This is far more clear cut than the Brock Rutherford Award. But we should still look at the contenders, just for the sake of completeness.
This list contains the top 5 in OPS, HR, RBI, RC/27, and WAR.
| Name | Tm | HR | RBI | OPS | RC/27 | WAR |
| Johnny Bench | IND | 32 | 90 | .951 | 8.0 | 6.0 |
| Ron Blomberg | CLE | 44 | 125 | 1.061 | 10.2 | 5.8 |
| Eddie Collins | CAG | 20 | 70 | .922 | 8.6 | 6.5 |
| Mike Epstein | HOM | 24 | 79 | .948 | 8.8 | 4.7 |
| Hank Greenberg | DET | 31 | 113 | .969 | 8.3 | 3.9 |
| Elrod Hendricks | HOD | 41 | 94 | .961 | 7.7 | 4.1 |
| Kent Hrbek | POR | 36 | 106 | .921 | 7.5 | 4.1 |
| Joe Jackson | CAG | 31 | 102 | 1.000 | 9.5 | 5.7 |
| Reggie Jackson | SFS | 30 | 105 | 1.013 | 8.4 | 4.3 |
| Mickey Mantle | NYY | 27 | 85 | .971 | 9.1 | 5.5 |
| Stan Musial | KCM | 25 | 98 | .972 | 8.4 | 4.5 |
| Doug Rader | LAA | 18 | 134 | .920 | 7.8 | 3.7 |
| Frank Robinson | BAL | 37 | 111 | .921 | 7.3 | 4.3 |
| Babe Ruth | NYY | 48 | 136 | 1.091 | 10.8 | 8.1 |
| Mike Trout | LAA | 21 | 100 | .889 | 7.7 | 6.0 |
Interestingly, the batting champion, Ty Cobb of Detroit, doesn’t make that list.
Offensively, it’s clearly between Ruth and Blomberg. Doug Rader had his supporters before Ruth overtook him in the last week of the season for the RBI lead.
Factor in defense and the rest of what goes into WAR and Blomberg suffers, but Ruth, basically, does not (and the trio of Collins, Bench, and Trout leap to the fore).
And, yeah, the arguments about second place could go on forever–Blomberg’s impossible offense v. Collins’ all-around excellence? Joe Jackson and Mickey Mantle’s under-appreciated contributions?
But the winner is pretty clear-cut: chalk one up for the Babe.
We’ll go with Ruth followed by Blomberg and Collins.