MLB MVPs who played for only one team

Akron, OH native Thurman Munson debuted for the Yankees in 1969 and wasted little time developing into a rock behind the plate in the Bronx. He was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 1970, earned trips to seven All-Star Games, won three Gold Gloves, and helped New York win a pair of World Series championships. Most relevant to this conversation, he also won the AL MVP award in 1976 when he slashed .302/.337/.432 with 17 homers and 105 RBI — almost unprecedented offensive production from a catcher. An avid pilot during his playing days, Munson was practicing taking off and landing on August 2, 1979 and tragically was killed in a small plane crash at the age of 32. Had that not occurred he undoubtedly would have accomplished even more in a Yankees uniform, but even still, it's safe to say his memory and legacy will live in the Bronx forever. 

The Red Sox have been fortunate enough to have several big-time stars play in Boston during the franchise's illustrious history, but one guy I've always felt has been underrated a little is outfielder Jim Rice. The right-handed slugger played all 16 of his major league seasons in Boston, slashing .298/.352/.502 with 382 homers, 1,451 RBI, and 373 doubles. The best season of his career came in 1978, when he led the majors in homers, RBI, triples, SLG, and OPS, and he was easily named the MVP of the American League at the conclusion of the campaign. 

Longtime Pirates first baseman Willie Stargell was the main attraction in Pittsburgh for more than two decades and the driving force behind two Pirates championship teams. The man known affectionately as 'Pops' debuted in 1962 and quickly blossomed into one of the most consistent offensive forces in the National League. Across 21 seasons in the majors, Stargell slashed .282/.360/.529 with 475 homers, 1,540 RBI, and 423 doubles. He's the franchise's all-time leader in several offensive categories, and when he was named the co-MVP of the National League in 1979 along with St. Louis' Keith Hernandez, his legacy in western Pennsylvania only grew. 

Third baseman Mike Schmidt is as synonymous with the Philadelphia Phillies organization as any player that's ever called the City of Brotherly Love home. The Dayton, Ohio native played every one of his 2,404 career games in a Phillies uniform and holds a plethora of the franchise's offensive records. Schmidt led the National League in home runs seven times and paced the senior circuit in RBI on four different occasions. He helped Philadelphia claim the World Series in 1980 and most relevant to this list, won the NL MVP award in 1980, 1981, and 1986. 

Playing during the same era, everything Mike Schmidt was to the Phillies is what George Brett was for Kansas City. Also a third baseman, Brett starred for 21 years, and essentially wrote the Royals' offensive record book. In just over 2,700 games with the club, he slashed a magnificent .305/.369/.487 with 317 homers and 1,596 RBI. He was never better than in 1980, when he won the batting title with an eye-opening .390 clip, and led the league in OBP, SLG, and OPS. He crushed 24 home runs that year, knocked in 118 RBI, and finished with 33 doubles, and at the conclusion of the season he was the obvious choice for AL MVP. 

Robin Yount is the most recognizable figure in the history of the Milwaukee Brewers franchise, and is easily the best player to ever wear the team's uniform. The Danville, Ill. native owns nearly every Brewers offensive record and was a fixture in the middle of the team's lineup for two decades. Yount was an All-Star, a three-time Silver Slugger winner, and a Gold Glove recipient, and most relevant to this list, a two-time National League MVP. The right-handed slugger won the award in both '82 and '88, and was especially dominant in 1982 when he led the league in hits, doubles, SLG%, and OPS. 

Cal Ripken Jr. was destined to become a fan favorite in Baltimore from the moment the club drafted the hometown kid in the second round of the 1978 Amateur Draft, and that's exactly how things played out. Ripken Jr. won AL Rookie of the Year in his first full season and never looked back, going on to star in Charm City for 21 seasons and putting together one hell of a Hall of Fame resume. He was named the AL MVP award winner in both 1983 and 1991, and today is most remembered for his iconic consecutive games played streak. 

