Los Angeles Angels pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani had a 2.33 ERA and an .875 OPS successful 2022. New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge led the league successful OPS, runs, RBIs, and broke the American League location tally grounds with 62. In immoderate different year, either would beryllium the evident prime for AL Most Valuable Player -- but they hap to person enactment up those numbers successful the aforesaid season. While Judge is the odds-on favourite to win, would anyone truly entity if the ballot was adjacent -- oregon adjacent if it were tied?
It wouldn't beryllium the archetypal clip thing similar this would person happened. Close MVP races -- oregon adjacent ties -- are rare, but they're not unprecedented. Here are immoderate races from the past 30 years wherever the voters conscionable couldn't rather determine connected a wide favorite.
MLB
2017: Giancarlo Stanton beats Joey Votto by 2 votes
In his last twelvemonth with the Miami Marlins, Stanton mashed 59 location runs, led the league successful RBIs with 131 and OPS+ with 169. Votto, stalwart arsenic ever with the Cincinnati Reds, led successful wide OPS (1.032), OBP (.454) and walks (134). Their performances astatine the sheet were truthful outrageously bully that voters didn't caput overmuch that neither the Marlins nor the Reds made the playoffs. It was the closest contention successful MLB since 1979, erstwhile Willie Stargell and Keith Hernandez tied for NL MVP.
NBA
2004-05: Steve Nash beats Shaquille O'Neal by 2.6% voting share
This play was the archetypal of 3 consecutive MVP seasons wherever Nash, playing for the Phoenix Suns, would pb the league successful assists per game, this clip with 11.5. O'Neal, successful his archetypal twelvemonth with the Miami Heat, enactment up a beauteous emblematic Shaq statline -- 22.9 PPG, 10.4 RPG, and 2.3 BPG. Both teams finished archetypal successful their respective divisions and made heavy playoff runs, but the Suns fell to the San Antonio Spurs and the Heat mislaid to the Detroit Pistons successful their respective league finals.
WNBA
2013: Candace Parker beats Maya Moore by 16 points
This 1 was a three-way race, with the Los Angeles Sparks' Parker (17.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG) beating retired some the Minnesota Lynx's Moore (18.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG) and rookie Elena Delle Donne (18.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG), who had 7 first-place votes of her ain successful her rookie play with the Chicago Sky.
2005: Sheryl Swoopes beats Lauren Jackson by 2 points
The Seattle Storm's Jackson (17.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 2.0 BPG) really had much first-place votes than the Houston Comets' Swoopes (18.6 PPG, 4.3 APG, 2.0 SPG), but Swoopes bushed her retired successful full points. If Jackson had received 1 much fourth-place ballot alternatively of a fifth-place one, the 2 would person had adjacent constituent totals.
NFL
2003: Peyton Manning and Steve McNair tie
Manning shared his archetypal of 5 MVP awards with Steve McNair. McNair, playing for the Tennessee Titans, threw for 3,215 yards, 24 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, adding different 4 scores connected the ground. Manning, playing for the Indianapolis Colts, led the NFL successful passing yards with 4,267, throwing 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Both quarterbacks would suffer successful the playoffs that twelvemonth to the third-place finisher: then-New England Patriots awesome caller Tom Brady.
2002: Rich Gannon beats Brett Favre by 4 votes
Gannon, playing for the then-Oakland Raiders, had by acold the champion play of his vocation successful 2002, throwing for 4,689 yards, 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and starring his squad to the Super Bowl. Favre was successful afloat high-risk, precocious reward mode, starring the league successful TDs with 32 but besides throwing 21 INTs.
2001: Kurt Warner beats Marshall Faulk by 4 votes
A spot of an awkward contention considering Warner and Faulk were teammates connected the then-St. Louis Rams. Both were cardinal reasons wherefore the Rams made it to their 2nd Super Bowl successful 3 years -- Warner threw for 4,830 yards, 36 touchdownsand 22 interceptions, portion Faulk was an unthinkable dual-threat, rushing for 1,382 yards and 12 scores and putting up 765 yards receiving and 9 receiving touchdowns.
1997: Brett Favre and Barry Sanders tie
Favre, successful the past of 3 consecutive MVP seasons, led the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl quality successful 1997, throwing for 3,867 yards, 35 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Sanders, connected the different hand, enactment the Detroit Lions connected his back, rushing for an astounding 2,053 yards,11 scores, and adding 3 much receiving touchdowns. The Lions mislaid successful the wild-card round, and Sanders would play 1 much twelvemonth earlier retiring.
NHL
2012-13: Alex Ovechkin beats Sidney Crosby by 1.8 percent
The lockout-shortened 2012-13 play saw Ovechkin and Crosby each putting up 56 points. Ovechkin's league-leading 32 goals, however, whitethorn person been the deciding origin successful his constrictive win.
2001-02: Jose Theodore beats Jarome Iginla by archetypal spot votes
Theodore and Iginla really had the aforesaid fig of votes for the Hart Memorial Trophy. Theodore, who led the league with a .931 prevention percentage, ended up beating Iginla, who led the league successful goals (52) and points (96) owed to receiving 3 much first-place votes.
1999-2000: Chris Pronger beats Jaromir Jagr by 1 point
Jagr led the league successful points with 96 (ironically, his lowest constituent full from 1997-2001) but Pronger's league-leading 52 plus/minus was a origin successful making him the archetypal defenseman to triumph the Hart since Bobby Orr successful 1972. Pronger is besides the past defenseman to triumph the award.
College football
2009: Mark Ingram beats Toby Gerhart by 28 votes
Nobody could halt Mark Ingram (1,658 yards rushing, 17 touchdowns) oregon the champion Alabama Crimson Tide successful 2009, but Stanford Cardinal moving backmost Toby Gerhardt (1,871 yards rushing, 28 touchdowns) gave it a spell successful the Heisman Trophy voting. Ingram's triumph is the smallest borderline of triumph by a Heisman Trophy victor ever.
Research from ESPN Stats and Information was utilized successful this article.
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