Bob Turley
Turley in 1959
Pitcher
Born: (1930-09-19)September 19, 1930 Troy, Illinois
Died: March 30, 2013(2013-03-30) (aged 82) Atlanta, Georgia
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 29, 1951, for the St. Louis Browns
Last MLB appearance
September 21, 1963, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	101–85
Earned run average	3.64
Strikeouts	1,265
Teams
St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (1951, 1953–1954) New York Yankees (1955–1962) Los Angeles Angels (1963) Boston Red Sox (1963)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Star (1954, 1955, 1958) 2× World Series champion (1956, 1958) Cy Young Award (1958) World Series MVP (1958) AL wins leader (1958) AL strikeout leader (1954)

Robert Lee Turley (September 19, 1930 – March 30, 2013), known as "Bullet Bob", was an American professional baseball player and financial planner. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1951 through 1963. After his retirement from baseball, he worked for Primerica Financial Services.

Turley made his MLB debut with the St. Louis Browns in 1951, and stayed with the team through their first season in Baltimore, when he appeared in his first MLB All-Star Game. After the 1954 season, he was traded to the New York Yankees. With the Yankees, Turley appeared in two more All-Star Games. He led the American League in wins in 1958, and won the Cy Young Award, World Series Most Valuable Player Award, and Hickok Belt that year. He finished his playing career with the Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox in 1963, and then coached the Red Sox in 1964.

Turley began working in financial planning during the baseball offseason. In 1977, he cofounded with Arthur L. Williams, Jr. the company that would become Primerica Financial Services. He also got involved in real estate, buying and selling 27 houses in Florida.

Early life[edit]

Turley was born in Troy, Illinois.^[1] He was raised in East St. Louis, Illinois. He attended East St. Louis Senior High School in East St. Louis, and played for the school's baseball squad. He was used as both a starter and reliever during the season, becoming the staff's ace pitcher by the end of the season. Turley won the team's sportsmanship award that year.^[2]

Bill DeWitt, the general manager of the St. Louis Browns, brought Turley to Sportsman's Park for a tryout. Turley also attended a workout camp for the New York Yankees, held in Maryville, Illinois. The day after he graduated from high school in 1948, Turley signed with the Browns as an amateur free agent.^[2] He received a $600 signing bonus ($5,909 in current dollar terms).^[3]

Professional career[edit]

Minor leagues and St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles[edit]

Turley made his professional debut that year in minor league baseball with the Belleville Stags of the Class D Illinois State League, pitching to a 9–3 win–loss record.^[2] He was promoted to the Aberdeen Pheasants of the Class C Northern League in 1949, and led the league in wins with 23, and strikeouts with 205.^[2][4] He split the 1950 season with the Wichita Indians of the Class A Western League and the San Antonio Missions of the Class AA Texas League. Turley led Wichita in the Western League playoffs.^[5] In 1951, he played for San Antonio. He appeared in the Texas League's All-Star Game,^[6] and was named the league's most valuable player at the end of the season.^[7] He struck out 22 batters in one game for San Antonio.^[4]

Turley played his first game in the major leagues on September 29, 1951. He lost to the Chicago White Sox. He did not pitch again in 1951, and after the season ended, he enlisted with the United States Army for two years.^[7][8] Turley returned to the Browns in August 1953, and caught attention for his high strikeout rate.^[9] Turley remained with the team after they moved to Baltimore, Maryland, to become the Baltimore Orioles in 1954. He earned $9,000 ($79,305 in current dollar terms) for the 1954 season.^[10] He pitched the first game at Memorial Stadium, striking out nine in a complete game.^[11] A power pitcher, Turley recorded many strikeouts, but also did not have great control.^[12][13] For the 1954 season, he led the American League in strikeouts with 185, but also led the league with 181 walks.^[14] That year, he earned comparisons to fellow fireballer Bob Feller,^[13][15][16] and finished in third place in balloting for the Hickok Belt, given to the professional athlete of the year.^[17]

While playing for the Orioles, Turley obtained the nickname "Bullet Bob". The magazine Look wrote a story about Turley, and wanted to measure the velocity of his fastball. They used a bullet timer from the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, which recorded a speed of 98 miles per hour (158 km/h) by the time it reached home plate.^[3]

