Ken Griffey Jr, The 90's, and How He Did NOT win 10 MVPs and the Winners Cards
The 1990's in baseball was filled with the type of entertainment every generation wanted to see. From the slap hitting singles of players like Tony Gwynn, to seeing mammoth bombs from Mark Magwire and Sammy Sosa. You had legends in the making with players like Derek Jeter, who would go on and steal the hearts of NY, to Frank Thomas proving big men can hit for both power and average. But one player came along, and showed he could do it all, and that man was Ken Griffey Jr.
In the 90s alone, Griffey would go on to hitting 382 home runs, and managed to carry a .302 batting average. He would hit over 40 home runs in a season 6 times, leading the lead 4 times. He would bring home the Silver Slugger award 7 times, while being a stout in center field. As a matter of fact, he brought home the Gold Glove award every single year in the 90s.
This had me thinking, how did arguably the greatest player of the 90s not win the AL MVP every single year. How did one of the greatest players of his generation only win 1 MVP. Well I am here to do a side by side comparision. Also while looking at the MVPs, we will take a sneak peak at their rookie cards. So lets dig in:
1990 Griffey: 19th Place
This may be an easy one to explain, as this is Griffey's 2nd year, and he is still only 20 years old. Griffey barely scratched the Top 20 list, finishing at 19. Griffey still managed a respectable .300 BA, while hitting 20 homeruns, and driving in 80 RBI's. Griffey would take home his first Gold Glove.
WINNER: Rickey Henderson
Rickey Henderson, arguably the greatest leadoff hitter in the history of Major League baseball. Batting .325 for the season with 65 stolen bases, he was a threat every time on base. Leading the league in OBP with a .439, he would take home his first MVP award. Over the past 3 months, the average 1980 Topps RC PSA 9 goes for about $1,873 per Cardladder.com
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1991 Griffey: 9th Place
Griffey had a very respectable year 3, especially only being 21 years old. He would go on to hit .327, drive in 100 RBI's, and smack 22 homeruns. He would bring home his second Gold Glove award, and won his first Silver Slugger award.
WINNER: Cal Ripken Jr.
Ripken would go on to winning his 2nd and final MVP in 1991. Hitting .323 with 34 home runs, and driving in 114 of his teammates, he showed once again why he was an all time great. The "Iron Man" would go on to take home his first Gold Glove award as well. While not cheap, a 1982 Topps Cal Ripken Jr PSA 10 card can be had for around $2000.
1992 Griffey: 17th Place
In Just 142 games played, Griffey still managed to smack a career high 27 home runs. He also drove in over 100 RBI's, while once again batting over .300. At this point, at age 22, he is starting to really put it all together.
WINNER: Dennis Eckersley
Not often do you see a pitcher win the MVP, but not often do you see a pitcher like Dennis Eckersley. The "Eck" would go onto having one of the most dominating pitching years in the history of baseball. As a closer, he would pitch to a 7-1 record, and a league leading 51 saves. In 80 innings pitched he only allowed 5 home runs. Over the last 6 months, there have been eight 1976 Topps Dennis Eckersley PSA 9 sold. The average sale during that time is $1,736.
1993 Griffey: 5th Place
This is the time where it seems Griffey has matured at all stages of his baseball journey. Griffey would put on a clinic hitting over .300, while smashing 45 home runs. He drove in 109 teammates, and scored 113 runs. His OPS was an insane 1.025. He would take home the Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and appear in his 4th straight all star game.
WINNER: Frank Thomas
This player was an absolute monster his whole career, but especially in 1993. The "Big Hurt" took home all 28 first place votes, and rightfully so. Thomas crushed 41 home runs, batted .317, and drove in 128 RBI's. He ended up drawing over 100 walks, and had an OPS of 1.033. The last 3 1992 Leaf Frank Thomas RC PSA 10 sold for an average $161, which seems like an excellent deal for this Hall of Famer.
