This is probably the least controversial MMP vote yet. Unanimous MMP, near unanimous 2nd place. Top 5 appeared on all ballots.

1968 looks pretty uncontroversial on my ballot but we'll see what the rest of you think.

Do we want the 1968 thread up now, or do we want to wait until the New Year?

Go ahead and put the thread up. We can end the vote the 2nd Wed of the new year.

I'm gad that Yaz was unanimous. Despite some fine seasons from others, he deserved it.

Is there a link to see past results; beyond the results in the hot topics sections?

1961: Mickey Mantle, CF, New York Yankees (100%)
1962: Willie Mays, CF, San Francisco Giants (100%)
1963: Sandy Koufax, P, Los Angeles Dodgers (58.8%)
1964: Willie Mays, CF, San Francisco Giants (84.6%)
1965: Willie Mays, CF, San Francisco Giants (100%)
1966: Frank Robinson, RF, Baltimore Orioles (61.5%)
1967: Carl Yastrzemski, LF, Boston Red Sox (100%)

The MMP Pitcher of the Year (unofficial):

1961: undetermined/tie- Don Drysdale, Whitey Ford and Warren Spahn each received one 10th place vote
1962: Bob Purkey, Cincinnati Reds (6th overall)
1963: Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers (MMP)
1964: Dean Chance, Los Angeles Angels (4th overall)
1965: Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers (2nd overall)
1966: Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers (2nd overall)
1967: Jim Bunning, Philadelphia Phillies (8th overall)

Chris: can you further subdivide that into NL and AL?

Chris: can you further subdivide that into NL and AL?

Sure.

NL MMP

1961: Hank Aaron, CF/RF, Milwaukee Braves (3rd overall)
1962: Willie Mays, CF, San Francisco Giants (MMP)
1963: Sandy Koufax, P, Los Angeles Dodgers (MMP)
1964: Willie Mays, CF, San Francisco Giants (MMP)
1965: Willie Mays, CF, San Francisco Giants (MMP)
1966: Sandy Koufax, P, Los Angeles Dodgers (2nd overall)
1967: Ron Santo, 3B, Chicago Cubs (2nd overall)

AL MMP

1961: Mickey Mantle, CF, New York Yankees (MMP)
1962: Mickey Mantle, CF, New York Yankees (4th overall)
1963: undetermined/too close to call
1964: Dean Chance, P, Los Angeles Angels (4th overall)
1965: Zoilo Versalles, SS, Minnesota Twins (5th overall)
1966: Frank Robinson, RF, Baltimore Orioles (MMP)
1967: Carl Yastrzemski, LF, Boston Red Sox (MMP)


I left 1962 blank. In 1962, the top three American Leaguers finished 9th, 10th and 11th with 78, 76 and 74 points. Considering the low placement and the narrow margin, I didn't think that was a decisive ranking. It might be interesting to do an AL only run-off for 1962 with 5 slots instead of 10 to see who would actually finish first (we could do one for 1961 pitcher as well). For the record, the top three candidates were Gary Peters (P, Chicago White Sox), Bob Allison (RF, Minnesota Twins) and Elston Howard (C, New York Yankees).



Gary Peters, P, Chicago White Sox/ Bob Allison, RF, Minnesota Twins / Elston Howard, C, New York Yankees (9th-11th overall)

Typo check: I'm pretty sure that it was 1963 that Chris "left blank" and that entire paragraph in the post above is about 1963.

anyone have the combined MMP pts totals again? that was fun

and yes, the breakdowns are a little tricky because several voters may have had a batter 11th or 12th, but we can't tell that.

with pitchers, for example, we're in good shape I think on 1963-66 but less clear on other years.

Thanks, OCF. Your correction is correct.

and yes, the breakdowns are a little tricky because several voters may have had a batter 11th or 12th, but we can't tell that.

Exactly. The 1963 election was so close that one vote could make the difference between Peters finishing 1st or 3rd in the AL.

with pitchers, for example, we're in good shape I think on 1963-66 but less clear on other years.