Casey Stengel, the manager of the New York Yankees, sought to acquire Turley. The Yankees needed younger starting pitchers, as their rotation fell off due to the ages of Allie Reynolds, Eddie Lopat, Johnny Sain, Tommy Byrne, and Jim Konstanty.^[18] In order to acquire the hitting the Orioles decided they needed to compete, they traded Turley to the Yankees after the 1954 season.^[14][19] The Yankees received Turley, Billy Hunter, Don Larsen, and players to be named later, while the Orioles acquired Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Willy Miranda, Hal Smith, Gus Triandos, Gene Woodling, and players to be named later. To complete the trade, the Yankees sent Bill Miller, Kal Segrist, Don Leppert and Ted Del Guercio to the Orioles, and the Orioles sent Mike Blyzka, Darrell Johnson, Jim Fridley and Dick Kryhoski to the Yankees. Comprising 17 players, this trade remains the largest in MLB history.^{[11][18][20][21]}

New York Yankees[edit]

Turley played for the Yankees from 1955 to 1962. In the 1955 season, Turley won 17 games for the Yankees,^[22] and recorded 210 strikeouts, second to Herb Score (245). But, he also led the league in walks with 177.^[4][23] The Yankees won the American League pennant, and advanced to the 1955 World Series, opposing the Brooklyn Dodgers. He pitched in Game Three of the 1955 World Series,^[24] losing to Johnny Podres. He also made two relief appearances in the series, in Games Five and Seven, as the Dodgers defeated the Yankees four games to three.^[25]

Turley had a disappointing season in 1956, with an 8–4 win–loss record and a 5.05 earned run average (ERA).^[22] However, the Yankees again won the American League pennant. Turley appeared in Games One and Two of the 1956 World Series against the Dodgers as a relief pitcher. Facing Clem Labine in Game Six, Turley pitched a complete game, but the Yankees lost the game by a 1–0 score.^[26] The Yankees defeated the Dodgers in Game Seven to win the series four games to three.^[27]

In the 1957 season, Turley developed a curveball.^[12] He finished the season with a 2.71 ERA, good for fourth best in the American League.^[28] The Yankees won the pennant again. In the 1957 World Series against the Milwaukee Braves, Turley started Game Three, but was relieved by Larsen in the second inning.^[29] He won his first World Series game in Game Six, a complete game.^[14] The Yankees lost the series to the Braves, four games to three.^[29]

By the 1958 season, Turley changed his delivery in an effort to improve his control, by using a no-wind up pitching position.^[4][30] His best season came in 1958, when he won 21 games and lost seven, for an American League-leading .750 winning percentage. He also led the American League with 19 complete games, and finished with the sixth-best ERA (2.97). However, his 128 walks also led the league.^[31] Turley started his 1958 World Series on a low note, giving up a leadoff home run and lasting just one-third of an inning as the Yankees fell behind the Milwaukee Braves two games to none.^[32] With the Yankees one game away from elimination, Turley threw a complete game shutout in Game Five. He then recorded a 10th-inning save in Game Six.^[32] A day later, in Game Seven, he relieved Don Larsen in the third inning and won his second game in three days, with 6 ²⁄₃ innings of two-hit relief.^[32] The Yankees became just the second team to recover from a 3–1 World Series deficit, and Turley was voted the World Series Most Valuable Player Award.^[32] As a result of his 1958 season, Turley won the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year, receiving twice as many votes as Jim Brown, the second-place finisher.^[33] He also won the Cy Young Award as the best pitcher in Major League Baseball, edging Warren Spahn of the Braves by one vote, and Lew Burdette of the Braves and Bob Friend of the Pittsburgh Pirates by two votes.^[32][34] Turley finished second in the American League Most Valuable Player Award voting, losing to Jackie Jensen of the Boston Red Sox.^[3][35]

Turley earned a $35,000 salary for the 1959 season, his highest as a baseball player.^[36][37] The Yankees chose Turley to be their Opening Day starting pitcher for the 1959 season, opposing Tom Brewer of the Red Sox.^[38] The Yankees won the game by a 3–2 score.^[39] However, Turley's fastball began to lose its effectiveness. He increased the usage of his curveball to compensate.^[30] Turley finished the year with an 8–11 win-loss record. In the 1960 season, Turley had a 9–3 win-loss record,^[40] and his 3.27 ERA was the seventh best in the American League.^[41] He started Game Two of the 1960 World Series against the Pirates, earning the win. He also started the deciding Game Seven, which the Pirates won, taking the series.^[42]

