Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers already parlayed his outstanding 2011 season into a huge payday - to the tune of $160 million - and later on Tuesday he will find out if he has the hardware to go with it. The National League MVP is the final award given out by the Baseball Writers Association of America, and will be announced at 11 a.m. PST on Tuesday.
It is highly likely the award will go to either Kemp or Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers. Should Kemp win, he would join these Dodgers to win the award:
-
1913: Jake Daubert (first baseman, hit .350/.405/.423; led league in batting average)
-
1924: Dazzy Vance (first Dodgers pitcher to win the pitching triple crown)
-
1941: Dolph Camili (was the last Dodger before Kemp to lead NL in homers and RBI in the same season)
-
1949: Jackie Robinson (led the league hitting .342, also had 66 extra-base hits, 122 runs, 124 RBI, and 37 steals)
-
1951: Roy Campanella (in just his third full season, Campy hit .325/.393/.590
-
1953: Roy Campanella (perhaps his finest season, hit .312/.395/.611 with 41 home runs, including then-record 40 as a catcher)
-
1955: Roy Campanella (hit .318 with 32 home runs for the Dodgers team that finally beat the New York Yankees in the World Series)
-
1956: Don Newcombe (Newcombe won 27 games and also captured the very first Cy Young Award)
-
1962: Maury Wills (broke Ty Cobb's single season record with 104 stolen bases)
-
1963: Sandy Koufax (Koufax also won the first of his three Cy Young Awards)
-
1974: Steve Garvey (from write-in All-Star to league MVP in a matter of months)
-
1988: Kirk Gibson (catalyst, along with Orel Hershiser, for the unlikely World Series winners)
Will Kemp join this list on Tuesday? We shall find out in a few hours.
For more on the Dodgers, be sure to read True Blue LA.