Mike Trout was already a member of a very exclusive All-Star Game club when he stepped to the plate to lead off for the American League in the 2026 Midsummer Classic.
2026 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard
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He is one of only five players who have been named All-Star Game MVP more than once since the award was instituted in 1962. A third honor wasn't meant to be as Trout went 0-for-3 in the AL's 4-0 win in Philadelphia, but he still has some years left to become the first three-time winner. Until then, here's a glance at this quintet of uniquely decorated All-Stars.
Mike Trout: 2014 AL, '15 AL
The first player to be named All-Star Game MVP in consecutive years, Trout set the tone for each game in his first at-bat. In 2014, he got the AL off to a strong start with a triple in the bottom of the first that drove in Derek Jeter in his final All-Star Game. The 22-year-old star then supplied a tiebreaking RBI double in the fifth that would stand as the game-winning hit. He would be named AL MVP for the first time a few months later.
In '15, Trout belted the sixth leadoff home run in All-Star Game history -- and the first in 26 years -- as part of another AL victory.
Cal Ripken Jr.: 1991 AL, 2001 AL
Before Ripken was named AL MVP in 1991, he took home All-Star Game MVP honors after bopping a three-run homer in the third inning off of Dennis Martinez as part of the junior circuit's 4-2 win. A decade later, baseball's Iron Man and 19-time All-Star delivered a career-capping exclamation point with a solo homer off of Chan Ho Park in his final All-Star appearance. That year's Midsummer Classic was partly a celebration of Ripken's incredible career anyway. What he did in-game just added to the moment.
Gary Carter: 1981 NL, '84 NL
The National League hit four homers in its 5-4 win in 1981. Two of those dingers came from Carter, making him the fifth player with a multihomer effort in the All-Star Game. His second-inning solo shot three years later turned out to be the deciding run in that game.
Steve Garvey: 1974 NL, '78 NL
Garvey was named to eight consecutive All-Star teams from 1974-81, and the first of his All-Star Game MVP awards coincided with his regular season MVP honors in 1974, when a 25-year-old Garvey went 2-for-4 with a game-tying RBI double. Four years later, he went 2-for-3 with a game-tying two-run single in the third and a leadoff triple in the ninth that spurred a decisive four-run rally.
Willie Mays: 1963 NL, '68 NL
As the Midsummer Classic's all-time leader in hits (23), runs (20) and stolen bases (six), Mays' production could have warranted more than two MVP awards. He filled up the box score in '63 -- two runs, two steals, a walk, an RBI single and an RBI groundout that drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning. Five years later, Mays singled and scored in the bottom of the first in what turned out to be the first 1-0 result in All-Star Game history.