Turley suffered troubles with his right elbow in the 1961 season, which resulted in a 3–5 win-loss record and 5.75 ERA in only 15 games pitched.^[43] New manager Ralph Houk removed Turley from the starting rotation, using him as a relief pitcher.^[44] Though the Yankees reached the 1961 World Series, and defeated the Cincinnati Reds four games to one, Turley did not make an appearance.^[45] After seeking medical attention,^[46] Turley was diagnosed with bone chips in his elbow. He underwent surgery in the offseason to remove the bone chips, and returned to the Yankees confident his performance would improve in 1962. He agreed to a salary cut, from $28,000 to $25,000.^[47] However, the bone chips recurred during the 1962 season. As a result, his effectiveness was limited in 1962 as well.^[48] On June 25, Turley started a game that lasted 22 innings, and a record seven hours, but was removed after recording only one out.^[49] During the 1962 season, American League players elected Turley as their player representative, following Woodling's trade to the National League.^[50][51] Over the season, Turley pitched to a 4.57 ERA in only 69 innings.^[52] The Yankees defeated the San Francisco Giants four games to three in the 1962 World Series, but Turley was not an active participant.^[53]

Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox, and coaching[edit]

After the 1962 season, the Yankees sold Turley to the Los Angeles Angels for cash, in the first move made by new Yankees' general manager Roy Hamey.^[48] The move was conditional; the Angels could return Turley if they were not satisfied with him. The Angels chose to retain Turley at the start of the 1963 season;^[54] however, he struggled, and the Angels released him in July.^[55] A week later, he signed with the Boston Red Sox.^[56] Turley retired after the 1963 season, with a 101–85 win-loss record and a 3.64 ERA in 12 seasons.^[21]

After the 1963 season, Turley agreed to remain with the Red Sox as their pitching coach, replacing Harry Dorish.^[57] Turley spent one season as the Red Sox' pitching coach,^[30] and was released at the end of the year.^[58] He attempted to make a comeback with the Houston Colt .45s in 1965,^[59] but did not make the team. He then agreed to become the pitching coach for the Richmond Braves of the International League, a minor leagues team in the Atlanta Braves organization in 1966,^[60] but resigned before the start of the 1966 season.^[61][62]

Personal[edit]

Turley moved from East St. Louis to Lutherville, Maryland in 1954, when the Browns moved to Baltimore. Though he played in Baltimore for one season, he remained in Lutherville for the remainder of his baseball career, and sent his children to the local public schools.^[11]

Turley began working as a financial planner in 1957, by selling life insurance.^[36] He also operated a bowling alley in Bel Air, Maryland, and an insurance firm in Baltimore.^[11]

In 1977, Turley joined with Arthur L. Williams, Jr. and five others to found A. L. Williams & Associates, an insurance company.^[3][63] At A. L. Williams, agents advised clients to purchase term life insurance, rather than cash value life insurance, and invest the money they saved in mutual funds.^[36] The company became Primerica Financial Services, and was later bought out by Citigroup in 1989.^[36] He earned more money in financial services than he did as a professional baseball player. In the 1995 version of the Primerica Financial Independence Council, it states that he was paid $150,000 as a professional baseball player compared to his $2,000,000 that he earned through working with Primerica.^[64] He retired from the business in 2001, and sold half of his business to his son and the other half to Lynn Webb, a senior national sales director.^[3]

Later in his life, Turley resided in Blue Ridge, Georgia, and had a winter home on Marco Island, Florida.^[3][36] Turley's hobby was real estate. He bought and sold many homes on Marco Island, including a 13,500 square feet (1,250 m²) home he built that was locally referred to as "Turley Mansion" and "Turley Castle". In total, Turley and his wife bought and sold 27 houses on Marco Island and in Naples, Florida.^[3]

Turley made an appearance on It's News to Me, a current events-based game show hosted by Walter Cronkite. He was mentioned in a song called "St. Louis Browns" by Skip Battin, who was the bass guitarist of The Byrds and the New Riders of the Purple Sage. In the lyrics, Battin describes Turley as a "no-hit pitcher" who "got too surly" and who was "traded...too early".^[65]

