Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player Award
The Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's Pacific Coast League (PCL) based on their regular season performance. Though the league was established in 1903, the award was not created until 1927. Managers from the 10 Pacific Coast League teams vote for the winner of the award, which is then combined with 10 votes from various general managers, broadcasters, and media representatives around the league to determine a winner. The award was formerly voted upon by writers from  The Sporting News. In 1927, Lefty O'Doul won the first Pacific Coast League MVP Award. No player was selected from 1928 to 1931. In 1932, the award returned, going to Jigger Statz. For six seasons in the 1970s (1973, 1975–1979) the award was suspended. In 1948, Charlie Graham donated a plaque, which was named in his honor, to be awarded annually to the league's MVP. After the cancellation of the 2020 season, the league was known as the Triple-A West in 2021 before reverting to the PCL name in 2022. Twenty-eight outfielders have won the MVP Award , the most of any position. First basemen, with 23 winners, have won the most among infielders, followed by third basemen (8), second basemen (3), and shortstops (3). Eight players who have won the award were catchers. A total of 11 pitchers have won the MVP Award, all of them being right-handed. The last pitcher to win was Steve Mintz in 1996. The Pacific Coast League sporadically issued a Pitcher of the Year Award from 1957 to 1974 and continuously since 2001. Steve Bilko has the record for most MVP Award wins with three (1955–1957). Sandy Alomar Jr. and Les  Scarsella both won the MVP Award twice. Scarsella first won the award in 1944 as a first baseman and then won his second in 1946 as an outfielder. Two PCL MVP Award winners, Joe DiMaggio and Tony Pérez, have gone on to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Seven players each from the Las Vegas Stars/51s and Los Angeles Angels have been selected for the MVP Award, more than any other teams in the league, followed by the Albuquerque Dukes and San Diego Padres (6); the Hollywood Stars (5); the Oakland Oaks, Sacramento River Cats , San Francisco Seals, and Spokane Indians (4); the Calgary Cannons, Reno Aces, Seattle Rainiers, and Tucson Toros/Sidewinders (3); the Albuquerque Isotopes, Edmonton Trappers, El Paso Chihuahuas, Fresno Grizzlies, Iowa Cubs, Oklahoma City 89ers/Oklahoma RedHawks, Phoenix Firebirds, Sacramento Solons, Salt Lake City Bees, Tacoma Giants/Rainiers (2); and the Eugene Emeralds, Indianapolis Indians, Omaha Royals, Salt Lake Stingers, and Tulsa Oilers (1). Thirteen players from the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball (MLB) organization have won the MVP Award, more than any other, followed by the Chicago Cubs organization (9); the San Diego Padres organization (6); the Arizona  Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, and Seattle Mariners organizations (4); the Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals organizations (3); the Anaheim/California Angels, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, and Toronto Blue Jays organizations (2); and the Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, and New York Yankees organizations (1). Thirteen MVP Award winners were not members of any MLB organization.