In 1968, St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Bob Gibson had a year. Not only did he post an incredible record of 22-9, but he posted the lowest single-season earned run average (1.12) since 1914. As Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully once said of Gibson: “He pitches as though he’s double–parked.” So great was Gibson’s season that received 14 first-place votes (86%) for the 1968 National League’s Most Valuable Player, which he won handily over runner-up Pete Rose.

Since that time and for reasons that only they know, the often questioned (and more often criticized) Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) have awarded the National League MVP title to exactly zero pitchers – this in spite of the incredible accomplishments of guys like Dwight Gooden, Tom Seaver, John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton and Juan Marichal (to name only a few). Yet across the aisle, these exact same BBWAA members awarded the American League MVP title to six different pitchers (seven if you count Denny McLain, who also won in 1968 opposite Bob Gibson).

This trend took a sharp turn on Thursday morning when the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA) selected Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw as their choice for the 2014 NL MVP only 24 hours after they selected him as the 2014 NL Cy Young award winner.

If the BBWAA does as the IBWAA did, Clayton Kershaw will become the first National League pitcher in 46 years to win the Most Valuable Player award. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Now granted, the IBWAA doesn’t have the clout nor history that the BBWAA has enjoyed since 1908 and their winners are not nationally recognized as the actually award winners, but the IBWAA is gaining popularity (and steam), with many of their members also belonging to the BBWAA. And while the BBWAA followed the IBWAA’s selection of Kershaw for the 2014 NL Cy Young award, they gave the AL Cy Young award to Cleveland’s Corey Kluber whereas the IBWAA went with the statistically-better Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.

Over on the American League side, the IBWAA selected Angels superstar Mike Trout as their choice for the 2014 AL MVP. This one was a no-brainer and the voting wasn’t even close. Trout had what was clearly an MVP-caliber season with an AL-leading 111 RBIs, 115 runs scored and 338 total bases. And even though his .287 batting average ranked 14th-best in the AL, his 36 home runs were 3rd-most, as was his impressive .939 OPS.

It seems only fitting that the 2014 NL MVP struck out the the 2014 AL MVP during interleague play at Dodger Stadium on August 5, 2014. Of course Trout also singled and doubled off of Kershaw in that game as well. Go figure.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Here are the 2014 IBWAA MVP voting results as tabulated by Brian Wittig & Associates:

NL MVP 

1^st Place:     Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers – 1762 points
2^nd Place:     Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins – 1430
3^rd Place:     Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates – 1365

4^th Place:     Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants – 769

5^th Place:     Jonathan Lucroy, Milwaukee Brewers – 758

6^th Place:     Anthony Rendon , Washington Nationals – 619

7^th Place:     Josh Harrison, Pittsburgh Pirates – 286

8^th Place:     Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers – 246

9^th Place:     Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers – 241

10^th Place:     Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers – 224

AL MVP

1^st Place:     Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 2141 points
2^nd Place:     Victor Martinez, Detroit Tigers – 927
3^rd Place:     Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians – 726

4^th Place:     Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox – 658

5^th Place:     Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners – 597

6^th Place:     Josh Donaldson, Oakland Athletics – 583

7^th Place:     Jose Altuve, Houston Astros – 560

8^th Place:     Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays – 533

9th Place:     Nelson Cruz, Baltimore Orioles – 447

10^th Place:     Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers – 437

Here’s how yours truly voted (Top-3 only)

NL MVP

1^st Place:     Clayton Kershaw
2^nd Place:     Giancarlo Stanton
3^rd Place:     Josh Harrison

AL MVP

1^st Place:     Mike Trout
2^nd Place:     Victor Martinez
3^rd Place:     Jose Altuve

About the IBBWA

The IBWAA was established July 4, 2009 to organize and promote the growing online baseball media, and to serve as a digital alternative to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). Voting for full season awards takes place in September of each year, with selections being announced in November. The IBWAA also holds a Hall of Fame election in December of each year, with results being announced the following January.

In 2010, the IBWAA began voting in its own relief pitcher category, establishing the Rollie Fingers American League Relief Pitcher of the Year and the Hoyt Wilhelm National League Relief Pitcher of the Year Awards.

Among others, IBWAA members include Jim Bowden, Jim Caple, Mike Petriello, David Schoenfield, Mark A. Simon and Dan Szymborski, ESPN.com; Kevin Baxter Los Angeles Times; Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports; Craig Calcaterra, NBC Sports Hardball Talk; Bill Chuck, GammonsDaily.com; Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; King Kaufman, Bleacher Report; Kevin Kennedy, Kostya Kennedy, Sports Illustrated; Jonah Keri, Grantland; Vlae Kershner, SFGate.com; Chuck Culpepper and Will Leitch, Sports on Earth; Jill Painter Lopez, FoxSportsWest.com, Bruce Markusen, Hardball Times; Ross Newhan; Dayn Perry and Matt Snyder, CBSSports.com; Mark Purdy, San Jose Mercury News; Eno Sarris and Wendy Thurm, FanGraphs; Tom Hoffarth and J.P. Hoornstra Los Angeles Daily News; Pedro Moura, Orange County Register; Neil Payne, FiveThirtyEight.com, Tracy Ringolsby, MLB.com, Ken Rosenthal, FoxSports.com, Dan Schlossberg, USA Today and Jesse Spector, Sporting News.

Association membership is open to any and all Internet baseball writers, with a yearly fee of $20, or $35 lifetime. Discounts for groups and scholarships are available. Members must be 18 years of age to apply.

For more information please visit www.ibwaa.com.