Red Sox Mookie Betts, Angels Mike Trout on track for greatest MVP race

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ANAHEIM, CA – AUGUST 16: Major league baseballs sit in a glove as the Seattle Mariners warm up before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 16, 2016 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

1957 AL MVP Race

MVP Winner: Mickey Mantle

MVP Runner-Up: Ted Williams

Name	PA	HR	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	wRC+	Def	fWAR	bWAR
Mickey Mantle	623	34	16	.365	.512	.665	217	0.2	11.4	11.3
Ted Williams	546	38	0	.388	.526	.731	223	-3.4	9.7	9.7
Total	1169 (14th)	72 (10th)	16 (8th)	.376 (2nd)	.519 (1st)	.696 (5th)	220 (1st)	-3.2 (12th)	21.1 (4th)	21 (1st)

Total Score: 51

Ted Williams was no stranger to finishing as the runner-up in MVP races: this would be the fourth time he finished in this position on the ballot. All three other times, 1941, 1942, and 1947, one could make a very compelling case that the Splendid Splinter was snubbed. He led the league in bWAR all of those years, including a WAR gap of nearly four in 1947 over Joe Dimaggio.

But this time there were no sportswriters to blame; the Mick had Williams beat fair and square. Despite a shocking return to form for 38-year-old Williams, there was little doubt in who claimed the mantle as the game’s best player (pun definitely intended).

Mantle was almost as good at the plate and was superior in the field and at the plate. In 1957, the Yankees won the pennant once again and another great Yankees center fielder beat the kid out for an MVP award.

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