Turley's uncle, Ralph, also played professional baseball. The Yankees signed Ralph Turley in 1949 when they meant to sign Bob, and released Ralph when they discovered he was the "wrong Turley".^[2] Nik Turley, a Yankees prospect, identified Bob Turley as a "distant relative".^[66]

Death[edit]

Turley lived in Alpharetta, Georgia for the last two years of his life.^[3] He died on March 30, 2013, in hospice care at Lenbrook, a retirement community in Atlanta at age 82 from liver cancer. He is survived by his second wife, Janet; two sons, Terry and Donald; daughter, Rowena; and seventeen grandchildren.^[11][36][67] Turley was cremated in Duluth, Georgia.^[3]

See also[edit]

• List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
• List of Major League Baseball wins champions
• TSN Pitcher of the Year (1958)

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Baseball Almanac page
• Baseball Library page

Awards and achievements
Sporting positions
Preceded by Harry Dorish	Boston Red Sox Pitching Coach 1964	Succeeded by Mace Brown

New York Yankees 1956 World Series Champions  1 Billy Martin  6 Andy Carey  7 Mickey Mantle  8 Yogi Berra  9 Hank Bauer  12 Gil McDougald  14 Bill Skowron  15 Joe Collins  16 Whitey Ford  17 Enos Slaughter  18 Don Larsen (World Series MVP)  19 Bob Turley  22 Mickey McDermott  23 Tommy Byrne  28 Tom Morgan  29 Charlie Silvera  30 Rip Coleman  32 Elston Howard  36 Norm Siebern  39 George Wilson  41 Bob Cerv  42 Jerry Coleman  47 Tom Sturdivant  53 Johnny Kucks  55 Bob Grim Manager  37 Casey Stengel Coaches  2 Frankie Crosetti  31 Jim Turner  33 Bill Dickey Regular season Rivalry Subway Series

New York Yankees 1958 World Series Champions  1 Bobby Richardson  6 Andy Carey  7 Mickey Mantle  8 Yogi Berra  9 Hank Bauer  10 Tony Kubek  11 Jerry Lumpe  12 Gil McDougald  14 Bill Skowron  16 Whitey Ford  17 Enos Slaughter  18 Don Larsen  19 Bob Turley (World Series MVP)  20 Marv Throneberry  23 Murry Dickson  24 Duke Maas  25 Norm Siebern  26 Ryne Duren  28 Art Ditmar  30 Bobby Shantz  32 Elston Howard  53 Johnny Kucks  55 Zach Monroe Manager  37 Casey Stengel Coaches  2 Frankie Crosetti  31 Jim Turner  33 Charlie Keller  35 Ralph Houk Regular season

New York Yankees Opening Day starting pitchers Stan Bahnsen Tiny Bonham Hank Borowy Jim Bouton Ray Caldwell Spud Chandler Jack Chesbro Roger Clemens Jim Coates David Cone Atley Donald Slow Joe Doyle Whitey Ford Lefty Gomez Ron Guidry Orlando Hernández Waite Hoyt Tom Hughes Catfish Hunter Tommy John Randy Johnson Sad Sam Jones Jimmy Key Dave LaPoint Don Larsen Tim Leary Eddie Lopat Carl Mays George McConnell Joe McGinnity Marty McHale Doc Medich George Mogridge Mike Mussina Doc Newton Phil Niekro Al Orth Carl Pavano Herb Pennock Andy Pettitte George Pipgras Vic Raschi Dennis Rasmussen Allie Reynolds Rick Rhoden Red Ruffing Marius Russo CC Sabathia Scott Sanderson Bob Shawkey Urban Shocker Mel Stottlemyre Masahiro Tanaka Ralph Terry Bob Turley Hippo Vaughn Chien-Ming Wang Jack Warhop

Major League Baseball Cy Young Award: 1956–66 1956: Newcombe 1957: Spahn 1958: Turley 1959: Wynn 1960: Law 1961: Ford 1962: Drysdale 1963: Koufax 1964: Chance 1965: Koufax 1966: Koufax

