Sport | Baseball |
---|---|
League | Major League Baseball |
Awarded for | Most outstanding player in the All-Star Game |
Presented by | Major League Baseball |
History | |
First award | 1962 |
Most recent | Elías Díaz (2023) |
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award that is presented to the most outstanding player in each year's MLB All-Star Game. Awarded each season since 1962 (two games were held and an award was presented to each game winner in 1962), it was originally called the Arch Ward Memorial Award in honor of Arch Ward, the man who conceived of the All-Star Game in 1933. The award's name was changed to the Commissioner's Trophy in 1970 (two National League (NL) players were presented the award in 1975), but this name change was reversed in 1985 when the World Series Trophy was renamed the Commissioner's Trophy. Finally, the trophy was renamed the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award in 2002, in honor of former Boston Red Sox player Ted Williams, who had died earlier that year. [1] No award was presented for the 2002 All-Star Game, which ended in a tie. [2] Thus, the Anaheim Angels' Garret Anderson was the first recipient of the newly named Ted Williams Award in 2003. The All-Star Game Most Valuable Player also receives a Chevrolet vehicle, choosing between two cars. [3]
As of 2023 [update] , NL players have won the award 28 times (including one award shared by two players), and American League (AL) players have won 33 times. Baltimore Orioles players have won the most awards for a single franchise (with six); players from the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are tied for the most in the NL with five each. Five players have won the award twice: Willie Mays (1963, 1968), Steve Garvey (1974, 1978), Gary Carter (1981, 1984), Cal Ripken Jr. (1991, 2001), and Mike Trout (2014, 2015, becoming the only player to win the award in back-to-back years). The award has been shared by multiple players once; Bill Madlock and Jon Matlack shared the award in 1975. [4] Two players have won the award for a game in which their league lost: Brooks Robinson in 1966 and Carl Yastrzemski in 1970. [5] [6] One pair of awardees were father and son (Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr.), [7] and another were brothers (Roberto Alomar and Sandy Alomar Jr.). [8] Three players have won the MVP award at a game played in their home ballpark (Sandy Alomar Jr. in 1997, Pedro Martínez in 1999, and Shane Bieber in 2019). Derek Jeter is the only player to win the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP in the same season, doing so in 2000.
Elías Díaz of the Colorado Rockies is the most recent MLB All-Star Game MVP, winning the award in 2023 and becoming the first Rockie to be named MVP. Only six players have won the MVP award in their only All-Star Game appearance; LaMarr Hoyt, Bo Jackson, J. D. Drew, Melky Cabrera, Eric Hosmer, and Elías Díaz. Only the Chicago White Sox, the Detroit Tigers, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Washington Nationals (aside from their predecessor the Montreal Expos) have never had a player win the All-Star Game MVP award.
Year | Links to the article about the corresponding Major League Baseball All-Star Game |
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Player (X) | Denotes winning player and number of times they had won the award at that point |
† | Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |
^ | Denotes player who is still active |
* | Denotes year in which the award was shared |
George Kenneth Griffey Jr., nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, along with a short stint with the Chicago White Sox. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the first overall pick in the 1987 draft, and a 13-time All-Star, Griffey is one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history; his 630 home runs rank as the seventh-most in MLB history. Griffey was also an exceptional defender and won 10 Gold Glove Awards in center field. He is tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run.
Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr., nicknamed "the Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire 21-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his position's most productive offensive players, Ripken compiled 3,184 hits, 431 home runs, and 1,695 runs batted in during his career, and he won two Gold Glove Awards for his defense. He was a 19-time All-Star and was twice named American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP). Ripken holds the record for consecutive games played (2,632), having surpassed Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130 that had stood for 56 years and that many deemed unbreakable. In 2007, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility with 98.53% of votes, the sixth-highest election percentage ever.
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National League (NL). Starting fielders are selected by fans, pitchers are selected by managers, and reserves are selected by players and managers.
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George Kenneth Griffey Sr. is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1973 through 1991, most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won three division titles and two World Series championships between 1973 and 1976. He also played for the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, and Seattle Mariners.
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Santos Alomar Velázquez, known as Sandy Alomar Jr., is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher between 1988 and 2007, most notably as a member of the Cleveland Indians where he was a six-time All-Star player and won two American League pennants. Alomar was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 2009.
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