one of my favorite MVP awards was to kirk gibson in '88. Gibson came in and changed the culture of that locker room. while there were others that put up better stats - including hershiser's historic season - that dodger team needed someone to lead them and to do so in a big, bold way. it started in training camp when jesse orosco put the shoe black in gibby's hat as a joke, but gibson would have none of it. gibson put up decent numbers, nothing trout-like, but that '88 team wouldn't have come anywhere near the playoffs without him and his influence leading them. and that's something that sheer numbers could not reflect.
i like that this award is not based purely on stats. that's what the Aaron Award is for.