Ted Williams and fWAR
Ted Williams was one of the greatest hitters of all-time and a two-time MVP winner. He could have won seven. Including his two MVP seasons, he led the AL in fWAR seven times in the eight full seasons he played between 1941 and 1954 (he missed some years due to WWII and the Korean War). In five of those seasons, another player won the MVP.
Joe Gordon got him once. In 1942, Williams led the AL in runs, homers, RBI, walks, and all three rate categories (.356/.499/.648). He was worth 11.6 fWAR. Joe Gordon was worth 8.8 fWAR and wasn’t better than Williams in anything except for steals, yet he got the trophy. Of course, Gordon’s Yankees won 103 games to the 93 won by Williams’ Red Sox.
Joe DiMaggio got him twice. The first time was the famous 1941 season in which Ted Williams hit .406 and was worth 11 fWAR. DiMaggio (9.8 fWAR) had his 56-game hitting streak and won the MVP Award. That was somewhat understandable because DiMaggio had a great season and kept fans spellbound with his hitting streak during the season.
The 1947 season was a much worse choice. Williams hit .343/.499/.634 and led the league in runs, homers, RBI, and walks. He had 692 plate appearances. DiMaggio hit .315/.391/.522 and came to the plate almost 100 fewer times. Williams more than doubled his fWAR total, 10.5 to 4.9, but the voters went for DiMaggio.
Yogi Berra also twice won MVP awards in seasons in which Williams led the league in fWAR. In 1951, Williams led the league in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and fWAR (7.1) but finished 13th in MVP voting. Yogi Berra finished fifth in fWAR, but took home the trophy. It was a similar story three years later when Williams again led the league in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and fWAR, but Berra won the MVP despite being worth 2.5 fewer wins than Teddy Ballgame.