Acuña joins elite group with second BBWAA award

Players and skippers who have won 2 or more of the big 4

November 17th, 2023

When Ronald Acuña Jr. won the 2023 National League MVP Award and Shohei Ohtani won the honor in the American League -- each unanimously -- Acuña added his name to an impressive list of players to win multiple Baseball Writers’ Association of America awards, while Ohtani, already in that category, added a second MVP Award beside his name.

Below is a look at the players and managers who have taken home two or more of baseball's top yearly prizes -- Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and Manager of the Year.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, CY YOUNG AND MVP

Justin Verlander
2006 AL ROY, 2011 AL CY, 2011 AL MVP, 2019 AL CY, 2022 AL CY
After his 2006 Rookie of the Year campaign and '11 Cy Young and MVP season, the consistent, durable Verlander finished as the Cy Young runner-up three times ('12, '16, '18) before capturing the award a second time in 2019. He won a third Cy Young Award in '22, when he returned from Tommy John surgery to go 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA at the age of 39.

Don Newcombe
1949 NL ROY, 1956 NL CY, 1956 NL MVP
One of the pioneers of integrated baseball, Newcombe won Rookie of the Year for Branch Rickey's Dodgers and recorded his best season in 1956, three years after he returned from service in the Korean War.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AND CY YOUNG


2014 NL ROY, 2018 NL CY, 2019 NL CY
deGrom showed glimpses of greatness as part of an elite Mets rotation when he burst onto the scene as 2014 Rookie of the Year. Four years later, he put together one of the greatest pitching seasons of his era, while also prompting voters to look beyond traditional stats. And deGrom wasn't done, either, going back-to-back in 2019.

Dwight Gooden
1984 NL ROY, 1985 NL CY
As a 19-year-old, Gooden took the Majors by storm in '84, shattering Herb Score's Modern Era rookie strikeout record, with 276. The following year, Dr. K compiled a 1.53 ERA that hasn't been bested by any pitcher who has qualified for the ERA title.

Fernando Valenzuela
1981 NL ROY, 1981 CY
Valenzuela is the only player on this list to win the Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in the same season, leading the Majors with eight shutouts as "Fernandomania" became a cultural phenomenon.

Rick Sutcliffe
1979 NL ROY, 1984 NL CY
After the Indians traded Sutcliffe to the Cubs in 1984 with a 4-5 start and 5.15 ERA, the big righty stunned baseball, losing only one more game and unanimously winning the NL Cy Young Award.

Tom Seaver
1967 NL ROY; 1969, 1973, 1975 NL CY
The first of Seaver's three Cy Young Awards came in 1969, when he led MLB with 25 wins while pitching the "Miracle Mets" to their first World Series championship and finished as the NL MVP runner-up to Willie McCovey.

CY YOUNG AND MVP

Clayton Kershaw
2011, 2013, 2014 NL CY; 2014 NL MVP
Over a seven season stretch from 2011-17, Kershaw won three Cy Young Awards while finishing second twice, third once and fifth once. In all but one of those years, he also received MVP votes.

Dennis Eckersley
1992 AL CY, 1992 AL MVP
Would a closer win an MVP Award in today's game? Almost certainly not. But don't let that take away from Eck's at-times incomprehensible numbers. From 1989-90, the sidearm slinger saved 81 games and walked a combined seven batters.

Roger Clemens
1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001 AL CY; 2004 NL CY; 1986 AL MVP
A two-time Triple Crown winner and seven-time ERA champion, the Rocket was already the record holder with six Cy Young Awards when he won another in the NL for good measure -- at age 42.

Willie Hernandez
1984 AL CY, 1984 AL MVP
Hernandez became one of four relievers in history to win MVP during his first season with the Tigers, when he commanded 16 first-place votes to top an unspectacular field of position players led by Kent Hrbek.

Rollie Fingers
1981 AL CY, 1981 AL MVP
Fingers' 47 appearances and 78 innings pitched during his MVP season were actually the lowest of his lengthy career to that point, but so was his 1.04 ERA.

Vida Blue
1971 AL CY, 1971 AL MVP
At 21, the lefty became the youngest AL MVP of the 20th century during his 1971 campaign, when he started the year 16-2 with 16 complete games, including six shutouts.

