Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw were honored with the Most Valuable Player award on Thursday night after tremendous 2014 campaigns that helped their teams into the playoffs.
After finishing the runner-up to Miguel Cabrera in both 2012 and 2013, Trout took home the AL MVP award for 2014. The three-time All-Star slashed .287/.377/.561 with 115 runs scored, 36 home runs and 111 RBIs and also took home the Silver Slugger award last week. Trout led the AL in RBIs (111) as well as the entire MLB in runs scored (115) and total bases (338). The Baseball Writers' Association of America made Trout the first unanimous AL MVP since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997.
The 23-year-old also helped the Angels to an MLB-best 98-64 record before they were eliminated in the NLDS at the hands of the Kansas City Royals. Trout won the MVP of the 2014 All-Star Game after going 2-for-3 with a double, triple and two RBIs in the AL's 5-3 victory. His first AL MVP award marks the third time an Angel has won it (Vladimir Guerrero, 2004 and Don Baylor, 1979).
In the National League, a night after taking home the NL Cy Young award, Clayton Kershaw was named the NL MVP with 18 of the 30 first-place votes. He beat out fellow stars Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins and Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Los Angeles Dodgers' left-hander became the 11th player in history to win both the Cy Young and MVP in the same season and the first in the NL since Bob Gibson in 1968. Kershaw led the MLB in Earned Run Average (ERA) for the fourth consecutive season in 2014, making him the first pitcher in baseball history to do so. He also led the way with a 0.86 WHIP.
Here's an idea of how valuable Kershaw was:
According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Dodgers went 21-4 when the left-hander pitched and were only three games above .500 when any other starter took the mound. He also struck out 239 batters in just 198 1/3 innings.
Kershaw was the first Dodger to win the MVP award since Kirk Gibson won in 1988 and the 11th in franchise history. Despite missing a month of the season with a strain in his back, Kershaw still managed to be the best pitcher in the league and lead the Dodgers to their second straight NL West title.
Check out Trout and Kershaw talking about their MVP awards on MLB.com.