World Series MVP Award 1955: Podres 1956: Larsen 1957: Burdette 1958: Turley 1959: Sherry 1960: Richardson 1961: Ford 1962: Terry 1963: Koufax 1964: Gibson 1965: Koufax 1966: F. Robinson 1967: Gibson 1968: Lolich 1969: Clendenon 1970: B. Robinson 1971: Clemente 1972: Tenace 1973: Jackson 1974: Fingers 1975: Rose 1976: Bench 1977: Jackson 1978: Dent 1979: Stargell 1980: Schmidt 1981: Cey, Guerrero & Yeager 1982: Porter 1983: Dempsey 1984: Trammell 1985: Saberhagen 1986: Knight 1987: Viola 1988: Hershiser 1989: Stewart 1990: Rijo 1991: Morris 1992: Borders 1993: Molitor 1994: No series 1995: Glavine 1996: Wetteland 1997: Hernandez 1998: Brosius 1999: Rivera 2000: Jeter 2001: Johnson & Schilling 2002: Glaus 2003: Beckett 2004: Ramirez 2005: Dye 2006: Eckstein 2007: Lowell 2008: Hamels 2009: Matsui 2010: Rentería 2011: Freese 2012: Sandoval 2013: Ortiz 2014: Bumgarner 2015: Pérez

Hickok Belt winners 1950: Phil Rizzuto 1951: Allie Reynolds 1952: Rocky Marciano 1953: Ben Hogan 1954: Willie Mays 1955: Otto Graham 1956: Mickey Mantle 1957: Carmen Basilio 1958: Bob Turley 1959: Ingemar Johansson 1960: Arnold Palmer 1961: Roger Maris 1962: Maury Wills 1963: Sandy Koufax 1964: Jim Brown 1965: Sandy Koufax 1966: Frank Robinson 1967: Carl Yastrzemski 1968: Joe Namath 1969: Tom Seaver 1970: Brooks Robinson 1971: Lee Trevino 1972: Steve Carlton 1973: O. J. Simpson 1974: Muhammad Ali 1975: Pete Rose 1976: Ken Stabler 2012: LeBron James 2013: LeBron James 2014: Madison Bumgarner

American League season wins leaders 1901: Young 1902: Young 1903: Young 1904: Chesbro 1905: Waddell 1906: Orth 1907: Joss & White 1908: Walsh 1909: Mullin 1910: Coombs 1911: Coombs 1912: S. J. Wood 1913: Johnson 1914: Johnson 1915: Johnson 1916: Johnson 1917: Cicotte 1918: Johnson 1919: Cicotte 1920: Bagby 1921: Mays & Shocker 1922: Rommel 1923: Uhle 1924: Johnson 1925: Lyons & Rommel 1926: Uhle 1927: W. Hoyt & Lyons 1928: Grove & Pipgras 1929: Earnshaw 1930: Grove 1931: Grove 1932: Crowder 1933: Crowder & Grove 1934: Gomez 1935: Ferrell 1936: Bridges 1937: Gomez 1938: Ruffing 1939: Feller 1940: Feller 1941: Feller 1942: Hughson 1943: Chandler & Trout 1944: Newhouser 1945: Newhouser 1946: Feller & Newhouser 1947: Feller 1948: Newhouser 1949: Parnell 1950: Lemon 1951: Feller 1952: Shantz 1953: Porterfield 1954: Lemon & Wynn 1955: Ford, Lemon & Sullivan 1956: Lary 1957: Bunning & Pierce 1958: Turley 1959: Wynn 1960: Estrada & J. Perry 1961: Ford 1962: Terry 1963: Ford 1964: Chance & Peters 1965: Grant 1966: Kaat 1967: Lonborg & Wilson 1968: McLain 1969: McLain 1970: Cuellar, McNally & J. Perry 1971: Lolich 1972: G. Perry & W. Wood 1973: W. Wood 1974: Hunter & Jenkins 1975: Hunter & Palmer 1976: Palmer 1977: Goltz, Leonard & Palmer 1978: Guidry 1979: Flanagan 1980: Stone 1981: D. Martínez, McCatty, Morris & Vuckovich 1982: L. Hoyt 1983: L. Hoyt 1984: Boddicker 1985: Guidry 1986: Clemens 1987: Clemens & Stewart 1988: Viola 1989: Saberhagen 1990: Welch 1991: Erickson & Gullickson 1992: Brown & Morris 1993: McDowell 1994: Key 1995: Mussina 1996: Pettitte 1997: Clemens 1998: Clemens, Cone & Helling 1999: P. Martínez 2000: Hudson & Wells 2001: Mulder 2002: Zito 2003: Halladay 2004: Schilling 2005: Colón 2006: Santana & Wang 2007: Beckett 2008: Lee 2009: Hernández, Sabathia & Verlander 2010: Sabathia 2011: Verlander 2012: Price & Weaver 2013: Scherzer 2014: Kluber, Scherzer & Weaver 2015: Keuchel

