In 2018, a special committee set up by the Hall of Fame chose to induct Harold Baines, who generated little support when he was voted on by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Baines' induction has sparked interest in a lot of players who were snubbed by the baseball writers who seemingly have as strong or a stronger case than Baines.
Dave Parker has long been a curious snub. Parker believes it's because of the Pittsburgh cocaine trials of the 1980s. Parker has a good amount of "black ink" on his resume. He won batting titles in 1977 and 1978. He led the league in slugging percentage in 1975 and 1978. He led the National League in doubles in 1977 and 1985 and the National League in RBI in 1985. He was an MVP, seven times an all-star and two-time World Series winner.
His career numbers are better than borderline. He had a .290 career batting average. His 1,493 RBI still ranks 58th, ahead of a number of Hall of Famers, including Billy Williams, Eddie Mathews, Jim Rice, Orlando Cepeda, Duke Snider and Roberto Clemente.
He doesn't fare as well in advanced stats. He didn't draw many walks. His career-high was 67 in 1979 and finished with just a .339 on base percentage. His defense faded quickly because of bad knees and he finished with just a 40.1 career WAR.
One thing I like to look at is dominance. Years ago, Bill James came up with a good metric and that was to look at MVP voting. How many times was a player considered one of the best in his league? I created a metric adding up the vote percentages from each year. I'll take the 2018 National League MVP voting to show how it works.
In the National League, there were 1,888 total votes available in 2018 from the baseball writers. Trevor Story got 108 voting points. I took Story's 108 points, divided them by 1,888 and then multiplied that by 1,000. That meant Story earned 57.20 points. Charlie Blackmon got 1 10th place vote. That was worth 0.53 points (1 divided by 1,888 multiplied by 1,000). Christian Yelich, the MVP, received 219.81 points. He got 415 points in voting - it's weighted 10, 9, 8 .... - which computed this way, 415 divided by 1,888 multiplied by 1,000.
Not surprisingly, players who finished high in MVP voting in multiple years do well in this metric. Barry Bonds is tops in the post-Jackie Robinson era. I'll discuss steroids later. The rest of the top five, as you see below, is Albert Pujols, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron. There's no questioning their Hall of Fame credentials.
By this metric, Dave Parker ranks 23rd all-time and is ahead of a bunch of no-doubt Hall of Famers, including Ken Griffey Jr., Al Kaline and Roberto Clemente. The only players ahead of him that aren't in the hall either aren't yet eligible (Mike Trout and Miguel Cabrera), are permanently banned from consideration (Pete Rose) or were known steroid users (Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez).
| MVP Vote Percentages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player | HOF | Years with MVP votes |