Bob Gibson
1968 NL CY, 1968 NL MVP
Gibson's outrageous 1.12 ERA during the "Year of the Pitcher" is often cited as one of the reasons why MLB lowered the mound and reduced the size of the strike zone for the 1969 season. He was, quite literally, a game-changer.

Denny McLain
1968, 1969 AL CY; 1968 AL MVP
Even the most ardent opponents of the wins stat have to give a hat tip to McLain, who became one of only 11 pitchers in the 20th century to reach the 30-wins plateau, recording a 1.96 ERA in 336 innings in 1968.

Sandy Koufax
1963, 1965, 1966 CY; 1963 NL MVP
One of the greatest travesties in baseball history is that we'll never know how Koufax's career would have turned out had it not been cut short after a 1.86 ERA, three Cy Youngs, three top-two MVP finishes and a 382-strikeout season in his final four years.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AND MVP

Ronald Acuña Jr.
2018 NL ROY, 2023 NL MVP
We knew Acuña was going to be a special player for many years to come when he debuted his tremendous power and speed in a 2018 NL Rookie of the Year campaign. The next year, he nearly joined the 40-homer/40-steal club, belting 41 home runs and swiping 37 bags. Four years later, he hit another 41 homers and reversed the digits in the stolen base category, stealing an incredible 73 bases to inaugurate the 40-70 club. Acuña’s 2023 campaign was legendary for that accomplishment alone, but he also led the Majors with 217 hits, 149 runs scored and a .416 on-base percentage to capture his first career MVP honor.

Aaron Judge
2017 AL ROY, 2022 AL MVP
Judge just missed becoming the third player ever to be named Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season in 2017, when he came in second in AL MVP voting. Five years later, he put together one of the best offensive seasons in history – he broke Roger Maris’ 61-year-old AL record by hitting 62 home runs and led all of baseball in RBIs (131), runs scored (133), OBP (.425), SLG (.686), OPS (1.111) and OPS+ (211) – and finally took home the hardware that eluded him in his rookie campaign.

Shohei Ohtani
2018 AL ROY, 2021 AL MVP, 2023 AL MVP
Ohtani came to the Major Leagues from Japan with great fanfare and great expectations riding on his shoulders. He exceeded those expectations right out of the gate, winning the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year Award by posting a .925 OPS with 22 homers in 104 games at the plate, while pitching to a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts on the mound for the Angels. Three years later, Ohtani turned in an unprecedented performance with a .965 OPS and 46 homers at the plate, and a 3.28 ERA in 23 starts, unanimously winning the AL MVP Award. Then, in 2023, he had a career year at the plate, leading the Majors with a 1.066 OPS while belting 44 homers. He simultaneously posted a 3.14 ERA with a 31.4 percent strikeout rate in 23 starts on the mound to win his second unanimous MVP Award.

Bryce Harper
2012 NL ROY; 2015, 2021 NL MVP
Harper reached the big leagues as a teenager in 2012. Then at 20, he became the second-youngest player to win Rookie of the Year honors. He followed up that feat by winning the NL MVP Award just shy of his 23rd birthday. He won his second MVP honor six years later.

José Abreu
2014 AL ROY, 2020 AL MVP
Abreu arrived from Cuba as a fully formed hitting machine in 2014, producing one of the greatest offensive seasons by a rookie in baseball history (.964 OPS, 36 homers, 107 RBIs). He became a fixture in the White Sox lineup, re-signing with the club after the 2019 season and then leading the AL in hits, RBIs, slugging and total bases in the shortened ‘20 campaign to claim his first MVP Award.

Cody Bellinger
2017 NL ROY, 2019 NL MVP
Bellinger burst onto the scene by breaking the NL single-season rookie home run record in 2017, and displayed even more of his all-around game with a terrific follow-up two years later. The Dodgers star knocked 47 homers, stole 15 bases and played Gold Glove defense in center field to capture the NL MVP Award in ’19.

Kris Bryant
2015 NL ROY, 2016 NL MVP
The former No. 2 overall Draft pick broke out in his first Major League season in 2015, breaking Billy Williams' Cubs rookie home run record. Bryant took his game to another level in his sophomore campaign, becoming the first player to win the Golden Spikes Award (top college player), Minor League Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and MVP in four consecutive years.

