MLB players to win Triple Crown without being named MVP

Ted Williams, 1947

The 1947 MVP voting is famous – notorious may be a better word – for the voters’ injustice in naming Joe DiMaggio ahead of Williams. The margin was a single point, DiMaggio winning 202-201. The 24 voters gave DiMaggio eight first place votes, seven going to Joe Page, three each to Williams and St. Louis infielder George McQuinn, two to Philadelphia infielder Eddie Joost and one to Indians shortstop Lou Boudreau.

Statistically, Williams was again indisputably the league’s best player. He hit 32 home runs, DiMaggio hit 20. He drove in 114 runs, DiMaggio drove in 97. He batted .343, DiMaggio finished at .315. His OPS was 220 points higher than DiMaggio’s.

The ‘new’ statistical data really underscores Williams’ superiority in 1947 vis a vis DiMaggio. He had a 205 OPS+, a 9.6 WAR, and a 4.7 Win Probability Added. DiMaggio’s comparables were 154, 4.7 and 2.8.

Although the voters left no written explanation, it’s reasonable to deduce that the same two reasons why past Triple Crown champions were overlooked also hurt Williams. First and foremost, the Red Sox didn’t win. Worse, Williams’ team was the defending champion, entered play as the favorite, and he was the star…ergo he must have been responsible for the failure to win.

Second, of course, was Williams’ well-established reputation for feuding with reporters, several of whom were MVP voters. DiMaggio, by contrast, was a press favorite.