Northwest League Most Valuable Player Award

Northwest League
Most Valuable Player Award

Sport	Baseball
League	Northwest League
Awarded for	Regular-season most valuable player of the Northwest League
Country	United States
Presented by	Northwest League
History
First award	Kevin Coughlon & Tony Gwynn (1981)
Most recent	Lázaro Montes (2025)

The Northwest League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's Northwest League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. ^[1] League broadcasters, Minor League Baseball executives, and members of the media have previously voted as well. ^[2] Though the league was established in 1955, ^[3] the award was not created until 1981. ^[4] After the cancellation of the 2020 season, ^[5] the league was known as the High-A West in 2021 before reverting to the Northwest League name in 2022. ^{[6] [7]}

Twenty-two outfielders have won the MVP Award, the most of any position. First basemen, with 13 winners, have won the most among infielders, followed by third basemen (8), shortstops (3), and second basemen (1). No pitchers or catchers have won the award.

One player who has won the MVP Award also won the Northwest League Top MLB Prospect Award in the same season: Zac Veen (2022). ^[1] From 1981 to 2014, pitchers were eligible to win the MVP Award as no award was designated for pitchers. In 2015, the Northwest League established a Pitcher of the Year Award. ^[2]

Twelve players from the Spokane Indians have been selected for the MVP Award, more than any other team in the league, followed by the Everett AquaSox (8); the Boise Hawks (5); the Eugene Emeralds and Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (4); the Vancouver Canadians (3); the Medford Athletics, Southern Oregon Timberjacks, and Yakima Bears (2); and the Bellingham Mariners, Everett Giants, Tri-Cities Triplets, and Walla Walla Padres (1).

Nine players from the Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball (MLB) organization have won the award, more than any other, followed by the San Diego Padres organization (7); the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, and Texas Rangers organizations (5); the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels organizations (4); the Kansas City Royals organization (3); the Arizona Diamondbacks and Toronto Blue Jays organizations (2); and the Chicago Cubs organization (1).

Winners

Tony Gwynn won the first Northwest League Most Valuable Player Award in 1981 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Todd Greene won the 1993 Most Valuable Player Award.

Garrett Atkins was chosen as the Most Valuable Player in 2000.

Joe Panik, the 2011 MVP, was selected to play in the 2015 MLB All-Star Game.

Key

Position	Indicates the player's primary position
^	Indicates multiple award winners in the same year

Winners

Year	Winner	Team	Organization	Position	Ref(s).
1981^	Kevin Coughlon	Medford Athletics	Oakland Athletics	Outfielder	[10]
	Tony Gwynn	Walla Walla Padres	San Diego Padres	Outfielder	[11]
1982	Phil Strom	Medford Athletics	Oakland Athletics	First baseman	[12]
1983	Bert Martinez	Tri-Cities Triplets	Texas Rangers	Third baseman	[13]
1984	Sam Haley	Bellingham Mariners	Seattle Mariners	Outfielder	[14]
1985	Jerald Clark	Spokane Indians	San Diego Padres	Outfielder	[15]
1986	Dave Nash	Everett Giants	San Francisco Giants	Outfielder	[16]
1987	Steve Hendricks	Spokane Indians	San Diego Padres	First baseman	[17]
1988	Stan Royer	Southern Oregon Athletics	Oakland Athletics	Third baseman	[18]
1989	Dave Staton	Spokane Indians	San Diego Padres	Third baseman	[19]
1990	Matt Mieske			Outfielder	[20]
1991	Joe Randa	Eugene Emeralds	Kansas City Royals	Third baseman	[21]
1992	Larry Sutton			First baseman	[22]
1993	Todd Greene	Boise Hawks	California Angels	Outfielder	[23]
1994	John Donati			First baseman	[24]
1995	Danny Buxbaum			First baseman	[25]
1996	Robert Zachmann	Everett AquaSox	Seattle Mariners	First baseman	[26]
1997	Dee Brown	Spokane Indians	Kansas City Royals	Outfielder	[27]
1998	Jason Hart	Southern Oregon Timberjacks	Oakland Athletics	First baseman	[28]
1999	Robb Quinlan	Boise Hawks	Anaheim Angels	Third baseman	[29]
2000^	Garrett Atkins	Portland Rockies	Colorado Rockies	First baseman	[30]
	Jamal Strong	Everett AquaSox	Seattle Mariners	Outfielder	[31]
2001	J. J. Johnson	Boise Hawks	Chicago Cubs	Outfielder	[32]
2002	Ismael Castro	Everett AquaSox	Seattle Mariners	Second baseman	[33]
2003	Conor Jackson	Yakima Bears	Arizona Diamondbacks	Outfielder	[34]
2004	Javier Herrera	Vancouver Canadians	Oakland Athletics	Outfielder	[35]
2005	Steve Murphy	Spokane Indians	Texas Rangers	Outfielder	[36]
2006	Cyle Hankerd	Yakima Bears	Arizona Diamondbacks	Outfielder	[37]
2007^	Matt Downs	Salem-Keizer Volcanoes	San Francisco Giants	First baseman	[38]
	Luis Durango	Eugene Emeralds	San Diego Padres	Outfielder	[39]
2008	Daniel Robertson			Outfielder	[40]
2009	Drew Biery	Salem-Keizer Volcanoes	San Francisco Giants	Third baseman	[41]
2010	Jared Hoying	Spokane Indians	Texas Rangers	Outfielder	[42]
2011	Joe Panik	Salem-Keizer Volcanoes	San Francisco Giants	Shortstop	[43]
2012	Patrick Kivlehan	Everett AquaSox	Seattle Mariners	Third baseman	[44]
2013	L. B. Dantzler	Vancouver Canadians	Toronto Blue Jays	First baseman	[45]
2014	Franklin Barreto			Shortstop	[46]
2015	Drew Jackson	Everett AquaSox	Seattle Mariners	Shortstop	[47]
2016	Eric Filia			Outfielder	[48]
2017	Ryan Kirby	Salem-Keizer Volcanoes	San Francisco Giants	First baseman	[49]
2018	Curtis Terry	Spokane Indians	Texas Rangers	First baseman	[50]
2019	Blaine Crim			First baseman	[51]
2020	None selected (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic)				[5]
2021	Andy Pages	Everett AquaSox	Seattle Mariners	Outfielder	[52] [53]
2022	Zac Veen	Spokane Indians	Colorado Rockies	Outfielder	[54] [55]
2023	Jordan Beck			Outfielder	[56] [57]
2024	Kyle Karros			Third baseman	[58] [59]
2025	Lázaro Montes	Everett AquaSox	Seattle Mariners	Outfielder	[60] [61]