1994 Griffey: 2nd Place
In just 111 games played, Griffey was an absolute monster. Leading the league in home runs, griffey would manage to put 40 balls over the fence. He would also manage to drive in 90 runs, while also crossing Homeplate 94 times himself. Griffey would go onto having an OPS of 1.076, while also managing and dominating the outfield. He would bring home yet another Gold Glove. So how did he not win his first MVP?
WINNER: Frank Thomas
Thomas would go onto having an even better year than 1993. Frank would bat .353 while leading the league in runs, walks, OBP, SLG, and OPS. And to not be overlooked, he would also drive in over 100 RBI's. See above for his RC.
1995 Griffey: Not Ranked
Griffey was only able to manage to play in 72 games. While limited, he still managed to bring home his 6th Gold Glove award, and was named to his 6th All Star.
WINNER: Mo Vaughn
Mo Vaughn put the MLB on notice in 1995. Hitting .300, driving in 126 RBI's, he would also pitch in 98 runs. Vaughn would go onto having 2 more Top 5 MVP season, on his way to a very respectable career. A 1990 Score Vaughn PSA 10 RC can be had for around $30.
1996 Griffey: 4th Place
Griffey would just absolutely dominate 1996. He led the league in WAR with an insane 9.7, while setting career highs in home runs (49) runs (125) RBI's (140). And once again, batted over .300 while patrolling center field.
WINNER: Juan Gonzalez
Gonzalez helped pushed the Texas Rangers to a first place finish, and which is also why the votes may have went his way in the 1996 season. Gonzalez would go onto hitting 47 home runs, driving in 144 teammates, while crossing the plate 89 times. He was an absolute beast of a player. He definitely struck fear in the pitcher when he came up to the plate, and I for one thinks he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. But this year, I would give the edge to Griffey. A 1990 Donruss Gonzalez PSA 10 RC can be had for around $50.
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1997 Griffey: 1st Place
His greatest season to date, and Griffey gets awarded for all his hard work. "The Kid" would go and put on a show all year long. He shattered his all time high in home runs, smacking 56 dingers. He would go on and lead the league in RBI's (147) and runs (125). He would also go on and bat .304, while leading the league again in WAR with a 9.1. Not only did he take home the MVP, but he brought home his 8th Gold Glove award in a row, as well as another Silver Slugger. Griffey's iconic 1989 Upper Deck RC PSA 10 still demands a pretty penny. The average price over the past 3 month is up to almost $2600.
1998 Griffey: 4th Place
On the surface, I dont understand the logic of a 4th place finish. Griffey would nearly duplicate his 1997 numbers. Hitting the same 56 home runs, driving in 146 RBI's and having 120 runs, these are iconic numbers. Griffey would bat a very respectable .285, and once again bring home the Gold Glove award.
WINNER: Juan Gonzalez
Gonzalez was a machine, and there is nothing more to hit. He belted 45 home runs and drove in an incredible 157 runners. Nearly clipping the 100 Runs mark, and had an insane .630 slugging percentage. I would have still given it to Griffey, for being a better all around player, but you have to give credit to Gonzalez. See Gonzalez in 1996 for card information.
1999 Griffey: 10th place
Once again, on paper, I dont understand the 10th place finish. Griffey would lead the league again in home runs with 48 dingers. He would swipe 24 bags, drive in 134 RBI's and add 123 runs. He would bring home his 10th Gold Glove, and his 7th Silver Slugger.
WINNER: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez
The Hall of Fame catcher would take home is first and only MVP, and what a year he had. Rodriguez was 1 hit away from 200, while driving in 113. He would also have 116 runs, and stole an incredible 25 stolen bases. He would also go on to batting .332, while being the most dominate defensive catcher of his generation. He truly did put together an incredible year, and deserved the 1999 MVP. A 1991 Topps Ivan Rodriguez PSA 10 RC can be had for only $40.
Well there you have it, Griffey Jr vs the league. Should have Griffey Jr. won the MVP more than 1 time during the 90s, I personally think so. However actually stacking his years against the players who actually won, there is a lot to be said of the years they had.