Points (yearly %) |
| 1. | Barry Bonds | 15 | 2,201.86 | |
| 2. | Albert Pujols | 13 | 1,641.45 | |
| 3. | Mike Trout | 8 | 1,477.61 | |
| 4. | Willie Mays | HOF | 15 | 1,427.88 |
| 5. | Mickey Mantle | HOF | 14 | 1,382.28 |
| 6. | Hank Aaron | HOF | 19 | 1,307.68 |
| 7. | Alex Rodriguez | 14 | 1,245.37 | |
| 8. | Mike Schmidt | HOF | 12 | 1,178.11 |
| 9. | Frank Robinson | HOF | 15 | 1,150.71 |
| 10. | Miguel Cabrera | 14 | 1,130.13 | |
| 11. | Stan Musial | HOF | 14 | 1,127.31 |
| 12. | Yogi Berra | HOF | 15 | 949.68 |
| 13. | Ted Williams* | HOF | 13 | 911.23 |
| 14. | Brooks Robinson | HOF | 12 | 876.98 |
| 15. | Pete Rose | 15 | 875.49 | |
| 16. | Frank Thomas | HOF | 7 | 846.92 |
| 17. | Eddie Murray | HOF | 9 | 791.53 |
| 18. | George Brett | HOF | 11 | 785.20 |
| 19. | Willie Stargell | HOF | 11 | 782.49 |
| 20. | Reggie Jackson | HOF | 13 | 778.60 |
| 21. | Harmon Killebrew | HOF | 11 | 775.80 |
| 22. | Mike Piazza | HOF | 9 | 768.86 |
| 23. | Dave Parker | 9 | 757.99 | |
| 24. | Jim Rice | HOF | 8 | 744.80 |
| 25. | Ken Griffey Jr. | HOF | 10 | 738.98 |
| 26. | Joe Morgan | HOF | 7 | 721.35 |
| 27. | Manny Ramirez | 11 | 720.19 | |
| 28. | David Ortiz | 8 | 711.87 | |
| 29. | Joey Votto | 8 | 700.21 | |
| 30. | Al Kaline | HOF | 14 | 698.80 |
| 31. | Vladimir Guerrero | HOF | 12 | 694.69 |
| 32. | Ernie Banks | HOF | 11 | 692.56 |
| 33. | Jeff Bagwell | HOF | 10 | 676.12 |
| 34. | Roberto Clemente | HOF | 12 | 669.99 |
| 35. | Johnny Bench | HOF | 10 | 656.98 |
| 36. | Derek Jeter | 12 | 655.57 | |
| 37. | Juan Gonzalez | 7 | 653.36 | |
| 38. | Kirby Puckett | HOF | 9 | 605.99 |
| 39. | Roy Campanella** | HOF | 7 | 600.32 |
| 40. | Ryan Howard | 6 | 590.04 | |
| 41. | Gary Sheffield | 7 | 588.28 | |
| 42. | Steve Garvey | 9 | 586.20 | |
| 43. | Rickey Henderson | HOF | 8 | 583.73 |
| 44. | Sammy Sosa | 9 | 583.69 | |
| 45. | Warren Spahn | HOF | 15 | 580.76 |
| 46. | Nellie Fox | HOF | 10 | 575.85 |
| 47. | Chipper Jones | HOF | 13 | 574.15 |
| 48. | Albert Belle | 6 | 564.94 | |
| 49. | Andrew McCutcheon | 4 | 563.56 | |
| 50. | Josh Donaldson | 6 | 562.47 | |
| 51. | George Foster | 5 | 562.16 | |
| 52. | Andre Dawson | HOF | 9 | 561.55 |
| 53. | Adrian Beltre | 8 | 552.74 | |
| 54. | Cal Ripken | HOF | 10 | 548.22 |
| 55. | Dale Murphy | 7 | 547.50 | |
| 56. | Mookie Betts | 5 | 543.30 | |
| 57. | Pedro Guerrero | 6 | 543.17 | |
| 58. | Sandy Koufax | HOF | 6 | 540.93 |
| 59. | Carl Yastrzemski | HOF | 14 | 534.26 |
| 60. | Don Mattingly | 7 | 527.30 | |
| 61. | Roger Clemens | 10 | 522.62 | |
| 62. | Dave Winfield | HOF | 9 | 522.58 |
| 63. | Jason Giambi | 7 | 519.98 | |
| 64. | Robinson Cano | 8 | 519.37 | |
| 65. | Keith Hernandez | 8 | 495.97 | |
| 66. | Joe Mauer | 5 | 495.97 | |
| 67. | Lance Berkman | 7 | 477.20 | |
| 68. | Ryne Sandberg | HOF | 6 | 467.69 |
