The MVP Award is the most distinguishing honor a baseball player can receive during any MLB season, signifying their importance to their team and how they stood out among their peers.
But of the nearly hundred players to ever earn the honor, did you know that two of them came from the ranks of D3 Baseball?
A total of three awards from two players have gone down in history for D3 alum, and you can see just who these former stars and Hall of Famers are below.
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Gabby Hartnett — Dean
| Year | AVG | HR | RBI | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | .344 | 13 | 91 | 5.0 |
| Career Totals | .297 | 236 | 1179 | 53.4 |
A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, this former Dean College standout was one of the better bats during the early parts of the 20th century that you may have never heard of.
Like our next honoree, Hartnett is best known for playing with the Cubs from 1922-1940, ending his career with one season in Cincinnati. During his 19 years in Cubs blue, the Dean alum clubbed 231 homers and established an .860 OPS.
Finishing in the top ten of MVP voting three other times, it would be amazing to see the Cubs honor one of their more loyal stars who played in the same era as Hack Wilson for fans of the current generation.
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Ernie Banks — Chicago
| Year | AVG | HR | RBI | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | .313 | 47 | 129 | 9.3 |
| 1959 | .304 | 45 | 143 | 10.2 |
| Career Totals | .274 | 512 | 1636 | 67.5 |
If you read the header above, you might think that Chicago just refers to the team Banks played for in the Majors, the Cubs. But think about it again, because Mr. Cub also played collegiately in the Windy City, suiting up for the Maroons of Chicago University.
Winning the MVP in back-to-back seasons, Banks led the NL in RBI both times, producing at a rate you rarely see in today's game anymore. Consistency was also key to the former Chicago star, appearing in a league-leading amount of games in both seasons as well.
While you won't find any of the former Cubs' records in the Maroon history books, he is without a doubt their best alum to ever make it in the Majors. And as the saying goes, Banks wanted to "play two", but this time he turned it around and won two instead.
