Brent Nyitray
Fairlington Blade
Let the mutherfuker burn!
jnc4p
Kevin S. Willis
Michigoose
lmsinca
markinaustin
Arcanaut
novahockey
quarterback
ScottC
yellojktSince the the Most Valuable Player award was introduced into Major League Baseball in 1931, 12 players have won the award in consecutive years. The last three players to do it were Albert Pujols (2008/09), Barry Bonds twice (1992/93 and 2001-2004), and Frank Thomas (1993/94). Amazingly, however, the first 9 players to do it each played a different position, thus making back-to-back winners a perfect starting lineup. Can you name them?
(Note: one of the outfielders actually played all three outfield positions at various points in his MVP years, but we will make him our left fielder, since we’ve already got back-to-back winners at center field and right field.)
Filed under: Trivia |
All Things in Moderation 
Going back to my childhood and a little earlier I remember the three yanks, Yogi, Mantle and Maris.And more recently White Sox', Frank Thomas.I can't remember if Cal Ripkin won back to back.Dale Murphy played a couple of different positions and I think he won back to back but I'm not sure which positions he was playing when he won. He'd be my guess for the floater.Did Johnny Bench win back to back?Those are off the top of my head, which keeps reaching back to pitchers instead.Did Clemens ever win back to back?Help me out someone. No googling though.I think this is more difficult than the football trivia, no fair scott.
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What about Sandy Kofax, I think he won more than once but I can't remember if it was back to back. I saw him pitch a no hitter though.
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I have a baseball/celebrity story while I'm trying to keep from using teh google. When I was a kid my dad's company had season tickets for the Dodgers, pre Angels, and we used to get them pretty frequently. One year they were in the very last row of field level on third base just below the walkway. Jerry Lewis used to be around somewhere, although I never figured out where he was sitting, and used to leave between the 6th and the 7th and would stop to watch the action right behind my seat. Occasionally he'd tap me on head to say hi.Also, my dad taught me how to keep score during the games and when our son played Little League, I ended up being League score keeper because of him. Not one of my favorite volunteer jobs, yikes.
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You've done well so far. Mantle, Maris, Berra, and Dale Murphy are correct so far. Murphy was the floater…outstanding.
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Thinking about my list, I think I've only got outfielders and 1st base for definites. Wait Yogi was a catcher so there's that. Forget about my other catchers I guess.What about Wade Boggs at third, did he win more than once?I give up without peeking.And I doubt the Angels have much of a chance left, only six games left I think.
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I can think of consecutive winners but not by position, that's where I'm stuck.
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The pitcher is the hardest one, I think. I thought Dale Murphy was tough too, but you got that right away. You have the outfielders and the catcher. Thomas is not the first baseman….someone else did it before him. He is not one of the original nine. I got the third baseman and second baseman, along with Mantle and Berra without peeking. You should get the shortstop too…very obvious once you hear it.
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Am I supposed to go back pre '93 and '94? I think I might have missed that part also.Since no one else is playing, just give me the list please. I can't imagine it would be a quick google search right?
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Not wade Boggs.
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I'll e-mail it to you as others may want to guess.
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Ozzie Smith?
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Nope.
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Whitey Ford or maybe Orel H……….something or other, I can't spell it.
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Duh, I totally should have gotten SS, the others would have been more difficult, for me anyway. Good trivia question though.
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Nope…pitcher is very tough, not obvious at all. The answers are in your in-box when you want to give up.
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I don't think I embarrassed myself too badly all things considered.
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Brooks Robinson?
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qb…nope. Brooks was a star in the World Series, but only won the AL MVP once. lms…I think you did well. You got 4 out of 9, and that's all I got too. it's a tough one.
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So lms has the outfielders and catcher above, is that where it stands?
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Yes. We've got Maris, Mantle, and Murphy in the outfield, and Berra behind the plate. We need to fill out the infield. Toughest one is the pitcher. Oldest one is the first baseman, who was the first person to earn back-to-back MVPs.
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BTW, for the record, while I have witnesses, I'm going with a Tigers/Phillies World Series. I'm not in love with the Phillies but………….
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I know SS and 2b. I do not know 3b unless you count a guy from the 30s whose name I will not mention who played a few different positions, sometimes 3b.
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I cannot think of a pitcher since I was 8 years old [1951] who won consecutively, so I am sure it is before my rabid fan days. And I am sure it was a P who was not still a star in 1950-51, not Spahn or Roberts or Feller. I don't think Roberts ever won, and he really was the MVP uncrowned a few times. Go back and look at his record.
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This is tough. I'm not the most baseball knowledgeable, but I've made a bunch of guesses and checked with Google — most are good guesses including 2x winners but not consecutive.
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I looked it up. Can't believe I didn't think of 2b and 3b. Duh! SS should have gotten, maybe. 1st and P, no way.
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qb, yeah I had trouble with the consecutive part also, and for pitchers I kept thinking of Cy Young winners.
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Mark e-mailed me with correct answers for SS and 2nd base…Ernie Banks and Joe Morgan. He also correctly picked Jimmie Foxx, although he wasn't sure of the position (first base).Can't believe no one got Mike Schmidt at third base…that was one of only four that I got without looking.And the pitcher…Hal Newhouser, 1944/45. I've put this question out to groups several times, and only one person has ever got the pitcher correct.
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I'd say Mark's the winner then. Of course he's the oldest also……………lol.
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After Boggs got shot down, I did include in my email to Scott that if Foxx was not considered at third, a position he sometimes played, then maybe it was Brett or Schmidt? I was pretty sure Brooks R. only won once, and Kell never won at Detroit in the Yankees heyday, and I could not think of another MVP 3d baseman before ARod, but my short term memory was still good enough to eliminate him as a consecutive winner.Newhouser. Hmmph! Part of a two man rotation at Detroit in the war years. All the real stars were in service.
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Mark:True, all the real stars were in the service, but without him we wouldn't have had a full starting lineup of back-to-back winners. And I forgot to mention you did sort of get Schmidt. So as lms says, you are the big winner. I assume you would have gotten Mantle, Maris, and Berra if lms hadn't beaten you to it.
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Had Berra and Mantle. Think I would have got to Maris, because when I read it I recalled the two years he won. But he was not on tip of my tongue or brain before I read it here.
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