Baseball’s Most Baffling MVP Ballots

From its colorful beginnings more than a century ago, baseball’s annual Most Valuable Player Award has become the most prestigious (and contentious) individual honor in the sport. No accolade means more to players, fans or the media. No other award can claim a voting history so rich in alleged snubs, grudges, conspiracies and incompetence. Examining the most controversial ballots, this book attempts to settle some arguments and answer some compelling questions: Which of the so-called “worst MVPs” holds up to modern statistical analysis? Who cast the single worst vote in MVP history? Does racial bias influence the vote? Who really deserved the award in a given year?

Jeremy Lehrman has been a professional speechwriter, ghostwriter, and copywriter for 20 years. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Jeremy Lehrman

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 256
Bibliographic Info: 14 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2016
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6675-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2613-0
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Preface: A Few Things to Know 1
Introduction: “What does a man have to do to win this thing?” 5
1. A Firm Believer in Advertising: The History of the MVP Award 7
2. The Crab Performs Miracles in Boston 16
3. Establishing a Pecking Order 24
4. Out by a Mile 35
5. Revisionist History 101 50
6. Black Mike and the Triple Crown 74
7. The Octopus 84
8. Sticking It to the Splinter: Most Career MVP Snubs 94
9. The Gym Teacher Who Came in from the Cold 103
10. Curiouser and Curiouser 107
11. “What are we going to do? Break it in half?” 119
12. MVP Mosts (and Leasts) 124
13. A Certain Kind of Logic 130
14. Out of Character: MVP Flukes 141
15. Meet the Mets, Greet the … Team That Has Never Had an MVP 150
16. The Greatest Season That Never Was 158
17. Never Mind, Juan Gone—It’s the 90s 164
18. Are MVP Voters Racist? 173
19. Fun with Arbitrary Endpoints: MVPs of the Decade 180
20. The Wonderful Argument 191
21. The Last Worst MVP: The Future of the Award 197
Appendix: The List, 1911–2015 209
Chapter Notes 215
Bibliography 231
Index 239

• “Expertly researched and written, and rarely gets bogged down or boring. Lehrman does an excellent job with the research and writing, and Baseball’s Most Baffling MVP Ballots is a fun and easy read…fantastic”—Mike Lynch, Seamheads
• “Ever since Justin Morneau beat out Derek Jeter and a cast of thousands for the MVP, I have been waiting for exactly this book.”—Rob Neyer, author of Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball series
• “This information-packed paperback, loaded with statistics, also features oddities and ironies associated with the prestigious prize…a Best Baseball Book, 2016”—Sports Collectors Digest
• “A terrific book…witty, well-researched and well-written…it is one that serious baseball fans must read…5 of 5 stars (Outstanding)”—Lance Smith, The Guy Who Reviews Sports Books
• “he book is beautifully written, well researched, and meticulously edited…a must read”—Innings Pitched