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.
7) Philadelphia Phillies MVP Bryce Harper in 2021
The most recent of the MVPs won by a Phillies player came in 2021 when Bryce Harper swept it up. Like Konstanty, his numbers may not have been historic. However, at least in the eyes of the voters, it was a pretty easy choice. Harper received 17 of the 30 first-place votes and won rather handily.
Harper did lead the league in a couple of important statistics. These numbers include 42 doubles, a .615 slugging percentage, a 1.044 OPS, and 179 OPS+. Harper was among the league leaders in a couple of other categories. And while we would have liked to see him finish with more than 84 RBI, he did cross the plate 101 times.
Unlike many other MVPs we see in baseball, this was not a season of accumulating huge statistics. Instead, he relied on percentages like the previously mentioned OPS to help him stand out from the crowd.
Interestingly enough, this is now Harper’s second MVP award without 100 RBI in his back pocket. In fact, he has only ever reached triple-digits twice in his career now; doing so in his final season with the Washington Nationals and first with the Phillies in 2019.
Harper is built differently than most of the game’s best players. Walks are huge for him. Whether or not they’re as good as a hit is debatable. For sure, he’s the reigning NL MVP.
6) Philadelphia Phillies MVP Jimmy Rollins in 2007
In 1950, the Phillies winning the National League pennant surely helped his MVP case. The same was true for Jimmy Rollins in 2007. Without the Phillies winning the National League East, I’m not so sure he gets enough votes.
Nevertheless, it was a fantastic year for J-Roll and an outlier for his whole career. Playing in all 162 games, Rollins led the league in plate appearances, at-bats, and did it with more runs scored (139) and triples (20) than anyone else in the league. He slashed .296/.344/.531 and stole 41 bases.
Whipping out a different type of skill for this season, we also watched Rollins hit 30 of his 231 career home runs. He also happened to drive in 94, a personal best for the Phillies shortstop.
Rollins was more than just a bat. This was the first year he would also win a Gold Glove—one of four he would finish his career with.
The voting included a tight race between him and slugger Matt Holliday, a representative of the Colorado Rockies who would defeat the Phillies in the postseason. A larger number of first-place votes (16 to 11) pushed Rollins into a 79% share of the vote share compared to Holliday’s 75%. It was a close race but for the second time in two years, a Phillies player was the winner.
5) Philadelphia Phillies MVP Mike Schmidt in 1986
The last of three MVP Awards Mike Schmidt would win took place in 1986. The 36-year-old third baseman was approaching the end but for the final time in his illustrious career, he would lead the league in the same areas he typically did in his heyday. Maybe it’s because the “heyday” wasn’t over quite yet.
Schmidt slugged a National League-leading 37 home runs and added 119 RBI—another league-best total. His .547 slugging percentage and .937 OPS also sat atop as the best among his peers.
After two straight years of hitting .277, Schmidt lifted up his career batting average a few more points. He would slash .290/390/.547 this year all while winning his final Gold Glove.
Although this wasn’t the official end of Schmidt (he’d hit .293/.388/.548 with 35 home runs and 113 RBI the following season), this year marked his final with real MVP consideration. It’s just unfortunate that the Phillies weren’t a very good team at this point in his career. Fortunately, it wasn’t enough for the voters to look elsewhere when filling out their ballots. Schmidt would receive 15 of the first-place votes with Glenn Davis finishing a distant second with six.
Few players had the amount of raw power and ability to steal runs with his glove like Schmidt. The 1986 season reminded everyone just how one-of-a-kind he was.
4) Philadelphia Phillies MVP Mike Schmidt in 1980
It’s hard to rate Mike Schmidt’s MVP seasons because of how amazing each of them was. In particular, how do you compare his other two when each has a pair of thick legs to stand on?
Sandwiched in between his best, I’m putting the 1980 performance. Even if this year included his high of 48 home runs and 121 RBI (again, league-leading totals), it’s only going to finish fourth on this list among all Phillies MVPs.
This was a season that for most other franchises might fall in as the greatest ever. Schmidt didn’t just hit for power. While also winning a Gold Glove, Michael Jack slashed .286/.380/.624. It was a season of driving the ball a long way. Aside from leading the league in home runs, he also had 13 sacrifice flies.