Mike Trout
2012 AL ROY; 2014, 2016, 2019 AL MVP
Trout was named 2012 AL Rookie of the Year in his first full season and never looked back, becoming the first player in MLB history to finish in the top two in MVP voting in each of his first five full seasons in the Majors and winning the award in 2014, '16 and ‘19.

Buster Posey
2010 NL ROY, 2012 NL MVP
In his first year in the big leagues, Posey hit .305/.357/.505 and won a World Series with the Giants. Posey was named NL MVP two years later in another championship season for San Francisco.

Ryan Braun
2007 NL ROY, 2011 NL MVP
Braun clubbed 34 home runs and led the NL in slugging percentage in his first season in the big leagues. Four years later, he joined the 30-30 club and helped the Brewers win their first NL Central title in almost three decades with an MVP season.

Dustin Pedroia
2007 AL ROY, 2008 AL MVP
Pedroia won the AL Rookie of the Year Award and a World Series in 2007, then the diminutive second baseman was named AL MVP the following year after leading the league in hits, runs and doubles.

Ryan Howard
2005 NL ROY, 2006 NL MVP
Jim Thome's season-ending elbow injury in 2005 opened the door for Howard to assume everyday first-base duties with the Phillies, and he rewarded them with a Rookie of the Year season. He then led the Majors in home runs the next year, winning the NL MVP Award.

Albert Pujols
2001 NL ROY; 2005, 2008, 2009 NL MVP
The three-time MVP began his career by being unanimously voted 2001 NL Rookie of the Year with the Cardinals. He hit .329/.403/.610 with 37 home runs, 47 doubles and 130 RBIs as a 21-year-old third baseman.

Ichiro Suzuki
2001 AL ROY, 2001 AL MVP
After nine seasons in Japan, Ichiro signed with the Mariners at 27 years old and had an impact with 242 hits (the first of 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons), 56 stolen bases and a .350 batting average en route to AL Rookie of the Year and MVP honors.

Jeff Bagwell
1991 NL ROY, 1994 NL MVP
The longtime Astro jumped from Double-A to the Majors in 1991 and became the first player in franchise history to win the Rookie of the Year Award. He was later unanimously voted NL MVP during the strike-shortened 1994 season.

Jose Canseco
1986 AL ROY, 1988 AL MVP
Canseco enjoyed a fast start to his 17-year career, winning Rookie of the Year in 1986, then he was named MVP after leading the Majors in home runs (42), RBIs (124) and slugging (.569) in '88.

Cal Ripken Jr.
1982 AL ROY; 1983, 1991 AL MVP
One of baseball's most productive shortstops won AL Rookie of the Year and MVP in back-to-back years. It was the first of his two MVP Awards (also 1991).

Andre Dawson
1977 NL ROY, 1987 NL MVP
Dawson began his career with the Montreal Expos with a Rookie of the Year campaign. Ten years later, he signed with the Cubs and opened his Chicago tenure with 49 home runs, 137 RBIs and an NL MVP Award.

Fred Lynn
1975 AL ROY, 1975 AL MVP
Lynn made the first of nine consecutive All-Star appearances and enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career as a rookie in 1975. He hit .331/.401/.566 with 47 doubles, 21 homers and 105 RBIs.

Thurman Munson
1970 AL ROY, 1976 AL MVP
Munson's career was tragically cut short by a fatal plane crash in 1979, but the Yankees catcher was well-decorated throughout his 11 years in the big leagues, which featured seven All-Star appearances, three Gold Gloves, a Rookie of the Year Award and MVP honors.

Johnny Bench
1968 NL ROY; 1970, 1972 NL MVP
The Hall of Famer spent his entire 17-year career in Cincinnati and played on the "Big Red Machine" teams that dominated the NL in the 1970s. A 14-time All-Star, Bench clubbed 40 or more homers in both of his MVP campaigns.

Rod Carew
1967 AL ROY, 1977 AL MVP
Carew's Hall of Fame career began with the first of his 18 straight All-Star appearances and an impressive rookie showing. It wasn't until his 11th year in the Majors that he earned MVP status, leading the league in runs (128), hits (239), triples (16), batting average (.388), on-base percentage (.449) and OPS (1.1019).