Younger fans today might recognize Don Mattingly as the former manager of both the Dodgers and Marlins, but long before that the first baseman was one of the most prolific hitters in baseball while starring in the Bronx. In 14 seasons with the Yankees, he slashed .307/.358/.471 with 222 homers, 1,099 RBI, and 442 doubles. Mattingly won three Silver Sluggers, made six All-Star teams, won a batting title, and earned nine Gold Gloves, while most impressively earning MVP honors in 1985. He hit .324 that season to go with 35 homers and led the AL with both 145 RBI and 48 doubles.

First baseman Jeff Bagwell was actually drafted by the Red Sox, but after a 1990 trade sent him to Houston while he was still a minor leaguer, he'd go on to become one of the most prominent figures in Astros history. In 15 seasons with Houston, the big right-handed slugger slashed .297/.408/.540 with 449 homers, 1,529 RBI, 488 doubles, and 202 stolen bases. The best season of his career came in the strike-shortened 1994 campaign, when in only 110 contests he slashed .368/.451/.750 with 39 homers and a league high 116 RBI on his way to easily winning the National League MVP award. 

The year after Bagwell earned MVP honors, the award went to Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin, who was one of the most complete players in the game for nearly two decades. In 19 seasons in Cincinnati, Larkin slashed .295/.371/.444 with 715 extra-base hits, 960 RBI, and 379 stolen bases. In 1995, he didn't lead the NL in any offensive categories, but did everything well, slashing .319/.394/.492 with 15 homers, 66 RBI, 29 doubles, six triples, and an impressive 51 steals. 

Switch-hitter Chipper Jones was the first overall pick in the 1990 draft, and the Braves simply could not have asked for more from the selection. In 19 seasons with Atlanta, Jones slashed a marvelous .303/.401/.529 with 468 home runs, 1,623 RBI, 549 doubles, 38 triples, and 150 stolen bases. He made the All-Star team eight times, won two Silver Sluggers and a batting title, helped Atlanta win the 1995 World Series, and in 1999 was named the MVP of the National League. That year, Jones hit .319 and reached base at an absurd .441 clip, while crushing 45 homers and driving in 110 runs. He added 41 doubles and stole 25 bases, and was the obvious choice for the award. 

Injuries unfortunately ended Arizona State product Dustin Pedroia's career long before it should have, but in the 1,512 games he did suit up for the Red Sox, the scrappy second baseman left a substantial mark. Pedroia finished with a lifetime slash line of .299/.365/.439 to go along with 549 extra-base hits, 725 RBI, and 138 stolen bases, and he was never better than during his MVP season in 2008. That year, he slashed a phenomenal .326/.376/.493 with 17 homers, 83 RBI, and 20 steals, while leading the league in hits (213), doubles (54), and runs (118). He also won his first career Gold Glove that year. 

Left-handed swinging Joe Mauer would have undoubtedly become a star in any city, but the connection he had with Minnesota made his tenure with the Twins much more special. Minnesota selected the local kid from St. Paul, MN first overall in 2001, and it didn't take him long to become the brightest star on his hometown team. In 15 seasons with the Twins, Mauer put together a laundry list of accomplishments. He won three batting titles, played in six All-Star Games, earned five Silver Sluggers, and took home three Gold Gloves, but most importantly he was named the MVP of the American League in 2009. That year, Mauer slashed an absurd .365/.444/.587 with 28 homers, 96 RBI, and 30 doubles. He led the league in batting average, OBP, SLG%, OPS, and OPS+ and was a runaway winner for he prestigious MVP award. 

First baseman Joey Votto is still very much an active player in Cincinnati with a Reds team that has vastly outperformed their preseason expectations this season. And while at 39 years old he is now more or less a complementary piece on a young and exciting up-and-coming club, make no mistake about it — in his prime he was as good a hitter as there was in the National League. During his MVP season in 2010, Votto was almost unstoppable, slashing .324/.424/.600 with 37 long balls, 113 RBI, and 36 doubles. He led the league in OBP, SLG, and OPS, and led the Reds to an NL Central division championship. 