| 69. | Duke Snider | HOF | 8 | 466.87 |
| 70. | Ryan Braun | 7 | 465.04 | |
| 71. | Boog Powell | 6 | 460.34 | |
| 72. | Gary Carter | HOF | 7 | 458.36 |
| 73. | Robin Roberts | HOF | 7 | 457.63 |
| 74. | George Bell | 6 | 456.57 | |
| 75. | Nolan Arenado | 5 | 456.04 | |
| 76. | Mark McGwire | 10 | 455.05 | |
| 77. | Tony Gwynn | HOF | 12 | 454.97 |
| 78. | Tony Oliva | 8 | 453.31 | |
| 79. | Roberto Alomar | HOF | 7 | 451.58 |
| 80. | Paul Goldschmidt | 6 | 450.28 | |
| 81. | Minnie Minoso | 8 | 449.86 | |
| 82. | Phil Rizzuto | HOF | 6 | 447.28 |
| 83. | Jose Altuve | 5 | 439.47 | |
| 84. | Orlando Cepeda | HOF | 8 | 439.37 |
| 85. | Prince Fielder | 6 | 438.94 | |
| 86. | Maury Wills | 8 | 438.43 | |
| 87. | Will Clark | 5 | 438.26 | |
| 88. | Matt Williams | 4 | 434.16 | |
| 89. | Robin Yount | HOF | 7 | 426.50 |
| 90. | Rod Carew | HOF | 9 | 425.09 |
| 91. | Dennis Eckersly | HOF | 5 | 420.18 |
| 92. | Jackie Robinson | HOF | 8 | 411.41 |
| 93. | Darryl Strawberry | 4 | 405.37 | |
| 94. | Eddie Mathews | HOF | 10 | 402.11 |
| 95. | Christian Yelich | 3 | 401.55 | |
| 96. | Nomar Garciaparra | 7 | 397.55 | |
| 97. | Cecil Fielder | 4 | 397.09 | |
| 98. | Willie McCovey | HOF | 10 | 390.30 |
| 99. | Dick Groat | 4 | 388.86 | |
| 100. | Dick Allen | 7 | 388.35 | |
| Hall of Famers | ||||
| 103. | Billy Williams | HOF | 8 | 379.24 |
| 104. | Lou Brock | HOF | 10 | 379.11 |
| 108. | Bob Lemon | HOF | 6 | 369.66 |
| 116. | Lou Boudreau | HOF | 3 | 354.52 |
| 119. | Pee Wee Reese | HOF | 10 | 351.17 |
| 120. | Joe Torre | HOF | 7 | 348.37 |
| 122. | Joe DiMaggio | HOF | 4 | 345.58 |
| 124. | Rollie Fingers | HOF | 7 | 338.22 |
| 129. | Tom Seaver | HOF | 10 | 329.09 |
| 135. | Steve Carlton | HOF | 6 | 322.03 |
| 136. | Red Schoendienst | HOF | 5 | 321.37 |
| 139. | Ralph Kiner | HOF | 6 | 308.82 |
| 145. | Carlton Fisk | HOF | 7 | 303.29 |
| 146. | Paul Molitor | HOF | 8 | 302.69 |
| 151. | Luis Aparicio | HOF | 10 | 293.23 |
| 154. | Bob Gibson | HOF | 6 | 292.23 |
| 155. | Ron Santo | HOF | 7 | 290.16 |
| 156. | Jim Thome | HOF | 9 | 289.20 |
| 157. | Alan Trammell | HOF | 7 | 288.79 |
| 158. | Wade Boggs | HOF | 9 | 286.95 |
| 160. | Bruce Sutter | HOF | 6 | 283.97 |
| 172. | Greg Maddux | HOF | 6 | 263.75 |
| 175. | Early Wynn | HOF | 7 | 259.89 |
| 177. | Barry Larkin | HOF | 6 | 259.17 |
| 180. | Whitey Ford | HOF | 9 | 255.47 |
| 186. | Ivan Rodriguez | HOF | 6 | 247.24 |
| 187. | Craig Biggio | HOF | 5 | 243.24 |
| 189. | Jim Palmer | HOF | 8 | 242.35 |
| 191. | Enos Slaughter | HOF | 4 | 240.38 |
| 193. | Edgar Martinez | HOF | 5 | 239.71 |
| 194. | Tim Raines | HOF | 7 | 237.35 |
| 206. | Goose Gossage | HOF | 5 | 225.48 |
| 207. | Larry Doby** | HOF | 4 | 224.91 |
| 212. | Tony Perez | HOF | 7 | 221.28 |
| 223. | Juan Marichal | HOF | 7 | 209.38 |