Dick Allen
1964 NL ROY, 1972 AL MVP
Allen hit .318, hit 29 home runs and led the Majors with 125 runs scored as a rookie in 1964. He enjoyed arguably the most successful stretch of his career during a three-year All-Star run with the White Sox that began with an MVP season.

Pete Rose
1963 NL ROY, 1973 NL MVP
MLB's all-time hits leader batted .273 as a rookie in 1963. He received MVP consideration for much of his career, winning the award in '73 when he totaled a career-best 230 hits and batted .338.

Willie McCovey
1959 NL ROY, 1969 NL MVP
McCovey played in just 52 games as a rookie in 1959, but still won NL Rookie of the Year honors. He slugged 13 homers, hit .354/.429/.656 and had a 22-game hitting streak. Ten years later, McCovey hit an NL-leading 45 home runs and 126 RBIs in his 1969 NL MVP campaign.

Orlando Cepeda
1958 NL ROY, 1967 NL MVP
Cepeda's 1967 MVP season helped the Cardinals win a World Series. Nearly a decade prior, the Hall of Famer began his career by hitting .312 with 38 doubles and 25 homers in his first season with the Giants.

Willie Mays
1951 NL ROY; 1954, 1965 NL MVP
Mays reached the big leagues in 1951 and turned in a Rookie of the Year campaign. His career was interrupted the following season when he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War, but when he returned, he was better than ever. He hit a career-best .345 with 41 home runs and won the first of his two NL MVP Awards.

Jackie Robinson
1947 MLB ROY, 1949 NL MVP
Robinson's rookie season was momentous not only for its societal impact as he broke MLB's color barrier, but he also excelled on the field, winning MLB's inaugural Rookie of the Year Award. He also became the first African-American player to win an MVP Award.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR, ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AND MVP

Frank Robinson
1989 AL MOY, 1956 NL ROY, 1961 NL MVP, 1966 AL MVP
The Reds and Orioles legend became the first African-American manager in Major League history when he was named the player-manager of the Indians in 1975, and he made another splash in Baltimore when he led the Orioles to a 33-win jump from 1988 to '89.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR AND MVP

Don Mattingly
2020 NL MOY, 1985 AL MVP
Mattingly is no stranger to awards, taking home three Silver Sluggers and nine Gold Gloves in addition to his MVP trophy. The sweet-swinging first baseman got into coaching after his 14-year playing career and managed the Dodgers from 2011-15 before moving to Miami. In his fifth season with the Marlins, he led the club through a COVID-19 outbreak and snapped a 16-season playoff drought, upsetting the Cubs in the three-game Wild Card Series.

Kirk Gibson
2011 NL MOY, 1988 NL MVP
The Dodgers' postseason hero and 1988 NL MVP led the D-backs to a surprising NL West title in 2011, a season after taking over managerial duties from AJ Hinch in a midseason change.

Joe Torre
1996, 1998 AL MOY; 1971 NL MVP
Before his legendary managerial career -- which included two Manager of the Year nods -- Torre won a batting title (.363) and led the NL with 137 RBIs during a 1971 MVP campaign.

Don Baylor
1995 NL MOY, 1979 AL MVP
The best season of Baylor's career came in 1979, when he made his lone All-Star appearance and paced the AL in runs (120) and RBIs (139) as the league MVP. He followed up his 19 years in the big leagues with nine years as manager of the Rockies and Cubs.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR AND ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Lou Piniella
2008 NL MOY, 1969 AL ROY
Lou Piniella batted leadoff in the first game in Kansas City Royals history in 1969 and finished that season as AL Rookie of the Year. After a successful playing career, Piniella had an even more successful managerial career with the Yankees, Reds, Mariners, Rays and Cubs.

Ozzie Guillen
2005 AL MOY, 1985 AL ROY
Twenty years after winning the 1985 AL Rookie of the Year Award with the White Sox, Guillen guided the franchise to World Series championship as skipper. Chicago went 99-63 and won its first title in 88 years as Guillen earned AL Manager of the Year honors.