Mike Trout, who also won in 2014, became the 15th multiple winner in the AL voting. Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Alex Rodriguez were three-time winners. Trout joins two-time winners Hank Greenberg, Hal Newhouser, Ted Williams, Roger Maris, Robin Yount, Cal Ripken Jr., Frank Thomas, Juan Gonzalez and Miguel Cabrera.
Trout is only the second MVP winner in either league to have won twice after finishing second in the previous election. The other was Barry Bonds in the National League in 1992 and 2001. Trout and Bonds are also the only players to have finished first or second in MVP voting in five consecutive elections. Trout was the runner-up in 2012, ’13 and ’15. Bonds was NL MVP from 2001-04 after having finished second to San Francisco Giants teammate Jeff Kent in 2000. Other MVP winners who ran second the year before they won in the AL were Phil Rizzuto in 1950, Berra in 1954, Mantle in 1962, Boog Powell in 1970 and Rodriguez in 2003. NL MVP winners who were the runners-up the previous year were Chuck Klein in 1932 and George Foster in 1977.
Trout’s second victory was the 12th for a center fielder in the AL. He joined three-time winners DiMaggio (1939, ’41, ’47) and Mantle (1956-57, ’62) as well as Fred Lynn (1975), Yount (1989), Ken Griffey Jr. (1997) and Josh Hamilton (2010). Yount was a shortstop when he won his first MVP Award in 1982. His team, the Milwaukee Brewers, moved to the NL in 1998.
A center fielder has won the award in the NL six times – twice apiece by Willie Mays (1954, ’65) and Dale Murphy (1982-83) and once by Willie McGee (1985) and Andrew McCutchen (2013).
In addition to Trout’s two victories, the Angels have had winners with Don Baylor (1979) and Vlad Guerrero (2004).
It marked the 13th time a player on the Red Sox, who have had nine winners, finished second. Betts joins a list of runners-up that includes Ted Williams four times (1941, ’42, ’47, ’57), Wes Ferrell (1935), Foxx (1939), Billy Goodman (1950), Mike Greenwell (1988), Nomar Garciaparra (1998), Pedro Martinez (1999), David Ortiz (2005) and Jacoby Ellsbury (2011).
Trout, Betts, Altuve, Donaldson, Machado and Ortiz were named on all ballots.
Ballots from two writers in each league city prior to postseason play are tabulated on a system that rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third on down to one for 10th.
| Player, Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Trout, Angels | 19 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 356 | |||||
| Mookie Betts, Red Sox | 9 | 17 | 4 | 311 | |||||||
| Jose Altuve, Astros | 2 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 227 | ||||||
| Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays | 2 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 200 | |||
| Manny Machado, Orioles | 5 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 150 | |||
| David Ortiz, Red Sox | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 147 | |
| Adrian Beltre, Rangers | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 135 | |
| Robinson Cano, Mariners | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 79 | |||
| Francisco Lindor, Indians | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 56 | |||||
| Miguel Cabrera, Tigers | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 56 | |||||
| Zach Britton, Orioles | 1 | 3 | 2 | 11 | |||||||
| Kyle Seager, Mariners | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||||||||
| Brian Dozier, Twins | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | |||||||
| Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |||||||
| Nelson Cruz, Mariners | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||
| Chris Sale, White Sox | 1 | 3 | |||||||||
| Jose Ramirez, Indians | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Justin Verlander, Tigers | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Adam Eaton, White Sox | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Corey Kluber, Indians | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Evan Longoria, Rays | 1 | 1 |