| 237. | Randy Johnson | HOF | 9 | 191.21 |
| 258. | Catfish Hunter | HOF | 5 | 171.72 |
| 269. | Fergie Jenkins | HOF | 6 | 166.94 |
| 278. | Ozzie Smith | HOF | 6 | 159.61 |
| 292. | Richie Ashburn | HOF | 8 | 150.43 |
| 303. | Don Drysdale | HOF | 4 | 146.60 |
| 322. | Gaylord Perry | HOF | 6 | 133.24 |
| 332. | Monte Irvin** | HOF | 3 | 128.53 |
| 332. | Bob Feller* | HOF | 3 | 128.53 |
| 338. | Johnny Mize* | HOF | 4 | 126.75 |
| 341. | Mariano Rivera | HOF | 9 | 125.32 |
| 363. | Hoyt Wilhelm | HOF | 4 | 113.57 |
| 394. | Trevor Hoffman | HOF | 5 | 98.12 |
| 399. | Roy Halladay | HOF | 2 | 96.40 |
| 402. | John Smoltz | HOF | 4 | 93.60 |
| 420. | Joe Gordon | HOF | 2 | 86.16 |
| 436. | Lee Smith | HOF | 4 | 81.82 |
| 464. | Harold Baines | HOF | 4 | 70.87 |
| 552. | Phil Niekro | HOF | 3 | 46.62 |
| 558. | Bill Mazeroski | HOF | 2 | 45.62 |
| 570. | Jack Morris | HOF | 5 | 42.98 |
| 631. | Tom Glavine | HOF | 5 | 29.93 |
| 992. | Mike Mussina | HOF | 2 | 6.05 |
** - players played in Negro Leagues and would have been in majors longer if not fan ban.
Quite a few of the players on this list played in the steroid era and had MVP-level seasons when they were on the juice. I went through and eliminated the points gained from those seasons and ran the rankings again. It's a more accurate, but hardly 100 percent fair, look at how much that era skews how we rank players.
| MVP Vote Percentages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player | HOF | Years with MVP votes |
Points (yearly %) |
| 1. | Albert Pujols | 13 | 1,641.45 | |
| 2. | Mike Trout | 8 | 1,477.61 | |
| 3. | Willie Mays | HOF | 15 | 1,427.88 |
| 4. | Mickey Mantle | HOF | 14 | 1,382.28 |
| 5. | Hank Aaron | HOF | 19 | 1,307.68 |
| 6. | Mike Schmidt | HOF | 12 | 1,178.11 |
| 7. | Frank Robinson | HOF | 15 | 1,150.71 |
| 8. | Barry Bonds | 9 | 1,142.01 | |
| 9. | Miguel Cabrera | 14 | 1,130.13 | |
| 10. | Stan Musial | HOF | 14 | 1,127.31 |
| 11. | Yogi Berra | HOF | 15 | 949.68 |
| 12. | Ted Williams* | HOF | 13 | 911.23 |
| 13. | Brooks Robinson | HOF | 12 | 876.98 |
| 14. | Pete Rose | 15 | 875.49 | |
| 15. | Alex Rodriguez | 11 | 859.17 | |
| 16. | Frank Thomas | HOF | 7 | 846.92 |
| 17. | Eddie Murray | HOF | 9 | 791.53 |
| 18. | George Brett | HOF | 11 | 785.20 |
| 19. | Willie Stargell | HOF | 11 | 782.49 |
| 20. | Reggie Jackson | HOF | 13 | 778.60 |
| 21. | Harmon Killebrew | HOF | 11 | 775.80 |
| 22. | Mike Piazza | HOF | 9 | 768.86 |
| 23. | Dave Parker | 9 | 757.99 | |
| 24. | Jim Rice | HOF | 8 | 744.80 |
| 25. | Ken Griffey Jr. | HOF | 10 | 738.98 |
| 26. | Joe Morgan | HOF | 7 | 721.35 |
| 27. | Joey Votto | 8 | 700.21 | |
| 28. | Al Kaline | HOF | 14 | 698.80 |
| 29. | Vladimir Guerrero | HOF | 12 | 694.69 |
| 30. | Ernie Banks | HOF | 11 | 692.56 |
