A little under four decades ago, in 1984 to be precise, the Detroit Tigers dominated the American League East on their way to a pennant win, and subsequent World Series title over the San Diego Padres. In any traditional sense, that season was far from memorable for the New York Yankees. The boys in the Bronx finished with a decent but unspectacular 87-75 record, good enough for third place in the AL East, but well short of the 104-win Tigers.
The background over team performance in that campaign is crucial to discuss the MVP race for that season.