We’re only about one sixth of the way into the baseball season. The MLB MVP race 2024 is already heating up. Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Bobby Witt, Jr., and Mike Trout have all made impressive starts to the regular season. MLB.com conducted their first poll of the season to see which way the voters are leaning for both the 2024 AL MVP race and the 2024 NL MVP race. We’ll go over the favorites and dark horses for each league’s MVP for you below.
MLB MVP Race 2024
If you want to check out the MLB MVP race 2024 initial vote, the league has posted up their results here for you. We’ll go over both the AL MVP and NL MVP race for you below. We’ll also come back and update you as we see big movements in either league by individual players that will change their position significantly as all of the teams work towards the 2024 MLB Playoffs and World Series.
2024 AL MVP Race
Juan Soto continues to do Juan Soto things for the Yankees. As a result, he is leading the way so far in the 2024 AL MVP race with a .324/.447/.500 line (as of earlier in the week). Mike Trout though…I tell you. He’s hitting home runs, the team is actually doing better without Shohei Ohtani (2nd in the AL West at the time of this writing behind the Texas Rangers), and if he stays healthy all season watch out.
It could just be flip a quarter or something. But, oh, don’t forget, Bobby Witt, Jr. from the Royals and Gunnar Henderson from the Orioles. They are each killing it too.
Here are the AL MVP Race odds in case you were curious in how the players stack up at this point in the season for the award.
No. 1 – NYY Juan Soto (+300)
No. 2 – KC Bobby Witt Jr. (+700)
No. 3 – LAA Mike Trout (+750)
No. 4- BAL Gunnar Henderson (+950)
No. 5 – HOU Yordan Alvarez (+1000)
No. 6 – NYY Aaron Judge (+1200)
No. 7 – TEX Corey Seager (+1800)
Tied at No. 8- HOU Kyle Tucker (+2500)
Tied at No. 8 – HOU Jose Altuve (+2500)
No. 10 – SEA Julio Rodriguez (+3000)
2024 NL MVP Race
So, right now Mookie Betts from the LA Dodgers continues to kill it in the 2024 NL MVP race. He came in second in the 2023 MLB MVP voting to the Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. So far, Betts is at the top of just about every offensive category. bWAR, OPS, batting average (.355), runs (24), walks (20), total bases (59), wRC+ (204), and he’s hitting bombs. Acuña Jr. had a wRC+ of 170 last year for reference.
Of course, Betts’s main competition is probably going to end up being teammate Shohei Ohtani or the Padre’s Fernando Tatis, Jr. Ohtani is kitting bombs now that we’ve gone a week with no new drama on his front, and Tatis, Jr. is slugging like it’s 2020 again.
Here are the NL MVP Race odds in case you were curious in how the players stack up at this point in the season for the award.
No. 1 – LAD Mookie Betts (+270)
Tied at No. 2 – ATL Ronald Acuña Jr. (+700)
Tied at No. 2 – SD Fernando Tatis Jr. (+700)
Tied at No. 3 – LAD Shohei Ohtani (+1400)
Tied at No. 3 – ATL Matt Olson (+1400)
Tied at No. 3 – PHI Bryce Harper (+1400)
No. 7 – LAD Freddie Freeman (+1800)
No. 8 – NYM Pete Alonso (+2100)
No. 9 – ATL Austin Riley (+2500)
No. 10 – ARI Corbin Carroll (+3000)
MLB MVP winners by year
Here are all of the MLB MVP winners going back to 2017. Baseball has always awarded a MVP for each league unlike other major leagues like the NBA and NFL who only award one MVP.
- 2023 – National League MVP – Ronald Acuńa Jr, Atlanta Braves
- 2023 – American League MVP – Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
- 2022 – American League MVP – Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
- 2022 – National League MVP – Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
- 2021 – American League MVP – Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
- 2021 – National League MVP – Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
- 2020 – American League MVP – José Abreu, Chicago White Sox
- 2020 – National League MVP – Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
- 2019 – American League MVP – Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
- 2019 – National League MVP – Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers
- 2018 – American League MVP – Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
- 2018 – National League – Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
- 2017 – American League MVP – Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
- 2017 – National League – Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
What Players have Earned Three or More MVP Awards?
So, if you are wondering which players have won three or more MVP awards, the list is not very long. Mike Trout is the only active player in MLB this season that could bump his number to four if he wins. Now, it’s always debatable if a MVP needs to make it to the MLB Playoffs or not to really have a shot. We’ll see how the writers vote on that front later in the year. Here’s the full list for you.
- Barry Bonds – 7 – 1990, ’92, ’92, 2001-’04
- Mike Trout – 3 – 2014, ’16, ’19
- Alex Rodriguez – 3 – 2003, ’05, ’07
- Albert Pujols – 3 – 2005, ’08, ’09
- Mike Schmidt – 3 – 1980, ’81, ’86
- Yogi Berra – 3 – 1951, ’54, ’55
- Stan Musial – 3 – 1943, ’46, ’48
- Mickey Mantle – 3 – 1956, ’57, ’62
- Roy Campanella – 3 – 1951, ’53, ’55
- Joe Dimaggio – 3 – 1939, ’41, ’47
- Jimmie Foxx – 1932, ’33, ’38
Who Was the Youngest MLB MVP Winner?
The youngest player to ever win the MLB MVP award is former Cincinnati Red catcher, Johnny Bench. When he won the award in 1970 (most of us weren’t born yet), he was 22 years and 26 days old. During his MVP year, he batted .293 (how many catchers do that today?), had a .932 OPS, hit 45 home runs, and had 148 RBI’s. Pretty crazy for a catcher. Also, for all of the emphasis on younger players the past few years, that he remains the youngest to win the MVP.
How Does the MLB MVP Get Picked?
Unlike the All-Star game selections that have fan input, the MVP awards do not. The Baseball Writers Association of America votes for the MVP. There are 60 voters for the ward. 30 for the National League and 30 for the American League. They put in their ballots, votes are tallied, and winners are picked. Easy Day.
2023 AL MVP Highlights
Highlights from Shohei Ohtani’s second AL MVP.