| 31. | Jeff Bagwell | HOF | 10 | 676.12 |
| 32. | Roberto Clemente | HOF | 12 | 669.99 |
| 33. | Manny Ramirez | 10 | 659.66 | |
| 34. | Johnny Bench | HOF | 10 | 656.98 |
| 35. | Derek Jeter | 12 | 655.57 | |
| 36. | Juan Gonzalez | 7 | 653.36 | |
| 37. | David Ortiz | 7 | 633.18 | |
| 38. | Kirby Puckett | HOF | 9 | 605.99 |
| 39. | Roy Campanella** | HOF | 7 | 600.32 |
| 40. | Ryan Howard | 6 | 590.04 | |
| 41. | Steve Garvey | 9 | 586.20 | |
| 42. | Rickey Henderson | HOF | 8 | 583.73 |
| 43. | Warren Spahn | HOF | 15 | 580.76 |
| 44. | Nellie Fox | HOF | 10 | 575.85 |
| 45. | Chipper Jones | HOF | 13 | 574.15 |
| 46. | Albert Belle | 6 | 564.94 | |
| 47. | Andrew McCutcheon | 4 | 563.56 | |
| 48. | Josh Donaldson | 6 | 562.47 | |
| 49. | George Foster | 5 | 562.16 | |
| 50. | Andre Dawson | HOF | 9 | 561.55 |
| 51. | Sammy Sosa | 8 | 555.63 | |
| 52. | Adrian Beltre | 8 | 552.74 | |
| 53. | Cal Ripken | HOF | 10 | 548.22 |
| 54. | Dale Murphy | 7 | 547.50 | |
| 55. | Mookie Betts | 5 | 543.30 | |
| 56. | Pedro Guerrero | 6 | 543.17 | |
| 57. | Sandy Koufax | HOF | 6 | 540.93 |
| 58. | Carl Yastrzemski | HOF | 14 | 534.26 |
| 59. | Don Mattingly | 7 | 527.30 | |
| 60. | Dave Winfield | HOF | 9 | 522.58 |
| 61. | Robinson Cano | 8 | 519.37 | |
| 62. | Keith Hernandez | 8 | 495.97 | |
| 63. | Joe Mauer | 5 | 495.97 | |
| 64. | Lance Berkman | 7 | 477.20 | |
| 65. | Ryne Sandberg | HOF | 6 | 467.69 |
| 66. | Duke Snider | HOF | 8 | 466.87 |
| 67. | Boog Powell | 6 | 460.34 | |
| 68. | Gary Carter | HOF | 7 | 458.36 |
| 69. | Robin Roberts | HOF | 7 | 457.63 |
| 70. | George Bell | 6 | 456.57 | |
| 71. | Nolan Arenado | 5 | 456.04 | |
| 72. | Tony Gwynn | HOF | 12 | 454.97 |
| 73. | Gary Sheffield | 5 | 454.27 | |
| 74. | Tony Oliva | 8 | 453.31 | |
| 75. | Roger Clemens | 8 | 452.38 | |
| 76. | Roberto Alomar | HOF | 7 | 451.58 |
| 77. | Paul Goldschmidt | 6 | 450.28 | |
| 78. | Minnie Minoso** | 8 | 449.86 | |
| 79. | Phil Rizzuto | HOF | 6 | 447.28 |
| 80. | Jose Altuve | 5 | 439.47 | |
| 81. | Orlando Cepeda | HOF | 8 | 439.37 |
| 82. | Prince Fielder | 6 | 438.94 | |
| 83. | Maury Wills | 8 | 438.43 | |
| 84. | Will Clark | 5 | 438.26 | |
| 85. | Matt Williams | 4 | 434.16 | |
| 86. | Robin Yount | HOF | 7 | 426.50 |
| 87. | Rod Carew | HOF | 9 | 425.09 |
| 88. | Dennis Eckersly | HOF | 5 | 420.18 |
| 89. | Jackie Robinson** | HOF | 8 | 411.41 |
| 90. | Darryl Strawberry | 4 | 405.37 | |
| 91. | Eddie Mathews | HOF | 10 | 402.11 |
| 92. | Christian Yelich | 3 | 401.55 | |
| 93. | Cecil Fielder | 4 | 397.09 | |
| 94. | Willie McCovey | HOF | 10 | 390.30 |
| 95. | Dick Groat | 4 | 388.86 | |
| 96. | Dick Allen | 7 | 388.35 | |
| 97. | Larry Walker | 8 | 386.20 | |
| 98. | Ken Boyer | 8 | 385.53 | |
| 99. | Billy Williams | HOF | 8 | 379.24 |
| 100. | Lou Brock | HOF | 10 | 379.11 |
