The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year Award was presented annually by The Sporting News to a player in Minor League Baseball deemed to have had the most outstanding season. It was awarded annually starting in 1936, and was last known to have been awarded in 2007.
Winners The first winner of the award, Johnny Vander Meer, subsequently pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) and is best known for pitching back-to-back no-hitters in 1938. Several winners of the award are inductees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame: Johnny Bench, Vladimir Guerrero, Derek Jeter, Pedro Martínez, Tim Raines, Jim Rice, and Phil Rizzuto. Two players won the award twice: Gene Conley (1951, 1953) and Sandy Alomar Jr. (1988, 1989). There was one tie, occurring in 1988 when Alomar Jr. shared the honor with Gary Sheffield. Each winner of the award went on to play in MLB, with the exception of Jason Stokes, who won the award in 2002 while in Class A and later reached the Triple-A level.
+KeyMember of the National Baseball Hall of Fame^Multiple award winners in the same season
Year Name Position Highest level MLB organization 1936 Pitcher Cincinnati Reds 1937 Outfielder New York Yankees 1938 Pitcher 1939 Outfielder Chicago Cubs 1940 Shortstop New York Yankees 1941 Pitcher New York Yankees 1942 Pitcher 1943 Pitcher Boston Red Sox 1944 First baseman Pittsburgh Pirates 1945 Outfielder Washington Senators 1946 Shortstop Boston Braves 1947 Outfielder Cincinnati Reds 1948 Outfielder 1949 Pitcher Pittsburgh Pirates 1950 Outfielder St. Louis Browns 1951 Pitcher Boston Braves 1952 First baseman New York Yankees 1953 Pitcher Milwaukee Braves 1954 Pitcher Cleveland Indians 1955 Pitcher New York Giants 1956 First baseman Chicago Cubs 1957 Outfielder New York Yankees 1958 Pitcher Cincinnati Reds 1959 First baseman Los Angeles Dodgers 1960 Outfielder Los Angeles Dodgers 1961 Pitcher Detroit Tigers 1962 Third baseman Pittsburgh Pirates 1963 Third baseman Chicago White Sox 1964 Pitcher New York Yankees 1965 Third baseman Boston Red Sox 1966 Outfielder Baltimore Orioles 1967 Catcher Cincinnati Reds 1968 Outfielder Baltimore Orioles 1969 Outfielder Houston Astros 1970 Outfielder Baltimore Orioles 1971 Shortstop Baltimore Orioles 1972 First baseman Los Angeles Dodgers 1973 Outfielder San Francisco Giants 1974 Outfielder Boston Red Sox 1975 Third baseman St. Louis Cardinals 1976 First baseman Texas Rangers 1977 Outfielder California Angels 1978 Outfielder Cincinnati Reds 1979 Pitcher Milwaukee Brewers 1980 Second baseman Montreal Expos 1981 First baseman Los Angeles Dodgers 1982 Outfielder Chicago White Sox 1983 Outfielder San Diego Padres 1984 First baseman Cincinnati Reds 1985 Outfielder Oakland Athletics 1986 First baseman San Diego Padres 1987 First baseman New York Mets 1988^ Catcher San Diego Padres Shortstop Milwaukee Brewers 1989 Catcher San Diego Padres 1990 Shortstop Los Angeles Dodgers 1991 Pitcher Los Angeles Dodgers 1992 Outfielder California Angels 1993 First baseman Montreal Expos 1994 Shortstop New York Yankees 1995 Outfielder Los Angeles Dodgers 1996 Outfielder Montreal Expos 1997 Outfielder Oakland Athletics 1998 Outfielder Detroit Tigers 1999 Pitcher St. Louis Cardinals 2000 Pitcher Chicago White Sox 2001 Pitcher Florida Marlins 2002 First baseman Florida Marlins 2003 Pitcher Kansas City Royals 2004 Third baseman Anaheim Angels 2005 Shortstop Los Angeles Angels 2006 Third baseman Kansas City Royals 2007 Outfielder Cincinnati Reds
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See also Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award USA Today Minor League Player of the Year Award Topps Minor League Player of the Year Award
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