World Series Most Valuable Player Award
Sport | Baseball |
---|---|
League | Major League Baseball |
Awarded for | Annual most valuable player of the World Series |
Country | United States Canada |
Presented by | Major League Baseball |
History | |
First award | 1955 |
Most recent | Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers) |
The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series,[1] which is the final round of the MLB postseason. The award was first presented in 1955 as the SPORT Magazine Award, but is now decided during the final game of the Series by a committee of reporters and officials present at the game.[2][3]
On September 29, 2017, it was renamed in honor of Willie Mays in remembrance of the 63rd anniversary of The Catch, which occurred the year before the award's debut;[4] Mays never won the award himself.
Trophy
[edit]Through 2017, the World Series MVP trophy was similar to the Commissioner's Trophy, albeit scaled down and with a single large gold-plated flag.[5] Since 2018, the trophy is a wooden pedestal topped by a bronze sculpture of Willie Mays making "The Catch" in the 1954 World Series.[6]
General Motors provided a vehicle to the World Series MVP winner for 15 seasons, through the 2019 edition.[7] Since 2019, Disney Parks, Products and Experiences has sponsored the award.[citation needed]
Winners
[edit]Year | Links to an article about the corresponding World Series |
---|---|
Other awards | Player also won, in the same season:
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† | Inductee of the National Baseball Hall of Fame |
‡ | Player is still active in professional baseball |
# | Player was a rookie that season |
§ | Member of losing team in the World Series |
^ | Multiple award winners in the same World Series |
(#) | Number of times winning World Series MVP at that point (if more than one) |
Winners by team and by position
[edit]From 1955 through 2024, a total of 70 seasons, there have been 69 editions of the World Series played (as there was no World Series in 1994). In 67 editions, a single MVP was named; in 1981, three MVPs were named; and in 2001, two MVPs were named. Thus, there have been a total of 72 MVPs—the below tables sums them by team and by position. All pitchers (starters or relievers) are grouped in the "pitcher" count, and all outfielders (left, center, right) are grouped in the "outfielder" count. When a player is listed at multiple positions above, the first position listed is deemed to be his primary position, and he has been counted as such.
The position at which players have won the most MVPs is pitcher, 29 times. Four of those winners were exclusively relief pitchers, the most recent being Mariano Rivera in 1999. Twelve of the first 14 MVPs were pitchers. From 1969 through 1986, the prevalence of pitcher MVPs declined, as only two pitchers won the award during this period. From 1987 through 1991, all of the MVPs were pitchers. Since 1995, 29 years ago, pitchers have won the award nine times, the most recent being Stephen Strasburg in 2019.
The most uncommon position for an MVP is second baseman, with only Bobby Richardson in 1960 winning at the position. Richardson is also the only MVP to be named from a losing World Series team.
Of the 30 current MLB franchises, 24 (inclusive of name changes or relocations) have had at least one MVP. The six that have not are the Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, and Tampa Bay Rays. Of those six franchises, five have never won a World Series, and Cleveland last won in 1948, prior to the MVP award being established.
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Notable accomplishments
[edit]Four players have won the award twice: Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965), Bob Gibson (1964, 1967), Reggie Jackson (1973, 1977), and Corey Seager (2020, 2023). Jackson and Seager are the only players to have won the award with two different teams, while Seager is the first player to win the award in both leagues.[99]
The first non-American to win the award was Pedro Guerrero, a native of the Dominican Republic, in 1981.
Pitchers
[edit]- Johnny Podres won the inaugural award in 1955, with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Podres, with a 9–10 win–loss record during the regular season, beat the Yankees twice in the series; both victories were complete games.[8]
- Don Larsen won the 1956 award after pitching the only no-hitter in World Series history, in the fifth game of the series; the no-hitter was also a perfect game.[100][101]
- Bruce Hurst of the Boston Red Sox had been voted MVP of the 1986 World Series during Game 6,[102][103] before the New York Mets staged a comeback and went on to win in seven games, with Ray Knight being named the MVP.
