Section 215
Fansided

Philadelphia Phillies MVP seasons ranked from the good to the greatest

By Tim Boyle

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 02: Ryan Howard #6 of the Philadelphia Phillies accepts a replica plaque from Mike Schmidt, commemorating his franchise single season high, 58th home run hit in the 2006 season during a pre game ceremony in his honor before a game a game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on October 2, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 02: Ryan Howard #6 of the Philadelphia Phillies accepts a replica plaque from Mike Schmidt, commemorating his franchise single season high, 58th home run hit in the 2006 season during a pre game ceremony in his honor before a game a game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on October 2, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images) /

Eight times a member of the Philadelphia Phillies left the season holding the National League MVP trophy. An annual honor as we know it today beginning in 1931, the Phillies have spread won it in five different decades and six different men have taken the award.

Not all MVP seasons are created equally. Some are better than others. Which Phillies MVP season is the all-time best?

8) Philadelphia Phillies MVP Jim Konstanty in 1950

I still have a tough time understanding exactly how Jim Konstanty won the 1950 MVP Award. The game was played differently back then. A reliever with 22 saves and a 2.66 ERA was a rare thing.

At age 33, Konstanty was already an unlikely contender for the MVP award. He had seen minimal big league action prior to the start of the season. He didn’t even debut until his age 27 season way back in 1944 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. Military service took him away from the 1945 campaign but he returned in 1946 for 15.1 innings.

He would then find his way to Philadelphia briefly in 1948 and in 1950, he put together one of the most unorthodox MVP seasons in MLB history. He struck out only six more batters than he walked (56 vs. 50) in 152 innings of work. These were hardly numbers we’d measure up against any relief pitcher of today.

With a 16-7 record out of the bullpen, I suppose Konstanty had a case. He was doing things rarely seen in the game.

What makes this an even more curious MVP case is how much of a runaway it was. Konstanty received 18 of the 24 first-place votes. Despite Stan Musial leading the league with a .346 batting average and Ralph Kiner slugging a National League-best 47 home runs, each only received a single first-place vote.

I suppose this was a case of “you had to be there” to appreciate it. I’m not sure I ever fully will.

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