Schmidt was the unanimous winner this time around. His two-way abilities and humungous numbers made it easy for voters to do the obvious and give Schmidt what would be only his first MVP.
As die-hard Phillies fans will recall, he would even end up getting another that same year when his playoff performance gave him the World Series MVP as well. It was a fitting end to one of the greatest MVP seasons any player has had in a Phillies uniform or otherwise.
3) Philadelphia Phillies MVP Ryan Howard in 2006
I’m trying not to be biased with Ryan Howard. I really am. The 2006 MVP he took home was memorable for me. As someone who didn’t follow baseball until a few years after the 1993 season, this was a crowning achievement in my fandom. Not only were the Phillies becoming a contender, but they also had the best player in the league on their roster.
Howard did things in 2006 that if he did it only a few more times he might have a strong Hall of Fame case.
Following up on an impressive 88-game Rookie of the Year campaign, Howard turned into one of the game’s biggest threats at the plate. “The Big Piece” would hit a monstrous 58 home runs and drive in 149 runs. It would become a constant for the Phillies’ first baseman for the next few seasons to put up similar numbers. Through 2009, he always had at least 45 home runs and his RBI low was 136.
The 2006 MVP campaign stands out for another reason, though. Howard slashed .313/.425/.659. Competing against Albert Pujols, a purer hitter playing for Howard’s hometown St. Louis Cardinals at the time, the great Phillies left-handed slugger came away on top thanks to 20 first-place votes compared to the 12 Pujols received.
I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to rank this season higher. For the context of the times, it wasn’t too unique. But for the next Phillies MVP on our list, what he did was a little more unprecedented.
2) Phillies MVP Chuck Klein in 1932
The first MVP Award in Phillies history went to Chuck Klein in 1932. If you’re reading this and you were around for it, good for you!
Only a season after the MVP became an award you could win multiple times, Klein followed up his runner-up spot in 1931 with a victory in 1932. He led the league in a lot of areas. Among them, Klein had the most runs scored (152), hits (226), home runs (38), stolen bases (20), slugging percentage (.646), and OPS (1.050).
Perhaps the most amazing thing about Klein’s season is that a lot of these totals weren’t even personal bests. Klein was an absolute stud in an area of Phillies baseball where the franchise was glued to the basement of the league.
Making this MVP season even more impressive is the fact that he had to compete against pitchers. This was pre-Cy Young Award when pitchers were also competing to be named the league’s most valuable player. Klein’s 1932 MVP win came with a pitcher close behind, Lon Warneke of the Chicago Cubs.
Klein would follow up his MVP performance with another second-place finish in 1933. He would actually never again receive any consideration for the honor thereafter. Klein’s best seasons came at a transitional period for the game of baseball. While many aren’t around who remember it, the history books help paint a picture of just how great he was.
1) Phillies MVP Mike Schmidt 1981
The 1981 MLB season was a strange one for the Phillies. Coming off of their first-ever championship, games were lost mid-year due to a player’s strike. The Phillies ended up playing only 107 games but because of the decision to split the season, they were able to make the postseason because they finished the first half as the NL East leaders. A big reason for it: the performance of Schmidtty…or is it Shmitty?
Schmidt was well on his way to surpassing the monster numbers he posted in 1980. He wouldn’t get a chance but that doesn’t take away from the magic he did create in 1981.
In only 102 games played, Schmidt scored 78 runs, hit 31 home runs, drove in 91, walked 73 times, and boasted some other numbers that led the league. His .435 OBP, .644 slugging percentage, and 1.080 OPS all led the National League that season.
Schmidt also happened to do something he wasn’t known for. He actually hit for a good average. The season finished with Schmidt as the owner of a shiny .316 batting average. It didn’t lead the league. But thanks to his tremendous power, he had the best WAR among National League position players, concluding the year with a whopping 7.7 total in this statistic despite all of the missed games.
Schmidt received all but three of the first-place votes and managed to capture his second MVP this season. It’s just unfortunate we didn’t get to see what he could have done with a full schedule. I don’t think this should take away from the performance.