| Hall of Famers | ||||
| 103. | Bob Lemon | HOF | 6 | 369.66 |
| 111. | Lou Boudreau | HOF | 3 | 354.52 |
| 114. | Pee Wee Reese | HOF | 10 | 351.17 |
| 115. | Joe Torre | HOF | 7 | 348.37 |
| 117. | Joe DiMaggio* | HOF | 4 | 345.58 |
| 119. | Rollie Fingers | HOF | 7 | 338.22 |
| 124. | Tom Seavers | HOF | 10 | 329.09 |
| 130. | Steve Carlton | HOF | 6 | 322.03 |
| 131. | Red Schoendienst | HOF | 5 | 321.37 |
| 134. | Ralph Kiner | HOF | 6 | 308.82 |
| 141. | Carlton Fisk | HOF | 7 | 303.29 |
| 142. | Paul Molitor | HOF | 8 | 302.69 |
| 147. | Luis Aparicio | HOF | 10 | 293.23 |
| 150. | Bob Gibson | HOF | 6 | 292.23 |
| 151. | Ron Santo | HOF | 7 | 290.16 |
| 152. | Jim Thome | HOF | 9 | 289.20 |
| 153. | Alan Trammell | HOF | 7 | 288.79 |
| 154. | Wade Boggs | HOF | 9 | 286.95 |
| 156. | Bruce Sutter | HOF | 6 | 283.97 |
| 168. | Greg Maddux | HOF | 6 | 263.75 |
| 171. | Early Wynn | HOF | 7 | 259.89 |
| 173. | Barry Larkin | HOF | 6 | 259.17 |
| 177. | Whitey Ford | HOF | 9 | 255.47 |
| 183 | Ivan Rodriguez | HOF | 6 | 247.24 |
| 184. | Craig Biggio | HOF | 5 | 243.24 |
| 187. | Jim Palmer | HOF | 8 | 242.35 |
| 189. | Enos Slaughter | HOF | 4 | 240.38 |
| 191. | Edgar Martinez | HOF | 5 | 239.71 |
| 192. | Tim Raines | HOF | 7 | 237.35 |
| 204. | Goose Gossage | HOF | 5 | 225.48 |
| 205. | Larry Doby** | HOF | 4 | 224.91 |
| 211. | Tony Perez | HOF | 7 | 221.28 |
| 221. | Juan Marichal | HOF | 7 | 209.38 |
| 235. | Randy Johnson | HOF | 9 | 191.21 |
| 257. | Catfish Hunter | HOF | 5 | 171.72 |
| 268. | Fergie Jenkins | HOF | 6 | 166.94 |
| 277. | Ozzie Smith | HOF | 6 | 159.61 |
| 291. | Richie Ashburn | HOF | 8 | 150.43 |
| 302. | Don Drysdale | HOF | 4 | 146.60 |
| 318. | Gaylord Perry | HOF | 6 | 133.24 |
| 331. | Monte Irvin** | HOF | 3 | 128.53 |
| 332. | Bob Feller* | HOF | 3 | 128.53 |
| 337. | Johnny Mize* | HOF | 4 | 126.75 |
| 340. | Mariano Rivera | HOF | 9 | 125.32 |
| 361. | Hoyt Wilhelm | HOF | 4 | 113.57 |
| 392. | Trevor Hoffman | HOF | 5 | 98.12 |
| 397. | Roy Halladay | HOF | 2 | 96.40 |
| 400. | John Smoltz | HOF | 4 | 93.60 |
| 418. | Joe Gordon | HOF | 2 | 86.16 |
| 434. | Lee Smith | HOF | 4 | 81.82 |
| 462. | Harold Baines | HOF | 4 | 70.87 |
| 551. | Phil Niekro | HOF | 3 | 46.62 |
| 557. | Bill Mazeroski | HOF | 2 | 45.62 |
| 569. | Jack Morris | HOF | 5 | 42.98 |
| 631. | Tom Glavine | HOF | 5 | 29.93 |
| 992. | Mike Mussina | HOF | 2 | 6.05 |
In both rankings, it paints a strong case for Dave Parker and highlights how far the bar was lowered by the Harold Baines induction.
Since I published this ranking in the summer, the Hall of Fame has announced both its annual Baseball Writers ballot as well as its Veterans Committee ballot. The VC this year is focusing on players who might have been overlooked from 1966 to 1982.
