Mike Trout was named 2014 AL MVP on Nov. 13, 2014, six weeks after the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim completed a 98-win season. While the Angels were swept by the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS, they were still a damn good team with a plus-143 run differential and eight players posting an OPS of at least .700.
Two years later, when Trout won the 2016 AL MVP, the Angels weren’t a damn good team, nor were they in 2019 when Trout joined Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra as the only players to win AL MVP three times.