Revisiting The 1975 AL MVP Ballot

The 1975 AL MVP vote was historic—the award went to Boston Red Sox centerfielder Fred Lynn in a landslide, but that wasn’t the historic part. Lynn also became the first rookie in either league to win the MVP. And, nearly a half-century later at this writing, he remains the last. Here’s a look at the top 5 finishers in the ’75 AL MVP race, along with some notable down-ballot performers:

Fred Lynn (CF, Bos)
*.401 OBP/.566 slugging percentage
*.331 batting average
*21 home runs
*105 RBIs/103 runs scored
Additional Notes:  Lynn’s slugging percentage and runs scored, along with his 47 doubles, led the American League. He batted in the middle of what was a stacked Boston lineup in the 3 thru 6 spots. Lynn, mostly hitting cleanup, batted behind the veteran great Carl Yastrzemski, and ahead of fellow rookie Jim Rice and Carlton Fisk. Lynn was the signature offensive performer for a Red Sox team that led the American League in runs scored and won the AL East, with that offense carrying a pedestrian pitching staff. All of that added up to Lynn getting 22 of 24 first-place votes and a 97 percent share of the available points.

John Mayberry (1B, KC)
*.416 OBP/.547 slugging percentage
*.291 batting average
*34 home runs
*106 RBIs/95 runs scored
Additional Notes: The 125-point gap between OBP and batting average points to the fact Mayberry was a patient hitter. His 119 walks led the American League. He opened the season batting third in the Kansas City lineup and was able to settle into the cleanup role as a young third baseman named George Brett hit well enough to move into the 3-spot. That gave Mayberry the opportunity to drive in both Brett and Amos Otis. Mayberry was the best player on a balanced Royal team that won 91 games, third-best in the American League.

Jim Rice (LF, Bos)
*.350 OBP/.491 slugging percentage
*309 batting average
*22 home runs
*102 RBIs/92 runs scored
Additional Notes: Rice injured his hand, missing much of September and the Red Sox appearances in both the ALCS and the World Series. But he still played 144 games, only one fewer than Lynn’s 145. Rice’s rookie year would be one of his six top-5 MVP finishes in his Hall of Fame career, including his award-winning 1978 campaign.

Rollie Fingers (RP, Oak)
*24 saves/10 wins
*126 IP
*2.98 ERA
Additional Notes: Rollie got the two first-place votes Lynn didn’t get. Oakland’s 98 wins were the best the best in the American League. The A’s finished second in the league in staff ERA and a top-heavy rotation was vulnerable after you got past Vida Blue and Ken Holtzman. The Oakland relievers had a heavy load, and Rollie was their signature arm with Paul Lindblad and Jim Scott also having strong years with comparable numbers.

Reggie Jackson (RF, Oak)
.329 OBP/.511 slugging percentage
.253 batting average
*36 home runs
*104 RBIs/91 runs scored
Additional Notes: Reggie’s 36 homers were tied for the American League lead. He batted third or fourth. The Oakland offense, like its pitching staff, ranked second in the AL, and Reggie was at the heart of the order. He batted third or fourth in a lineup where Gene Tenace, Joe Rudi, Claudell Washington, and Billy Williams all had good all-around seasons, and where Bert Campaneris and Billy North were steady table-setters.

Notable Down the Ballot
Jim Palmer (SP, Baltimore): Palmer won the Cy Young Award with 23 wins, a 2.09 ERA and 323 innings pitched. The Orioles had the American League’s best pitching and finished second to Boston in the AL East.

Catfish Hunter (SP, NY Yanks): Catfish’s 328 innings led the league, he won 23 games of his own and finished with a 2.58 ERA. Catfish ran second to Palmer for the Cy Young Award.

George Scott (1B, Milwaukee): Scott’s 36 homers tied him with Reggie for the league lead. His 109 ribbies were the most in the AL. With a .341 OBP and .515 slugging percentage, “The Boomer” was the only notable player on a bad Brewer team.

Rod Carew (2B, Minnesota): One of the great contact hitters of all-time won the batting title with a .359 average, and also led the league with a .421 on-base percentage.

George Brett (3B, Kansas City): The rising star at the hot corner led the league with 195 hits and finished with a .353 OBP/.456 slugging.

ANALYSIS

Lynn was a deserving winner, although Mayberry had a respectable case to be a little closer in the final voting. No one other than Lynn got over 50% of the available points. In either case, this is a credible 1-2 finish. Rice deserved his place in the top 5, although you can argue about whether he should have been as high as third.

The issue is Rollie and Reggie. One can understand the desire to have an A’s player high up in the voting—at the time of the voting, Oakland was not only the American League’s best regular season team, but they were the three-time defending World Series champions. But the key to the A’s success was their overall balance, not any signature standout season.

Fingers’ inclusion this high is particularly egregious. While he’s a much bigger name in the eyes of history than bullpen mates Lindblad and Scott, there was little difference between the three if we take a narrow focus on 1975 specifically. Thus, not only are his numbers not particularly spectacular, he wasn’t uniquely valuable.

Palmer is the one with the biggest gripe. If you believe pitchers should be able to win the award (which I do), Palmer actually has a case for the top of the ballot. He was an ace and a horse and carried his team into contention. Catfish wasn’t far behind, although the Yankees were unable to mount a serious challenge in the AL East.

Furthermore, while it’s unsurprising that a player from the 68-win Brewers would be overlooked, Scott’s year was excellent. How many runs would he have driven in batting in a different lineup? As it was, he still drove in more than anyone else in the American League.

My revised ballot would look this this:
1)Lynn
2)Palmer
3)Mayberry
4)Scott
5)Rice