Last Updated: August 26th, 2026 by Michael Schatz
There are so many great seasons that a baseball fan can remember in their minds. I can think of some of my favorite players' great seasons, and those won't even have an MVP award to go with them. We're going to explore that specific side of historic seasons by talking about the ones that never got the recognition they deserved.
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On this website, you'll also be able to find our list of "10 MVPs Baseball Handed Out Wrong," and I suggest you complement reading this article by reading that one as well if you haven't already. That being said, let's start in the 1920s.
10. 1928: Heinie Manush’s Outstanding Season Overlooked
1928: Mickey Cochrane won his first AL MVP. Funny enough, we covered his 1934 MVP season in the aforementioned article: "10 MVPs Baseball Handed Out Wrong." Unfortunately for Cochrane, this MVP looks rough as well.
Heinie Manush finished runner-up by just two voting points in 1928. He led all of baseball with a lofty 241 hits that season on a .378 batting average and .989 OPS. His 7.3 WAR was also way higher than Cochrane's 3.4. So the value was just that much better for Manush.
9. 1987: Tony Gwynn’s Masterful Season Denied
Ask any player from the 1980s and 1990s about Tony Gwynn, and they will have nothing but great things to say about him. There are countless fans who will also say that Tony Gwynn is one of the greatest to ever play the game.
That being said, it is criminal that Gwynn never even finished second in MVP voting in his entire career. This 1987 season that we're going over is a season where he finished eighth in MVP voting. Why? You tell me why voters would overlook a league-leading 8.6 WAR, an MLB-leading 218 hits, and a .370 batting average. It's unfathomable how he finished so low in the voting results.
8. 1942: Ted Williams Robbed Against Joe Gordon
1941 and 1942 were a couple of Ted Williams' finest seasons. He finished runner-up in MVP voting in both of them. Let's focus on 1942, when he was a few first-place votes shy of the Yankees' Joe Gordon. Ted Williams led all of baseball with 36 home runs, 137 RBI, 141 runs scored, a .499 on-base percentage, and a .648 slugging percentage, which equaled a 1.147 OPS.
Joe Gordon wasn't even close in any of those categories. Williams collected a 10.4 WAR, which is an MVP season in almost any year (I know that stat wasn't calculated at that time, but this still illustrates how great a season he had). He did that two years in a row without winning the MVP. Then he had to risk his life serving in World War II before returning to baseball and immediately winning his first MVP in 1946.
7. 1985: Rickey Henderson’s Dynamic Season Ignored
WAR is really interesting to look at when it comes to past seasons when it wasn't even a thought for voters. In 1985, Rickey Henderson wasn't leading the league in batting average, hits, or home runs. He was doing his usual best in leading the league with 80 stolen bases and scoring more than anyone else in baseball (146 runs).
A lot of those numbers are impressive, but it's tough to deny Don Mattingly a .324 batting average with 35 home runs and an MLB-leading 145 RBI. However, Rickey Henderson collected 9.9 WAR while Mattingly, the 1985 MVP, had just 6.4 WAR.
6. 1985: Doc Gooden’s Historic Season Overlooked
It is rare for a pitcher to win a Cy Young and MVP in the same season. That is usually reserved for some of the greatest seasons of all time. Dwight Gooden had one of the greatest seasons of all time in 1985.
Today, I think we look back on that season and honor it as a deserving all-time season. However, in 1985, Gooden couldn't even crack the top three in MVP voting. Let me remind you that he had a 24-4 record with a 1.53 ERA in a league-leading 276.2 innings pitched and an MLB-leading 268 strikeouts.
5. 1962: Willie Mays Loses to Maury Wills
For Dodger fans, Maury Wills winning the 1962 MVP was payback for the Giants ending their great run toward an NL Pennant when San Francisco beat them in a three-game series that was played after they were tied at the end of the regular season.
For Giants fans, they certainly think they deserve that MVP award going to Willie Mays, who led all of baseball with 49 home runs that season and led his Giants to an exciting NL Pennant victory. Also, in hindsight, Mays collected an MLB-leading 10.5 WAR that season, while Wills only had 6.0 WAR.
4. 1989: Bret Saberhagen’s Dominance Ignored
Once again, it is tough to win the MVP as well as the Cy Young. For Brett Saberhagen, he finished eighth in MVP voting behind a number of players, including a reliever in Dennis Eckersley. Saberhagen dominated 1989 with a 23-6 record, a 2.16 ERA, and a 0.961 WHIP in 262.1 innings pitched. All of those led the entire MLB.
Oh yeah, and he had an MLB-leading 9.7 WAR. It is cool that Milwaukee got to see Robin Yount win his second MVP that season, but I'm gonna have to side with Kansas City on this one.
3. 1995: Greg Maddux’s Brilliant Season Passed Over
Yes, we are going to stay with pitchers here and just increase the mind-boggling seasons in which they weren't awarded the MVP. Pick and choose one of Greg Maddux's iconic seasons, and you'll have a case. We are going with 1995. He went 19-2 with a 1.63 ERA, a 0.811 WHIP, and accumulated a 9.6 WAR.
Those numbers led all of baseball. He finished third behind Barry Larkin, who didn't lead in any offensive category, and Dante Bichette, who had terrific offensive numbers, but his defense kept his WAR down to a paltry 1.2. I get that you might think pitchers don't deserve MVPs, but in seasons like this, Maddux's unbelievable numbers have a real case.
2. 2000: Pedro Martinez’s Historic Season Denied
Our last pitcher on this list may have had the greatest pitching season of all time and didn't even crack the top four in MVP voting. We could have gone with either 1999 or 2000 for Pedro Martinez, but we chose the one where he finished further away from the MVP winner. 2000 was arguably Martinez's best. He led all of baseball with 11.7 WAR, a 1.74 ERA, and a 0.737 WHIP. He also led the league with 284 strikeouts. Jason Giambi did lead the MLB in a couple of categories.
However, they are probably less entertaining for us to hear about because they were walks and on-base percentage. He did have a great season offensively other than those categories, and that's why he ended up winning the 2000 MVP. It's just that Pedro had a season that was unforgettable.
1. 1996: Alex Rodriguez’s Phenomenal Season Overlooked
Sure, you can say A-Rod has enough MVP awards in his trophy case and that's probably true. However, he could have won his first in 1996 if he had gotten one more first-place vote. He led all of baseball with a .358 batting average and led the league in scoring 141 times. The actual 1996 MVP, Juan Gonzalez, did not lead the league in any offensive category. There is no doubt he had a great season, but Rodriguez was doing all of what he did offensively while locking down the shortstop position defensively for Seattle.
His 9.4 WAR was second only to his teammate, Ken Griffey Jr. Juan Gonzalez had just a 3.8 WAR, and that was partially because he only played in 134 games that season. It's a wonder how he got picked over the other candidates, especially A-Rod.
