The Sporting News MLB Player of the Year Award

The Sporting News established their Player of the Year award in 1936. It is the oldest still-extant award given to the single player in MLB who had the most outstanding season. Until 1969, it was the only major award given to a single player across MLB, rather than to a player in each league. In 1969, Baseball Digest began its Player of the Year award for one player in all of MLB. (The award became limited to position players in 1994, when Baseball Digest added a new award for "Pitcher of the Year.") In 1993, the first Best Major League Baseball Player ESPY Award was given. In 1998, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) began its own Player of the Year award, for one player in all of MLB, as part of its Players Choice Awards. Baseball America also began its Major League Player of the Year award in 1998. In 2012, MLB's "GIBBY Awards" added an MLB Most Valuable Player category, which was renamed the Most Valuable Major Leaguer in 2014; its current name is the "Esurance MLB Awards" Best Major Leaguer. ==Winners==

Key , five-time winner , two-time winner Awardees , 2-time winner. , 2-time winner. with the Giants in 1954. at the plate with the Giants as a New York Yankee , 2-time winner at Yankee Stadium , May 19, 2013 ==Multiple wins==

Players Several players have won the award more than once. Ted Williams, Joe Morgan, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, and Jose Altuve are the only players to win the award in consecutive years. Ted Williams won the award five times. Sandy Koufax is the only pitcher to win the award more than once. Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and Shohei Ohtani are the only players to win the award while playing with different teams. Alex Rodriguez won the award with the most teams (3). Stan Musial and Alex Rodriguez are the only players to win the award while playing different positions. The only tie was in 1962, when Don Drysdale and Maury Wills shared the honor. Winning multiple SN Player of the Year awards has been seen as guaranteed admission to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds is the only player with multiple awards, eligible for the Hall of Fame, but not a member of the Hall of Fame. The table is of the Players that have won two or more awards and the year they were inducted into Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Active players are not eligible for the Hall of Fame. Outfielders and Pitchers have won the most awards. ==Player of the Decade ==

• SN named Willie Mays as the player of the 1960s decade. • SN named Pete Rose as the player of the 1970s decade. • SN named Mike Schmidt as the player of the 1980s decade. • SN named Barry Bonds as the player of the 1990s decade. • SN named Albert Pujols as the player of the 2000s decade. • SN named Mike Trout as the player of the 2010s decade. ==See also==