World Series Most Valuable Player Award
Major League Baseball award
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 by Sport magazine,[2] but since 1985 has been officially presented by MLB.[3] The winner is determined during the final game of the World Series by a committee of reporters and officials present at the game.
Canada
Johnny Podres was the inaugural World Series MVP Award winner, for the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| 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 (since 1985) |
| History | |
| First award | 1955 |
| Most recent | Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Los Angeles Dodgers) |
On September 29, 2017, the award 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.
Car and trophy
The award winner has traditionally received a new car.[5] Johnny Podres, the inaugural winner in 1955, received a Chevrolet Corvette.[6] The 1977 winner, Reggie Jackson, received a Ford Thunderbird,[7] while the 1983 winner, Rick Dempsey, received a Pontiac Firebird.[8] Frank Viola, the 1987 MVP, received a Volvo 740.[9]
Since 2004, General Motors had provided the vehicle.[10][11] Examples include David Ortiz (2013 MVP) receiving a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado High Country, Ben Zobrist (2016 MVP) receiving a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible 50th Anniversary Edition, and Corey Seager (2020 MVP) receiving a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71.[11]
A trophy has also been presented to the award winner since at least the late 1970s. In 1985, Major League Baseball (MLB) took over as the official award presenter from Sport magazine,[3] although for a few years, MLB and Sport each presented different trophies to the winner.[12][9] Trophies given to award winners include:
- A wooden base supporting a metallic baseball inside a hoop;[13][8] in use by 1978,[14] and last presented in 1984.[15]
- A tall wooden base with a metallic baseball on top, surrounded by a number of metallic flags; first presented in 1985,[16][9] and last presented in 1988.[17] The text on this trophy read "Sport Magazine's World Series Most Valuable Player Award".[16]
- A metallic bowl on a wooden base; in use by 1987,[12] apparently the MLB-awarded trophy.
- A trapezoidal wooden base, which included the MLB logo, topped by a metallic baseball; first awarded in 1988.[18]
- A pyramid-shaped trophy with a dark base, clear body, and baseball on top; in use by 1995.[19]
- A scaled-down variant of the Commissioner's Trophy with a single large metallic pennant; last presented in 2017.[20]
- A wooden pedestal topped by a bronze sculpture of Willie Mays making "The Catch" in the 1954 World Series; in use since 2018.[21]
Winners
| Year | Links to an article about the corresponding World Series |
|---|---|
| Other awards |
Player also won, in the same season: |
| † | Inductee of the National Baseball Hall of Fame |
| ‡ | Player is still active in professional baseball |
| # | Player was a rookie that season |
| § | Player's team lost 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
From 1955 through 2025, a total of 71 seasons, there have been 70 editions of the World Series played (there was no World Series in 1994). In 68 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 73 MVPs.
The position at which players have won the most MVPs is pitcher, 30 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, 31 years ago, pitchers have won the award eleven times, the most recent being Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2025.
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 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 with Seattle never having been in a World Series and Cleveland last won in 1948, prior to the MVP award being established.
Note: When a player is listed at multiple positions in the main table, the first position is deemed to be his primary position, and he has been counted here as such. |
Notable accomplishments
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.[111]
A total of 13 players born outside of the United States have been named World Series MVP, with Pedro Guerrero, a native of the Dominican Republic, being the first to win it in 1981. Of players born outside the U.S., the Dominican Republic has produced the most World Series MVP winners, with five. Venezuela, Cuba, and Japan have produced two each, and Colombia, and Panama have each produced one. California-born Freddie Freeman, the 2024 MVP, holds dual citizenship in both the U.S. and Canada.[112]
Pitchers
- 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.[22]
- Don Larsen won the 1956 award after pitching the only individual no-hitter in World Series history, in the fifth game of the series; the no-hitter was also a perfect game.[113][114]
- Bruce Hurst of the Boston Red Sox had been voted MVP of the 1986 World Series during Game 6,[115][116] 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.[117]
- The 2001 co-MVPs, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, combined for all four of Arizona's wins in the Series.[71]
- Stephen Strasburg, the 2019 winner, is the only first overall selection in a Major League Baseball draft to win the award.[118]
Position players
- Bobby Richardson, winner of the 1960 award, had 12 runs batted in, a World Series record.[119]
- 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.[120] Jackson had a total of five home runs in the series, a World Series record.[119]
- Willie Stargell won the 1979 award at the age of 39, and remains the oldest player to be named World Series MVP.[121]
- Barry Bonds was voted the 2002 World Series MVP the day before the Anaheim Angels staged a comeback in Game 6 and won in seven games, resulting in Troy Glaus being named the MVP.
- 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.[122][123] He is also the only player named both a World Series MVP and a Japan Series MVP.[124]
Other awards
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.[125]
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.[126]
To date, 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.[127]
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.[128]
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
