MLB: When do they name the American and National League MVPs, and who chooses the winner?

The American League and National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in Major League Baseball (MLB) are usually announced in November at the end of the regular season. The exact date may vary. Since 1931, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) has presented the award. The BBWAA selects the winners through a vote. MVP voting occurs before the postseason, but the results are not announced until after the World Series.

Initially, three writers in each league city were polled in 1938, but that number was reduced to two per league city in 1961. The BBWAA does not define what “most valuable” means. Instead, it leaves the judgment to the individual voters. The BBWAA comprises eligible members of the media who regularly cover MLB. Each BBWAA member votes for their top choices, ranking players based on their performance during the regular season. The voting process uses a points system, and the player with the highest point total in each league is awarded the MVP.

The MVP awards are prestigious honors in baseball, recognizing the players who have greatly impacted their teams’ success during the regular season. The winners often demonstrate outstanding offensive and defensive contributions, leadership, and excellence in their leagues. In recent decades, pitchers have rarely won the award.

However, in 2021, Shohei Ohtani became the first pitcher in either league to be named the MVP since Clayton Kershaw in 2014 and the first in the American League since Justin Verlander in 2011. Ohtani also became the first two-way player to win this award and has good odds of winning it for the third time in a row.

In the National League, the MVP odds for the 40/40 club member, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., are no longer widely available, indicating that the player from Venezuela will likely win the award.