Ryan Braun's presence on this list is more than a little controversial since he was suspended and later admitted to using PED's during his MVP-winning season of 2011. With the benefit of hindsight, that award should clearly have gone to the Dodgers' Matt Kemp, but it can also be true that for 14 seasons Braun was a productive member of the Brewers club. The Mission Hills, Calif. native finished his career with a lifetime slash line of .296/.358/.532, and it's a real shame that he tarnished his reputation and legacy the way he did. 

Catcher Buster Posey's career was relatively short in that he only played a dozen seasons in the big leagues, but he sure left his mark in the Bay Area. In 1,371 games with San Francisco, the Florida State product slashed .302/.372/.460 with 158 homers, 729 RBI, and 293 doubles. He was an instrumental part of three Giants World Series-winning teams, won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2010, won a batting title and a Gold Glove, earned five Silver Sluggers, and participated in seven All-Star Games. He was also named the MVP of the National League in 2012. That year, Posey hit .336 and set his personal career highs with 24 homers and 103 RBI. He also helped the Giants win their second championship in three years that October. 

It's more than a little rare for a starting pitcher to win the MVP award considering they only play in about 20 percent of their team's games, but Clayton Kershaw was so dominant in 2014 that the award simply could not have gone in a different direction. That season, the longtime Dodgers ace was otherworldly, pitching to a 1.77 ERA with a 0.86 WHIP across 27 starts, while finishing with a 21-3 record and striking out 239 hitters in 198.1 innings. He won his fourth consecutive ERA title, his second straight Cy Young award and third in four seasons, and yes, most relevant to this list, became the first National League pitcher to win MVP since Bob Gibson in 1968. 

For the majority of his career, Angels outfielder Mike Trout has been considered the best player in baseball, and while his own teammate, Shohei Ohtani, has clearly supplanted him and everybody else for that title, Trout obviously remains an elite talent. The Vineland, NJ native has been dominating the American League essentially since he first debuted back in '11, and has already put together a Hall of Fame-like resume. Trout was named AL Rookie of the Year in 2012, has played in 11 All-Star Games, won nine Silver Sluggers, and was named the MVP of the American League in 2014, 2016, and 2019. 

Second baseman Jose Altuve has been among the best overall players in baseball for well over a decade, and a true testament to what hard work and desire can accomplish. At just 5'6", Altuve is almost always the smallest guy on the field, but also, more often than not, tends to make the largest impact on the game. In well over 1,600 career games to date, he owns a lifetime batting average over .300, and while he's won a plethora of awards throughout his career, the most noteworthy is the AL MVP he took home in 2017. That year, he slashed .346/.410/.547 with 24 homers, 81 RBI, 39 doubles, and 32 steals, while leading the American League in hits for the fourth straight year. 

Shohei Ohtani is truly baseball's unicorn, and while he clearly makes this list for now, Angels fans are going to spend the entire winter stressing over whether he'll sign elsewhere as a free agent and need to be removed. The 29-year-old sensation is a superstar unlike anything baseball has seen before, a legitimate MVP-caliber hitter who currently leads the game in both home runs and triples, while simultaneously also being a bona fide number one ace-type starting pitcher. In 2021, he launched 46 homers and drove in 100 runs while working to a 3.18 ERA in 23 starts on the mound. He's been even better in both regards this season and will undoubtedly add a second AL MVP award to his resume in a few months. But where will he be playing next spring?

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge bested Ohtani for the AL MVP award a year ago, and it took a historic season to do so. In 157 games in 2022, the hulking right-handed slugger slashed .311/.425/.686 with an incredible 62 home runs and 131 RBI. The 62 bombs broke what many considered to be the legitimate — pre-steroid era — single-season record and put Judge in a class of his own in terms of modern-day power hitters. This season unfortunately has not gone nearly as smoothly for him, as he missed an extended period of time due to injury, but armed with a substantial long-term contract he won't be leaving the Bronx anytime soon.