- 1989 winner Dave Stewart was the first pitcher to win two games each in a League Championship Series and a World Series in the same postseason.
- 1996 winner John Wetteland set a World Series record with four saves.[104]
- The 2001 co-MVPs, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, combined for all four of Arizona's wins in the Series.[58]
- Stephen Strasburg, the 2019 winner, is the only first overall selection in a Major League Baseball draft to win the award.[105]
Position players
[edit]- Bobby Richardson, winner of the 1960 award, had 12 runs batted in, a World Series record.[106]
- 1977 winner Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in the Series' deciding game, taking the nickname "Mr. October", as October is the primary month of the MLB postseason.[107] Jackson had a total of five home runs in the series, a World Series record.[106]
- Willie Stargell won the 1979 award at the age of 39, and remains the oldest player to be named World Series MVP.[108]
- Hideki Matsui, the 2009 winner, batted in six runs in the sixth game of the 2009 World Series, tying Richardson's record for most runs batted in for a single World Series game. Matsui became the first Japanese-born player to win the award and the first player to win it as a full-time designated hitter.[109][110] He is also the only player named both a World Series MVP and a Japan Series MVP.[111]
Other awards
[edit]Six pitchers have won the Cy Young Award and the World Series MVP in the same season: Bob Turley (1958), Whitey Ford (1961), Koufax (1963, 1965), Bret Saberhagen (1985), Orel Hershiser (1988), and Johnson (2001). The Cy Young Award was initiated in 1956, as one award for all of MLB; it has been awarded in both leagues since 1967.[112]
Nine players have been named both a League Championship Series MVP and the World Series MVP in the same postseason: Willie Stargell (1979), Darrell Porter (1982), Orel Hershiser (1988), Liván Hernández (1997), Cole Hamels (2008), David Freese (2011), Madison Bumgarner (2014), Corey Seager (2020), and Jeremy Peña (2022). The LCS MVP was first awarded in 1977 for the National League and in 1980 for the American League.[113]
Five players have received both a Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award and the World Series MVP Award in the same season: Sandy Koufax (1963), Frank Robinson (1966), Reggie Jackson (1973), Willie Stargell (1979), and Mike Schmidt (1980). The MLB MVP has been awarded to a player in each league since 1931.[114]
Only one World Series MVP has also won the Major League Baseball All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award in the same season: Derek Jeter in 2000. An All-Star Game MVP has been named since 1962.[115]
Three players have won a World Series MVP plus two of the above awards in the same season:
- Sandy Koufax – MLB MVP, Cy Young, and World Series MVP in 1963
- Willie Stargell – MLB MVP, LCS MVP, and World Series MVP in 1979
- Orel Hershiser – Cy Young, LCS MVP, and World Series MVP in 1988
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Rand, Michael (September 3, 2009). "Thursday (Derek Jeter over Joe Mauer for MVP?) edition: Wha' Happened?". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
- ^ Dickson, Paul (2011). The Dickson Baseball Dictionary (Third ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. p. 945. ISBN 9780393073492. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
The SPORT Magazine Award, an annual award presented since 1955, originally by SPORT magazine in cooperation with the Chevrolet Motor Co. (the magazine ceased publication in 2000 and is no longer involved with the award).
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- ^ "2017 Major League Baseball World Series Game Seven: Houston Astros v. Los Angeles Dodgers". gettyimages.com. November 1, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ Zino, Ken (October 29, 2018). "Major League Baseball's 2018 Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Steve Pearce of the Boston Red". autoinformed.com. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ "World Series MVP Has to Wait for His 2020 Corvette". carbuzz.com. November 1, 2019.
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External links
[edit]- World Series History: Most Valuable Players
- World Series Most Valuable Player Award at Baseball Almanac
- MLB Postseason: Willie Mays World Series MVP Award Winners at Baseball-Reference