OUTSTANDING PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD

The Player's Choice for Best Player of the Year | Baseball Almanac

Since 1992, every player belonging to the Major League Baseball Players Association has been allowed to cast a vote on various categories in an effort to determine each year's winners of the Players Choice Awards.

The award titles have changed nearly every year since its inception, but the cause is the same as proceeds from the Players Choice Awards are used to benefit the Players Trust for Children. Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a comprehensive breakdown of every Outstanding Player of the Year Award recipient.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"It means a lot knowing the players voted for this (Players Choice Award). It's important because sometimes the media is very biased about who they like and who they don't like. The players give you an honest opinion." - Frank Thomas on ESPN2 (1993, Players Choice Awards, Live Speech)

Outstanding Player of the Year Award

Players Choice Outstanding Player of the Year Award

In Chronological Order

1992 Dennis Eckersley (1) AL Oakland Athletics P
Barry Bonds (1) NL Pittsburgh Pirates OF
1993 Frank Thomas (1) AL Chicago White Sox 1B
Barry Bonds (1) NL San Francisco Giants OF
1994 Frank Thomas (2) AL Chicago White Sox 1B
Jeff Bagwell (1) NL Houston Astros 1B
1995 Albert Belle (1) AL Cleveland Indians OF
Dante Bichette (1) NL Colorado Rockies OF
1996 Alex Rodriguez (1) AL Seattle Mariners SS
Ken Caminiti (1) NL San Diego Padres 3B
1997 Ken Griffey, Jr. (1) AL Seattle Mariners OF
Larry Walker (1) NL Colorado Rockies OF
1998 Alex Rodriguez (2) AL Seattle Mariners SS
Sammy Sosa (1) NL Chicago Cubs OF
1999 Manny Ramirez (1) AL Cleveland Indians OF
Chipper Jones (1) NL Atlanta Braves 3B
2000 Carlos Delgado (1) AL Toronto Blue Jays 1B
Todd Helton (1) NL Colorado Rockies 1B
2001 Alex Rodriguez (3) AL Texas Rangers SS
Barry Bonds (1) NL San Francisco Giants OF
2002 Alex Rodriguez (4) AL Texas Rangers SS
Barry Bonds (2) NL San Francisco Giants OF
2003 Alex Rodriguez (5) AL Texas Rangers SS
Albert Pujols (1) NL St. Louis Cardinals 3B
2004 Ichiro Suzuki (1) AL Seattle Mariners OF
Barry Bonds (3) NL San Francisco Giants OF
2005 David Ortiz (1) AL Boston Red Sox DH
Andruw Jones (1) NL Atlanta Braves OF
2006 Jermaine Dye (1) AL Chicago White Sox OF
Ryan Howard (1) NL Philadelphia Phillies 1B
2007 Alex Rodriguez (6) AL New York Yankees 3B
Prince Fielder (1) NL Milwaukee Brewers 1B
2008 Josh Hamilton AL Texas Rangers OF
Albert Pujols (2) NL St. Louis Cardinals 1B
2009 Joe Mauer (1) AL Minnesota Twins C
Albert Pujols (3) NL St. Louis Cardinals 1B
2010 Josh Hamilton (2) AL Texas Rangers OF
Carlos Gonzalez (1) NL Colorado Rockies OF
2011 Curtis Granderson (1) AL New York Yankees OF
Matt Kemp (1) NL Los Angeles Dodgers OF
2012 Miguel Cabrera (1) AL Detroit Tigers 3B
Andrew McCutchen (1) NL Pittsburgh Pirates OF
2013 Miguel Cabrera (2) AL Detroit Tigers 3B
Andrew McCutchen (1) NL Pittsburgh Pirates OF
2014 Mike Trout (1) AL Los Angeles Angels OF
Giancarlo Stanton (1) NL Miami Marlins OF
2015 Josh Donaldson (1) AL Toronto Blue Jays 3B
Bryce Harper (1) NL Washington Nationals RF
2016 Jose Altuve (1) AL Houston Astros 2B
Daniel Murphy (1) NL Washington Nationals 1B
2017 Jose Altuve (2) AL Houston Astros 2B
Giancarlo Stanton (1) NL Miami Marlins RF
2018 Mookie Betts (1) AL Boston Red Sox OF
Christian Yelich (1) NL Milwaukee Brewers OF
2019 Mike Trout (2) AL Los Angeles Angels OF
Anthony Rendon (1) NL Washington Nationals 3B
2020 Jose Abreu (1) AL Chicago White Sox 1B
Freddie Freeman (1) NL Atlanta Braves 1B
2021 Shohei Ohtani (1) AL Los Angeles Angels P / DH
Bryce Harper (2) NL Philadelphia Phillies OF
2022 Aaron Judge (1) AL New York Yankees OF/DH
Paul Goldschmidt (1) NL St. Louis Cardinals 1B
2023 Shohei Ohtani (2) AL Los Angeles Angels P / DH
Ronald Acuña Jr. (1) NL Atlanta Braves RF
2024 Not Yet Announced (x) AL -- --
Not Yet Announced (x) NL -- --
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Do you agree or disagree with the Outstanding Player of the Year Award selections made by the Major League Baseball Players Association? Would you have chosen differently? Share your opinion on our Baseball Almanac Facebook Group, on Baseball Almanac Twitter, via Baseball Almanac Messenger, or our baseball forum — Baseball Fever.

Did you know that the Players Choice Awards (click link to see them all on the same page) also includes awards for Outstanding Pitcher of the Year and Outstanding Rookie of the Year?

The first player to ever win an Outstanding Player of the Year Award twice — Barry Bonds (1992 & 1993), who was also the first player to win it during back-to-back seasons. The first player from the American League to win twice was Frank Thomas (1993 & 1994).