Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson wins American League MVP

Donaldson was quietly one of the better players in the American League from 2013-2014, which is why many were caught off guard when the Athletics traded him to the Blue Jays last winter. 297 with 41 home runs and leading the AL in runs batted in (123) and runs scored (122) while playing standout defence at third base.

Harper led the majors in on-base percentage (.460), slugging (.649) and WAR (9.9).

It didn’t take too long for Josh Donaldson to fit in with the Toronto Blue Jays.

“My goals aren’t necessarily to win MVP but to help my team win”, Donaldson said, “and I feel like if you are successful at that, all the awards and that jazz come along with it”.

Here are five noteworthy stats from the first MVP seasons from these two outstanding players.

Harper tied Nolan Arenado atop the National League for most home runs, but the kid was dropping bombs before he even put on a Nationals uniform. He is the third-youngest player since 1900 to lead the majors in OBP and slugging (Ty Cobb, 1909 and Stan Musial, 1941). Stats aren’t kept for Win Probability Added for defense, but Donaldson would likely have rated well there, as he finished with 11 Defensive Runs Saved. Auburn is the only SEC program and one of just six programs nationally to produce at least two different alumni that have won either an American League or National League MVP award.

The season starts April 3 with three games: St. Louis at Pittsburgh, followed by Toronto at Tampa Bay and then the Mets visiting Kansas City at night.

Harper, 23, is the youngest player to ever win baseball’s MVP award unanimously and just the seventh player in MLB history to be named unanimous MVP.

In one of the season’s more celebrated plays, Donaldson launched himself into the stands down the third base line at Tropicana Field to make an incredible catch of a foul ball during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Donaldson made a profound impact in his first season with Toronto, hitting.

Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo, Andrew McCutcheon, Jake Arrieta, and Zack Greinke all received second-place votes. He finished the season with 42 homers, 99 RBI and a. 330 average with 38 doubles. “He was up for it again this year”, Harper, the first Washington Nationals player to win the MVP, said of his comrade-in-youth. The Royals’ Lorenzo Cain finished third in the balloting. He also smacked eight home runs and had 40 RBIs in those situations.

“I remember the first time I heard it and it was kind of like, ‘OK these guys are starting to get pretty serious about what’s going on here, ‘” Donaldson said on a conference call.

This is the second BBWAA honor of Harper’s young career, as he was also named the 2012 National League Rookie of the Year, earning that award after his age-19 season.