Wins by team

Active Northwest League teams appear in bold.

Team	Award(s)	Year(s)
Spokane Indians	12	1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2005, 2010, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024
Everett AquaSox	8	1996, 2000, 2002, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2025
Boise Hawks	5	1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001
Eugene Emeralds	4	1991, 1992, 2007, 2008
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes		2007, 2009, 2011, 2017
Vancouver Canadians	3	2004, 2013, 2014
Medford Athletics	2	1981, 1982
Southern Oregon Timberjacks (Southern Oregon Athletics)		1988, 1998
Yakima Bears		2003, 2006
Bellingham Mariners	1	1984
Everett Giants		1986
Portland Rockies		2000
Tri-Cities Triplets		1983
Walla Walla Padres		1981

Wins by organization

Active Northwest League–Major League Baseball affiliations appear in bold.

Organization	Award(s)	Year(s)
Seattle Mariners	9	1984, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2025
San Diego Padres	7	1981, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 2007, 2008
Oakland Athletics	5	1981, 1982, 1988, 1998, 2004
San Francisco Giants		1986, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2017
Texas Rangers		1983, 2005, 2010, 2018, 2019
Colorado Rockies	4	2000, 2022, 2023, 2024
Los Angeles Angels (California/Anaheim Angels)		1993, 1994, 1995, 1999
Kansas City Royals	3	1991, 1992, 1997
Arizona Diamondbacks	2	2003, 2006
Toronto Blue Jays		2013, 2014
Chicago Cubs	1	2001

References

Specific

1. Resnick, Jacob (November 9, 2022). "High-A Award Winners and All-Stars". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
2. Avallone, Michael (October 7, 2021). "MiLB's High-A Award Winners and All-Stars". Major League Baseball. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
3. "Northwest League (Adv A) Encyclopedia and History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
4. "Northwest League Award Winners". Northwest League. Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
5. "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
6. Reichard, Kevin (February 12, 2021). "Minor League Baseball Overhaul Unveiled". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
7. "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
8. "Tony Gwynn Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
9. "Joe Panik Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
10. "Kevin Coughlon Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
11. "Tony Gwynn Minor & College Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
12. "Phil Strom Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
13. "Bert Martinez Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
14. "Sam Haley Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
15. "Jerald Clark Minor, Japanese, Mexican & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
16. "Dave Nash Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
17. "Steve Hendricks Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
18. "Stan Royer Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
19. "Dave Staton Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
20. "Matt Mieske Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
21. "Joe Randa Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
22. "Larry Sutton Minor & Korean Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
23. "Todd Greene Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
24. "John Donati Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
25. "Danny Buxbaum Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
26. "Rob Zachmann Independent & Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
27. "Dee Brown Minor, Winter & Japanese Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
28. "Jason Hart Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
29. "Robb Quinlan Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
30. "Garrett Atkins Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
31. "Jamal Strong Minor, Fall & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
32. "J.J. Johnson Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
33. "Ismael Castro Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
34. "Conor Jackson Minor, Fall & Winter Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
35. "Javier Herrera Minor, Winter & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
36. "Steve Murphy Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
37. "Cyle Hankerd Minor, Winter, Independent & Mexican Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
38. "Matt Downs Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
39. "Luis Durango Minor, Winter, Mexican & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
40. "Daniel Robertson Minor, Winter & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
41. "Drew Biery Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
42. "Jared Hoying Minor, Winter & Korean Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
43. "Joe Panik Amateur, College, Fall & Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
44. "Patrick Kivlehan College, Minor, Fall, Winter & Japanese Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
45. "L.B. Dantzler College & Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
46. "Franklin Barreto Minor, Winter & Fall Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
47. "Drew Jackson Amateur, College, Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
48. "Eric Filia College, Amateur, Minor, Fall & Winter Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
49. "Ryan Kirby Amateur, College, Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
50. "Curtis Terry Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
51. "Blaine Crim College, Amateur, Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
52. "Postseason All-Stars". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
53. "Cade Marlowe Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
54. "Postseason All-Stars". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
55. "Zac Veen Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
56. Samson, Brendan. "The 2023 High-A All-Stars and Award Winners". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
57. "Jordan Beck College, Amateur & Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
58. Samson, Brendan (September 19, 2024). "Here are the 2024 High-A All-Stars and Award Winners". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on September 20, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
59. "Kyle Karros Amateur, College & Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
60. Terranova, Rob (September 17, 2025). "The 2025 High-A All-Stars and award winners". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on September 20, 2025. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
61. "Lazaro Montes Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2025.

General

• "Northwest League Award Winners". Northwest League. Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.