The list includes one non-player, Marvin Miller, who isn't in because he dragged baseball's labor practices kicking and screaming into the 20th century. Using my MVP rankings, here is where the players on the ballot rank:
| MVP Vote Percentages | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player | Years with MVP votes |
Points (yearly %) |
| 23. | Dave Parker | 9 | 757.99 |
| 41. | Steve Garvey | 9 | 586.20 |
| 54. | Dale Murphy | 7 | 547.50 |
| 59. | Don Mattingly | 7 | 527.30 |
| 110. | Thurman Munson | 7 | 356.66 |
| 180. | Dwight Evans | 5 | 249.43 |
| 275. | Ted Simmons | 7 | 159.95 |
| 534. | Lou Whitaker | 1 | 50.91 |
| 663. | Tommy John | 2 | 26.33 |
If you look at MVP votes, again it's obvious that Parker was thought of at the time as a dominant player. Modern metrics aren't nearly as kind. Steve Garvey is another one who was considered one of the best players in the game while he was playing, but his luster has faded in the new waves of metrics. The three position players at the bottom, Dwight Evans, Ted Simmons and Lou Whitaker were never considered among the best players in the game while playing but now have really good chances of getting in because of rankings such as JAWS and WAR.
Here's a look at my MVP rankings for the regular ballot. I'm only going to use the ranking with the steroid years filtered out. If I had a vote, I'd give my votes to the top eight players on this list and top two pitchers.
| MVP Vote Percentages | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player | Years with MVP votes |
Points (yearly %) |
| 8. | Barry Bonds | 9 | 1,142.01 |
| 33. | Manny Ramirez | 10 | 659.66 |
| 35. | Derek Jeter | 12 | 655.57 |
| 51. | Sammy Sosa | 8 | 555.63 |
| 73. | Gary Sheffield | 5 | 454.27 |
| 75. | Roger Clemens | 8 | 452.38 |
| 97. | Larry Walker | 8 | 386.20 |
| 101. | Jeff Kent | 7 | 377.33 |
| 169. | Andruw Jones | 5 | 262.85 |
| 198. | Jason Giambi | 4 | 230.02 |
| 208. | Alfonso Soriano | 4 | 222.68 |
| 254. | Todd Helton | 5 | 173.73 |
| 263. | Paul Konerko | 5 | 168.89 |
| 315. | Scott Rolen | 4 | 135.59 |
| 476. | Carlos Pena | 2 | 65.38 |
| 516. | Curt Schilling | 4 | 54.71 |
| 589. | Bobby Abreu | 7 | 38.57 |
| 671. | Chone Figgins | 4 | 25.42 |
| 711. | Cliff Lee | 2 | 20.88 |
| 815. | Billy Wagner | 2 | 12.71 |
| 824. | Jose Valverde | 2 | 11.65 |
| 827. | Eric Chavez | 2 | 11.50 |
| 875. | Andy Pettite | 2 | 9.31 |
| 918. | Adam Dunn | 3 | 7.94 |
| 940. | J.J. Putz | 1 | 7.26 |
| 953. | Rafael Furcal | 2 | 6.89 |
| 1,113 | Raul Ibanez | 3 | 3.63 |
| 1,169 | Brian Roberts | 1 | 3.03 |
| 1,246 | Omar Vizquel | 1 | 1.82 |
| 1,320 | Josh Beckett | 1 | 1.21 |
| 1,332 | Heath Bell | 1 | 1.06 |
| NR | Brad Penny | 0 | NA |
There are lots of controversial players at the top here because of steroids. Bonds, Ramirez, Sosa, Sheffield and Clemens all either admitted, tested positive or have very credible allegations that they used steroids or HGH to boost their careers. These rankings remove the seasons where they were likely on the juice. Players like Ramirez and Sosa, there might be several more that should come off but I couldn't find specifics to do so.
A few other players of note. Curt Schilling is an advanced stats darling, but he only received a smattering of MVP votes in four seasons. He's hardly a slam dunk. And near the bottom you'll find Andy Pettite (No. 875) and Omar Vizquel (No. 1,246). There is a lot of lobbying for and against for both of these two. Both Pettite and Vizquel spent the majority of their careers on great teams and made multiple trips to the postseason. Yet the writers at the time didn't think they were good enough for even a spare 8th or 9th place vote as among the best players in their leagues. They were just rotation and lineup fillers. I wouldn't vote for either.
