1979 American League Most Valuable Player Award

The winner of the 1979 American League Most Valuable Player Award was Don Baylor of the California Angels.

Award Voting

† indicates playoff team

Player	Team	Points	Points Share (Max Points)	First Votes		AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG		W - L	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO	ERA
Don Baylor	California Angels †	347	0.885 (392)	20		628	120	186	36	139	22	71	51	0.296	0.371	0.530		Did not pitch
Ken Singleton	Baltimore Orioles †	241	0.615 (392)	3		570	93	168	35	111	3	109	118	0.295	0.405	0.533		Did not pitch
George Brett	Kansas City Royals	226	0.577 (392)	2		645	119	212	23	107	17	51	36	0.329	0.376	0.563		Did not pitch
Fred Lynn	Boston Red Sox	160.5	0.409 (392)	0		531	116	177	39	122	2	82	79	0.333	0.423	0.637		Did not pitch
Jim Rice	Boston Red Sox	124	0.316 (392)	0		619	117	201	39	130	9	57	97	0.325	0.381	0.596		Did not pitch
Mike Flanagan	Baltimore Orioles †	100	0.255 (392)	3		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-.---	-.---	-.---		23 - 9	0	265.2	245	23	70	190	3.08
Gorman Thomas	Milwaukee Brewers	87	0.222 (392)	0		557	97	136	45	123	1	98	175	0.244	0.356	0.539		Did not pitch
Bobby Grich	California Angels †	58	0.148 (392)	0		534	78	157	30	101	1	59	84	0.294	0.365	0.537		Did not pitch
Darrell Porter	Kansas City Royals	52	0.133 (392)	0		533	101	155	20	112	3	121	65	0.291	0.421	0.484		Did not pitch
Buddy Bell	Texas Rangers	48	0.122 (392)	0		670	89	200	18	101	5	30	45	0.299	0.327	0.451		Did not pitch
Eddie Murray	Baltimore Orioles †	25.5	0.065 (392)	0		606	90	179	25	99	10	72	78	0.295	0.369	0.475		Did not pitch
Jim Kern	Texas Rangers	25	0.064 (392)	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-.---	-.---	-.---		13 - 5	29	143.0	99	5	62	136	1.57
Mike Marshall	Minnesota Twins	25	0.064 (392)	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-.---	-.---	-.---		10 - 15	32	142.2	132	8	48	81	2.65
Brian Downing	California Angels †	24	0.061 (392)	0		509	87	166	12	75	3	77	57	0.326	0.418	0.462		Did not pitch
Sixto Lezcano	Milwaukee Brewers	18	0.046 (392)	0		473	84	152	28	101	4	77	74	0.321	0.414	0.573		Did not pitch
Roy Smalley	Minnesota Twins	16	0.041 (392)	0		621	94	168	24	95	2	80	80	0.271	0.353	0.441		Did not pitch
Willie Wilson	Kansas City Royals	15	0.038 (392)	0		588	113	185	6	49	83	28	92	0.315	0.351	0.420		Did not pitch
Steve Kemp	Detroit Tigers	15	0.038 (392)	0		490	88	156	26	105	5	68	70	0.318	0.398	0.543		Did not pitch
Mark Clear	California Angels †	12	0.031 (392)	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-.---	-.---	-.---		11 - 5	14	109.0	87	6	68	98	3.63
Paul Molitor	Milwaukee Brewers	8	0.020 (392)	0		584	88	188	9	62	33	48	48	0.322	0.372	0.469		Did not pitch
Rick Burleson	Boston Red Sox	7	0.018 (392)	0		627	93	174	5	60	9	35	54	0.278	0.315	0.368		Did not pitch
Tommy John	New York Yankees	5	0.013 (392)	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-.---	-.---	-.---		21 - 9	0	276.1	268	9	65	111	2.96
Cecil Cooper	Milwaukee Brewers	4	0.010 (392)	0		590	83	182	24	106	15	56	77	0.308	0.364	0.508		Did not pitch
Willie Horton	Seattle Mariners	3	0.008 (392)	0		646	77	180	29	106	1	42	112	0.279	0.326	0.458		Did not pitch
Reggie Jackson	New York Yankees	3	0.008 (392)	0		465	78	138	29	89	9	65	107	0.297	0.382	0.544		Did not pitch
Ron Guidry	New York Yankees	1	0.003 (392)	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-.---	-.---	-.---		18 - 8	2	236.1	203	20	71	201	2.78
Mike Hargrove	San Diego Padres	1	0.003 (392)	0		125	15	24	0	8	0	25	15	0.192	0.325	0.232		Did not pitch
Dan Ford	California Angels †	1	0.003 (392)	0		569	100	165	21	101	8	40	86	0.290	0.333	0.464		Did not pitch
Mike Hargrove	Cleveland Indians	1	0.003 (392)	0		338	60	110	10	56	2	63	40	0.325	0.433	0.500		Did not pitch

Preceded by 1978

Most Valuable Player Award National 1979

Succeeded by 1980