Mike Trout Wins AL MVP
SEE ALSO: Major League Player of the Year
Mike Trout, Baseball America’s Player of the Year three of the past five years including 2016, was voted AL Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
The Angels slugger got 19 of 30 first-place votes in the BBWAA vote. It’s the center fielder’s second MVP win.
Despite finishing in the top two the past five years, Trout said he was surprised by the win.
“Really surprised,” he said on a conference call with reporters. “It’s surreal. Just a little bit ago, I was a little kid in high school, and now I have a chance to win a second MVP. It’s unbelievable.”
The 25-year-old led the majors this season with 123 runs scored, 116 walks, a .441 on-base percentage and 10.6 wins above replacement, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
The last MVP from a team that missed the playoffs was Alex Rodriguez with the Rangers in 2003.
“Obviously our team wasn’t where it wanted to be,” he said. “We were playing hard, but we were banged up. For me I can only go out there and control what I can control, but obviously we want to win. Obviously, without my teammates, none of this is possible.”
The Red Sox’s Mookie Betts, who had an .897 OPS, was second and got nine first-place votes, while Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was third.
Trout, who also won in 2014, became the 15th multiple winner in the AL voting. Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Alex Rodriguez were three-time winners. Trout joins two-time winners Hank Greenberg, Hal Newhouser, Ted Williams, Roger Maris, Robin Yount, Cal Ripken Jr., Frank Thomas, Juan Gonzalez and Miguel Cabrera.
“The one obviously has got to be the biggest one,” Trout said about which of his MVP wins were more special. “My home run numbers were a little lower, stolen bases were up, I was getting on base . . . I took what they gave me.”
So where does a two-time MVP before the age of 26 go?
“I guess I’ve just go to steal more,” he said with a laugh. “There are always things you can better on . . . I try to improve in every category.
In addition to Trout’s two victories, the Angels have had winners with Don Baylor (1979) and Vlad Guerrero (2004).
Check out how each BBWAA voter voted here.
| Player, Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points |
| Mike Trout, Angels | 19 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 356 | |||||
| Mookie Betts, Red Sox | 9 | 17 | 4 | 311 | |||||||
| Jose Altuve, Astros | 2 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 227 | ||||||
| Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays | 2 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 200 | |||
| Manny Machado, Orioles | 5 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 150 | |||
| David Ortiz, Red Sox | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 147 | |
| Adrian Beltre, Rangers | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 135 | |
| Robinson Cano, Mariners | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 79 | |||
| Francisco Lindor, Indians | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 56 | |||||
| Miguel Cabrera, Tigers | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 56 | |||||
| Zach Britton, Orioles | 1 | 3 | 2 | 11 | |||||||
| Kyle Seager, Mariners | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||||||||
| Brian Dozier, Twins | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | |||||||
| Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |||||||
| Nelson Cruz, Mariners | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||
| Chris Sale, White Sox | 1 | 3 | |||||||||
| Jose Ramirez, Indians | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Justin Verlander, Tigers | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Adam Eaton, White Sox | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Corey Kluber, Indians | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Evan Longoria, Rays | 1 | 1 |
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