, Philadelphia Athletics
1932: Jimmie Foxx, Philadelphia Athletics
1933: Jimmie Foxx (2), Philadelphia Athletics
1934: Mickey Cochrane (2), Detroit Tigers
1935: Hank Greenberg, Detroit Tigers
1936: Lou Gehrig (2), New York Yankees
1937: Charlie Gehringer, Detroit Tigers
1938: Jimmie Foxx (3), Boston Red Sox
1939: Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees
1940: Hank Greenberg (2), Detroit Tigers
1941: Joe DiMaggio (2), New York Yankees
1942: Joe Gordon, New York Yankees
1943: Spud Chandler, New York Yankees
1944: Hal Newhouser, Detroit Tigers
1945: Hal Newhouser (2), Detroit Tigers
1946: Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox
1947: Joe DiMaggio (3), New York Yankees
1948: Lou Boudreau, Cleveland Indians
1949: Ted Williams (2), Boston Red Sox
1950: Phil Rizzuto, New York Yankees
1951: Yogi Berra, New York Yankees
1952: Bobby Shantz, Philadelphia Athletics
1953: Al Rosen, Cleveland Athletics
1954: Yogi Berra (2), New York Yankees
1955: Yogi Berra (3), New York Yankees
1956: Mickey Mantle, New York Yankees
1957: Mickey Mantle (2), New York Yankees
1958: Jackie Jensen, Boston Red Sox
1959: Nellie Fox, Chicago White Sox
1960: Roger Maris, New York Yankees
1961: Roger Maris (2), New York Yankees
1962: Mickey Mantle (3), New York Yankees
1963: Elston Howard, New York Yankees
1964: Brooks Robinson, Baltimore Orioles
1965: Zoilo Versalles, Minnesota Twins
1966: Frank Robinson (2), Baltimore Orioles
1967: Carl Yastrzemski, Boston Red Sox
1968: Denny McLain, Detroit Tigers
1969: Harmon Killebrew, Minnesota Twins
1970: Boog Powell, Baltimore Orioles
1971: Vida Blue, Oakland Athletics
1972: Dick Allen, Chicago White Sox
1973: Reggie Jackson, Oakland Athletics
1974: Jeff Burroughs, Texas Rangers
1975: Fred Lynn, Boston Red Sox
1976: Thurman Munson, New York Yankees
1977: Rod Carew, Minnesota Twins
1978: Jim Rice, Boston Red Sox
1979: Don Baylor, California Angels
1980: George Brett, Kansas City Royals
1981: Rollie Fingers, Milwaukee Brewers
1982: Robin Yount, Milwaukee Brewers
1983: Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore Orioles
1984: Willie Hernandez, Detroit Tigers
1985: Don Mattingly, New York Yankees
1986: Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox
1987: George Bell, Toronto Blue Jays
1988: Jose Canseco, Oakland Athletics
1989: Robin Yount (2), Milwaukee Brewers
1990: Rickey Henderson, Oakland Athletics
1991: Cal Ripken Jr. (2), Baltimore Orioles
1992: Dennis Eckersley, Oakland Athletics
1993: Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox
1994: Frank Thomas (2), Chicago White Sox
1995: Mo Vaughn, Boston Red Sox
1996: Juan Gonzalez, Texas Rangers
1997: Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle Mariners
1998: Juan Gonzalez (2), Texas Rangers
1999: Ivan Rodriguez, Texas Rangers
2000: Jason Giambi, Oakland Athletics
2001: Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners
2002: Miguel Tejada, Oakland Athletics
2003: Alex Rodriguez, Texas Rangers
2004: Vladimir Guerrero, Anaheim Angels
2005: Alex Rodriguez (2), New York Yankees
2006: Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
2007: Alex Rodriguez (3), New York Yankees
2008: Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
2009: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
2010: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
2011: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
2012: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
2013: Miguel Cabrera (2), Detroit Tigers
2014: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
2015: Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays
2016: Mike Trout (2), Los Angeles Angels
2017: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
2018: Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
2019: Mike Trout (3), Los Angeles Angels
2020: Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox
2021: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
2022: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
2023: Shohei Ohtani (2), Los Angeles Angels
2024: Aaron Judge (2), New York Yankees
National League MLB MVP winners
1931: Frankie Frisch, St. Louis Cardinals
1932: Chuck Klein, Philadelphia Phillies
1933: Carl Hubbell, New York Giants
1934: Dizzy Dean, St. Louis Cardinals
1935: Gabby Hartnett, Chicago Cubs
1936: Carl Hubbell (2), New York Giants
1937: Joe Medwick, St. Louis Cardinals
1938: Ernie Lombardi, Cincinnati Reds
1939: Bucky Walters, Cincinnati Reds
1940: Frank McCormick, Cincinnati Reds
1941: Dolph Camilli, Brooklyn Dodgers
1942: Mort Cooper, St. Louis Cardinals
1943: Stan Musial, St. Louis Cardinals
1944: Marty Marion, St. Louis Cardinals
1945: Phil Cavarretta, Chicago Cubs
1946: Stan Musial (2), St. Louis Cardinals
1947: Bob Elliot, Boston Braves
1948: Stan Musial (3), St. Louis Cardinals
1949: Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn Dodgers
1950: Jim Konstanty, Philadelphia Phillies
1951: Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers
1952: Hank Sauer, Chicago Cubs
1953: Roy Campanella (2), Brooklyn Dodgers
1954: Willie Mays, San Francisco Giants
1955: Roy Campanella (3), Brooklyn Dodgers
1956: Don Newcombe, Brooklyn Dodgers
1957: Hank Aaron, Milwaukee Braves
1958: Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs
1959: Ernie Banks (2), Chicago Cubs
1960: Dick Groat, Pittsburgh Pirates
1961: Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds
1962: Maury Wills, Los Angeles Dodgers
1963: Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers
1964: Ken Boyer, St. Louis Cardinals
1965: Willie Mays (2), San Francisco Giants
