Trout settles for MVP runner-up for 3rd time in last 4 seasons
Mike Trout, the Los Angeles Angels' thick-necked, obnoxiously talented outfielder from a small town in New Jersey, spent the past four summers redefining baseball's standard of excellence. Trout, after all, turned 24 just a few months ago, but his reputation as the best player on the planet is already several years old.
On Thursday, though, Trout watched someone else take home the American League MVP award yet again - this time, Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays - after finishing second in voting for the third time in the last four years. Trout received only seven of the 30 first-place votes, too, despite compiling more wins above replacement than Donaldson in 2015.
In 2012, his first full season with the Angels, Trout produced the finest campaign ever by a 20-year-old, leading the majors with 10.3 WAR while hitting .326/.399/.564 (167 wRC+) with 30 homers and 49 stolen bases over 139 games. Still, the rookie received just six first-place votes for the MVP award, which was handed to Miguel Cabrera after the veteran first baseman slammed 44 homers with a .999 OPS for the Detroit Tigers.
The next year, Trout somehow got better. In 157 games for Los Angeles, the 21-year-old compiled 10.5 WAR - again, tops in the majors - while hitting .323/.432/.557 (176 wRC+) with 27 homers, 33 steals, and a 15.4 percent walk rate. While Trout's candidacy for MVP was taken far more seriously the second time around, Cabrera's superhuman season - he hit .348/.442/.636 with 44 homers - was still more compelling to the voters, who named him MVP for a second straight year with Trout finishing as runner-up once again.
In 2014, he endured his worst season to date, posting a career-low 8.0 WAR with a .939 OPS and 36 homers. However, that production was enough for Trout to finally land the elusive MVP trophy, winning it in a unanimous vote, no less. His longtime foe, Cabrera, tailed off markedly at the plate, and no other player in the league came close to providing as much value as Trout, his own regression notwithstanding.
This season, however, Trout found himself a worthy adversary in Donaldson, who came to Toronto in a trade with the Oakland Athletics last winter. For much of the season, the two jockeyed for the league lead in WAR, but Donaldson - who bashed 41 homers with a .939 OPS and helped the Blue Jays snap a 22-year postseason drought - was nevertheless the consensus top choice among voters even after Trout produced another sensational season.
| Year | WAR (AL rank) | wRC+ | HR | DRS | MVP Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 10.3 (1) | 167 | 30 | 3 | 2 |
| 2013 | 10.5 (1) | 176 | 27 | 0 | 2 |
| 2014 | 8 (1) | 167 | 36 | 4 | 1 |
| 2015 | 9 (1) | 172 | 41 | 7 | 2 |
Even in defeat, though, Trout entered some rarefied air, joining Yogi Berra as the only players ever to finish among the top two in AL MVP voting in four consecutive seasons. Berra, however, earned the award twice over that span.
And Trout, to his credit, was gracious in defeat, congratulating Donaldson on Twitter for an "outstanding season" while noting that the MVP award was "well deserved."