Stargell and Hernandez Share the NL MVP

On November 13, 1979, the Baseball Writers' Association of America announced that Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Keith Hernandez of the St. Louis Cardinals had tied for the National League Most Valuable Player Award. Each player received 216 points in the balloting. It was the first and, as of this writing, the only time two players shared the MVP in either league.

The two winners could hardly have been more different. Stargell was 39 years old, the spiritual leader of a Pirates team that won the World Series under the "We Are Family" banner. He hit 32 home runs and drove in 82 runs during the regular season, then carried Pittsburgh through October. He won the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP as the Pirates rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Baltimore Orioles in seven games.

Hernandez was 25, a first baseman in the middle of his prime. He led the National League in batting average (.344), runs (116), and doubles (48). He also won a Gold Glove. His Cardinals finished third in the NL East, 12 games behind Pittsburgh. By traditional MVP logic, the player from the pennant-winning team should have won outright.

Stargell received 10 first-place votes to Hernandez's four, but the point totals ended in an exact tie because Hernandez accumulated more second- and third-place votes. The result left both camps unsatisfied. Hernandez felt the award should have been his based on statistical dominance. Stargell's supporters argued that October performance validated his case.

The BBWAA has never changed its tiebreaking procedures. A shared MVP remains possible, but it has not happened since.