When I first started talking about Wins Above MVP Level, commenter bdunc8 asked:
Which 10 non-MVP’s had the highest WAR?
Armed with a shiny new download of Rally's WAR database, I aim to please. Here they are:
| Name | Year | WAR | MVP Winner | MVP WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babe Ruth | 1921 | 14.0 | (None) | |
| Rogers Hornsby | 1924 | 13.0 | Dazzy Vance | 9.1 |
| Babe Ruth | 1920 | 12.9 | (None) | |
| Babe Ruth | 1927 | 12.8 | Lou Gehrig | 12.0 |
| Steve Carlton | 1972 | 12.2 | Johnny Bench | 9.1 |
| Babe Ruth | 1926 | 12.0 | George Burns | 4.5 |
| Babe Ruth | 1924 | 11.9 | Walter Johnson | 6.2 |
| Ty Cobb | 1917 | 11.9 | (None) | |
| Mickey Mantle | 1961 | 11.9 | Roger Maris | 7.2 |
| Walter Johnson | 1912 | 11.8 | Tris Speaker | 11.0 |
| Rogers Hornsby | 1921 | 11.7 | (None) | |
| Dwight Gooden | 1985 | 11.7 | Willie McGee | 8.5 |
| Honus Wagner | 1908 | 11.6 | (None) | |
| Babe Ruth | 1931 | 11.4 | Lefty Grove | 9.4 |
| Sammy Sosa* | 2001 | 11.4 | Barry Bonds | 12.5 |
| Ted Williams | 1941 | 11.3 | Joe DiMaggio | 9.4 |
| Cy Young | 1901 | 11.2 | (None) | |
| Ty Cobb | 1915 | 11.1 | (None) | |
| Ty Cobb | 1910 | 11.0 | (None) | |
| Ted Williams | 1942 | 11.0 | Joe Gordon | 8.4 |
| Babe Ruth | 1928 | 11.0 | Mickey Cochrane | 3.7 |
| Alex Rodriguez | 2000 | 11.0 | Jason Giambi | 8.7 |
| Bob Gibson | 1969 | 11.0 | Willie McCovey | 8.9 |
* Sosa, while ranked so highly here, actually did post a lower WAR than the MVP winner. They just both happened to be remarkable.
In many cases, the MVP winner (like Gehrig, Speaker, DiMaggio, and others) had a tremendous season in his own right, but there are certainly a couple head scratchers on here. Ruth appears on this list seven times (twice there was no MVP awarded). He came close to tripling the WAR total of MVPs George Burns and Mickey Cochrane.