American League season strikeout leaders 1901: Young 1902: Waddell 1903: Waddell 1904: Waddell 1905: Waddell 1906: Waddell 1907: Waddell 1908: Walsh 1909: Smith 1910: W. Johnson 1911: Walsh 1912: W. Johnson 1913: W. Johnson 1914: W. Johnson 1915: W. Johnson 1916: W. Johnson 1917: W. Johnson 1918: W. Johnson 1919: W. Johnson 1920: Coveleski 1921: W. Johnson 1922: Shocker 1923: W. Johnson 1924: W. Johnson 1925: Grove 1926: Grove 1927: Grove 1928: Grove 1929: Grove 1930: Grove 1931: Grove 1932: Ruffing 1933: Gomez 1934: Gomez 1935: Bridges 1936: Bridges 1937: Gomez 1938: Feller 1939: Feller 1940: Feller 1941: Feller 1942: Hughson & Newsom 1943: Reynolds 1944: Newhouser 1945: Newhouser 1946: Feller 1947: Feller 1948: Feller 1949: Trucks 1950: Lemon 1951: Raschi 1952: Reynolds 1953: Pierce 1954: Turley 1955: Score 1956: Score 1957: Wynn 1958: Wynn 1959: Bunning 1960: Bunning 1961: Pascual 1962: Pascual 1963: Pascual 1964: Downing 1965: McDowell 1966: McDowell 1967: Lonborg 1968: McDowell 1969: McDowell 1970: McDowell 1971: Lolich 1972: Ryan 1973: Ryan 1974: Ryan 1975: Tanana 1976: Ryan 1977: Ryan 1978: Ryan 1979: Ryan 1980: Barker 1981: Barker 1982: Bannister 1983: Morris 1984: Langston 1985: Blyleven 1986: Langston 1987: Langston 1988: Clemens 1989: Ryan 1990: Ryan 1991: Clemens 1992: R. Johnson 1993: R. Johnson 1994: R. Johnson 1995: R. Johnson 1996: Clemens 1997: Clemens 1998: Clemens 1999: Martínez 2000: Martínez 2001: Nomo 2002: Martínez 2003: Loaiza 2004: Santana 2005: Santana 2006: Santana 2007: Kazmir 2008: Burnett 2009: Verlander 2010: Weaver 2011: Verlander 2012: Verlander 2013: Darvish 2014: Price 2015: Sale

Sporting News MLB Player of the Year 1936: Hubbell 1937: Allen 1938: Vander Meer 1939: DiMaggio 1940: Feller 1941: T. Williams 1942: T. Williams 1943: Chandler 1944: Marion 1945: Newhouser 1946: Musial 1947: T. Williams 1948: Boudreau 1949: T. Williams 1950: Rizzuto 1951: Musial 1952: Roberts 1953: Rosen 1954: Mays 1955: Snider 1956: Mantle 1957: T. Williams 1958: Turley 1959: Wynn 1960: Mazeroski 1961: Maris 1962: Wills & Drysdale 1963: Koufax 1964: Boyer 1965: Koufax 1966: Robinson 1967: Yastrzemski 1968: McLain 1969: McCovey 1970: Bench 1971: Torre 1972: B. Williams 1973: Jackson 1974: Brock 1975: Morgan 1976: Morgan 1977: Carew 1978: Guidry 1979: Stargell 1980: Brett 1981: Valenzuela 1982: Yount 1983: Ripken, Jr. 1984: Sandberg 1985: Mattingly 1986: Clemens 1987: Bell 1988: Hershiser 1989: Mitchell 1990: Bonds 1991: Ripken, Jr. 1992: Sheffield 1993: Thomas 1994: Bagwell 1995: Belle 1996: Rodriguez 1997: Griffey Jr. 1998: Sosa 1999: Palmeiro 2000: Delgado 2001: Bonds 2002: Rodriguez 2003: Pujols 2004: Bonds 2005: Jones 2006: Howard 2007: Rodriguez 2008: Pujols 2009: Pujols 2010: Hamilton 2011: Verlander 2012: Cabrera 2013: Cabrera 2014: Kershaw 2015: Donaldson