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Cleveland Indians: 4 players in Tribe history that should’ve won AL MVP

By Chad Porto

CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 23: Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Indians pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Progressive Field on September 23, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 23: Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Indians pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Progressive Field on September 23, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Indians Travis Hafner connects on a single during the 3rd inning of their game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, April 16, 2005, in Cleveland. The Twins won, 6-4. (Photo by Jamie Mullen/Getty Images)
Cleveland Indians Travis Hafner connects on a single during the 3rd inning of their game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, April 16, 2005, in Cleveland. The Twins won, 6-4. (Photo by Jamie Mullen/Getty Images) /

Travis Hafner (2005)

Travis “Pronk” Hafner’s 2005 campaign was something special. Despite missing 25 games, Hafner put up some incredible numbers. He had 148 hits, 42 doubles, 33 home runs, 108 RBI’s, and 94 runs scored. Pretty solid numbers but his stats don’t end there. He had a .305 batting average and posted an OPS of 1.003.

Despite helping the Indians back to a winning record and a near playoff birth, Hafner finished fifth.

Hafner’s OPS was second in the league behind Alex Rodriguez, who was still cheating by taking steroids. Despite that Hafner had a better OPS,  the major market teams still went and courted most of the MVP votes, predictably. The second and fourth place finishers came from Boston in the form of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. Each man took a lot of the votes for their play (both steroid users). The third-place finisher, Vladimir Guerrero, had a good year but not better than Hafner’s. While a clean player, he did play for the Los Angeles (Anaheim) Angels and LA will always score higher than Cleveland in the “popularity” contest.

Of the top five, only two – Hafner and Guerrero – aren’t known for their steroid use. So yes, Hafner deserved the award more than three known cheaters. Hafner and Guerrero had near-identical numbers, but Hafner still had the better season.

You can’t argue that clean players should always win, and in a dead heat against Guerrero, the only reason Hafner received fewer votes is due to the market. Hafner absolutely deserved to win the 2005 AL MVP.

Hafner’s 2006 season was even better than his 2005 season, and in eight fewer games to boot. The only difference in the seasons is that the Minnesota Twins were really dominant and had three players in the top seven. With the exception of Ortiz (3rd), 2006 didn’t see any (known) PED-players in the top eight. So it’s harder to make a case for Hafner winning it in 2006, as opposed to 2005, despite the better statistical season.

As noted, Hafner missed 25 games during the 2005 season. Had Hafner played 162 games, at the rate he was hitting, he would’ve had 39 home runs, 50 doubles, 111 runs scored, 128 RBI’s, and 93 walks. That’s a stat line that can only be surmised with three letters. M. V. P.

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