Bench, just two years removed from his Rookie of the Year Award in 1968, took home what would be the first of his two MVP’s in 1970 after a monster season, leading the National League in homers with 45, and runs batted in with 148, along with his third straight Gold Glove and leading the Reds to a pennant.
Keep in mind Bench did all of this at his age-22 season, setting the stage for a Hall of Fame career through the new decade while bringing the city of Cincinnati two championships in 1975 and 1976.
In the American League, we have Boog Powell of the Orioles, who led the team to a World Championship over Bench’s Reds in 1970, their second championship in four years after a disappointing loss against the New York Mets in 1969.
After a third place finish in the award voting in 1966, and as runner-up in 1969, Powell finally brought home the MVP hardware as he slugged 35 home runs with 114 runs batted in with a .297 average for the juggernaut Baltimore team that won 108 games and easily took home the East crown with a 15-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees.
Two slugging stars of the game, one an up-and-coming legend, the other a veteran reaching the top of his game at the age of 29 on his way to a brilliant 17-year Major League career.