The '62 and '67 pitchers didn't finish as high as Koufax and Chance in the overall voting but it isn't that murky.

In 1962, Bob Purkey was listed on 15 of 17 ballots for 134 points. The next four pitchers- Hank Aguirre, Camilo Pascual, Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson- were listed on 7 (Aguirre only) or 6 (the other three) ballots for 57, 52, 51 and 50 points respectively. I'd say 2nd through 5th are too close to call but Purkey has a pretty sizable lead over the rest of the field.

Looking a little deeper, Purkey was the first pitcher listed on 6 ballots. No other pitcher was listed first on more than 3 (with 5 pitchers being listed first at least once including starter/reliever Turk Farrell). It would have been a split election- similar to the '63 and '66 MMP votes- but Purkey would have likely prevailed.

In 1967, Jim Bunning was listed on 9 of 13 ballots for 84 points. Reliever Ted Abernathy received three votes total. Starters Joe Horlen, Fergie Jenkins and Gaylord Perry received one vote a piece. Once again, 2nd through 5th are too close to call (including the possibility that someone else could pass one of the vote getters). But Bunning has an overwhelming lead over everyone.

Digging deeper, Jim Bunning was listed first 9 times (including a 13th place spot). The next best finish is Nobody as two voters named no pitchers (and didn't mention their 11-15 votes). Abernathy and Horlen were each listed first once (and questioned by others). Bunning's margin of victory would probably be pretty similar to Willie Mays in '64- not quite unanimous, but still dominant.

Since I'm at it, I thought I'd take a deeper look at the '63 MMP as well. Most voters will list their top 15 or 20 as well as the required 10. Perhaps more information would provide a clearer picture.

1963 AL players only

Elston Howard comes out ahead with 53 points based on 6 1st place slots, 3 2nds, 3 3rds and 1 4th (5-4-3-2-1 points).
However, Gary Peters is right behind with 52 points on 6 1st place votes, 4 2nds, 1 3rd, 1 4th and 1 5th.
And Bob Allison is right there with 46 points based on 4 1st place votes, 5 2nds and 2 3rds.

That's certainly within the margin of error as 6 of 17 voters did not include any votes beyond the top ten (and 4 others included extra names but not enough to fill 5 slots worth of American Leaguers).

So, yup, too close to call.

For those interested- Pascual was a solid 4th, well behind the top three and well above anyone else. Teammates Carl Yastrzemski and Dick Radatz battled it out for 5th and 6th (Radatz made no actual ballots but showed up five times on extended lists). Tom Tresh was mentioned twice on actual ballots but couldn't crack any additional top fives- even with the longer lists. And Al Kaline made an appearance with one 5th place spot.

And one more for fun- the 1961 MMPitcher. In the actual voting, three pitchers each received one (token?) 10th place vote: Don Drysdale, Whitey Ford and Warren Spahn. Once again, a sizable number of voters mentioned their top 15 or 20 as well as the required 10. Would more information provide helpful this time? Why, yes, it would.

Warren Spahn was mentioned 8 times (out of 16 ballots cast). 4 times he was the first (or only) pitcher mentioned. 4 times he was second.
Whitey Ford was mentioned 5 times. Amusingly, he had 1 1st, 1 2nd, 1 3rd, 1 4th and 1 5th.
Frank Lary- who didn't receive any actual votes- was mentioned 4 times- 2 firsts and 2 fourths.
Don Drysdale was mentioned 3 times- 2 firsts and 1 second.
Jim O'Toole was also mentioned 3 times- 1 first, 1 third and 1 fifth.
Joey Jay, Sandy Koufax, Camilo Pascual and Juan Pizarro were each mentioned once (and never first).

We can't draw any definitive conclusions based on the scarcity of information. After all, many of the voters didn't mention additional names. Plus, some of the voters simply tossed out a bunch of pitchers in a row late in the list knowing that the actual order wouldn't matter much. But it looks likely that Spahn would have won the MMPitcher Award for 1961. He was mentioned more often than any other pitcher, by a significant margin, and invariably finished in the top two.

wow, good stuff there, Chris.

Ditto that.