1966: Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates
1967: Orlando Cepeda, St. Louis Cardinals
1968: Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals
1969: Willie McCovey, San Francisco Giants
1970: Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds
1971: Joe Torre, St. Louis Cardinals
1972: Johnny Bench (2), Cincinnati Reds
1973: Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds
1974: Steve Garvey, Los Angeles Dodgers
1975: Joe Morgan, Cincinnati Reds
1976:Joe Morgan (2), Cincinnati Reds
1977: George Foster, Cincinnati Reds
1978: Dave Parker, Pittsburgh Pirates
1979: Keith Hernandez, St. Louis Cardinals/Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates
1980: Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies
1981: Mike Schmidt (2), Philadelphia Phillies
1982: Dale Murphy, Atlanta Braves
1983: Dale Murphy (2), Atlanta Braves
1984: Ryne Sandberg, Chicago Cubs
1985: Willie McGee, St. Louis Cardinals
1986: Mike Schmidt (3), Philadelphia Phillies
1987: Andre Dawson, Chicago Cubs
1988: Kirk Gibson, Los Angeles Dodgers
1989: Kevin Mitchell, San Francisco Giants
1990: Barry Bonds, Pittsburgh Pirates
1991: Terry Pendleton, Atlanta Braves
1992: Barry Bonds (2), Pittsburgh Pirates
1993: Barry Bonds (3), San Francisco Giants
1994: Jeff Bagwell, Houston Astros
1995: Barry Larkin, Cincinnati Reds
1996: Ken Caminiti, San Diego Padres
1997: Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies
1998: Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs
1999: Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves
2000: Jeff Kent, San Francisco Giants
2001: Barry Bonds (4), San Francisco Giants
2002: Barry Bonds (5), San Francisco Giants
2003: Barry Bonds (6), San Francisco Giants
2004: Barry Bonds (7), San Francisco Giants
2005: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
2006: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
2007: Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies
2008: Albert Pujols, St (2). Louis Cardinals
2009: Albert Pujols (3), St. Louis Cardinals
2010: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
2011: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
2012: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
2013: Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
2014: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
2015: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
2016: Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
2017: Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
2018: Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
2019: Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
2020: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
2021: Bryce Harper (2), Philadelphia Phillies
2022: Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
2023: Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves
2024: Shohei Ohtani (3), Los Angeles Dodgers
Multi-time MLB MVP winners
Seven-time MVP: Barry Bonds
Three-time MVP: Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani
Two-time MVP: Rogers Hornsby, Mickey Cochrane, Lou Gehrig, Carl Hubbell, Hank Greenberg, Hal Newhouser, Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, Roger Maris, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Dale Murphy, Robin Yount, Cal Ripken Jr., Frank Thomas, Juan Gonzalez, Miguel Cabrera, Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge
MLB MVP history
The Baseball Writers' Association of America has chosen an MVP in both the American League and the National League every season since 1931. The MLB MVP award signals who the best player in each league was in that respective league that season, regardless of position. Unlike the Cy Young award, which is limited to just pitchers, the MVP can be a pitcher or position player.
The inaugural winners of the MVP award were Lefty Grove and Frankie Frisch. The first base position has had the most MVPs, with 37 players at the position winning the award. After that, there have been 30 MVP right fielders, 24 MVP left fielders, 21 MVP starting pitchers, 22 MVP center fielders, 19 MVP third basemen, 18 MVP catchers, 16 MVP second basemen, 16 MVP shortstops, four MVP relievers, and three MVP designated hitters.
Of all of those MVP winners, Hank Greenberg, Stan Musial, Alex Rodriguez, and Robin Yount are the four players to win the award at different positions. Frank Robinson was the only American League and National League MVP ever until Shohei Ohtani changed that in 2024 after winning the award as a Los Angeles Dodger. There has even been one season where there was a tie at MVP. Both Keith Hernandez and Willie Stargell won the National League MVP in 1979.
Barry Bonds is the most dominant player in MLB history. He won the MVP more times consecutively (four) than any other player did in total en route to winning the league's most prestigious award a league-leading seven times. Of course, though, Bonds' legacy is clouded by steroid allegations.
Prior to the BBWAA MVP, the best players in baseball were decided by the League Awards. This award denoted who the best “all-around” players were. The League Awards stood from 1922-1929.
The only season where none of the BBWAA MVP, League Awards, or the Chalmers Award (given from 1911-1914 to the player with the best batting average) were chosen was 1930. That year actually saw one of the best individual seasons ever, as Hack Wilson set a still-standing record for RBIs with 191. Wilson also hit .356 that season, and he belted 56 home runs. That was a National League record for long balls for 68 years.
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