Who are the only two baseball players in Major League Baseball (MLB) history to win Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the same year?

The only two players to win the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in the same season were Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki.

Fred Lynn won both awards after the 1975 season where he hit 21 home runs, an American League leading 47 doubles, and a batting average of .331 for the Boston Red Sox. Lynn also won the gold glove that year for his outstanding play in Center Field.

The Boston Red Sox made it to the World Series in 1975 losing in 7 games to the Cincinnati Reds.

Ichiro Suzuki won both awards after his 2001 season where he had a major league leading 242 hits, in addition to stealing 56 bases and a batting average of .350 while playing for the Seattle Mariners.

Suzuki's rookie of the year award was a bit suspect as the 27 year old had already played 9 professional seasons in Japan before coming to the states.

Neither Lynn nor Suzuki went on to win another MVP award although Suzuki is still an active player now with the Miami Marlins.

Both players won these simultaneous awards while playing in the American League. No National League player ever equaled this feat.

With respect to Fernando Valenzuela, who was one of the choices, he actually is the only player in Major League history to win Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young award in the same season pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981.