With the introduction of the “wild card” in the playoffs, it became more likely that a mediocre team could make it into the World Series just by getting hot at the right time. While it is true that there are more “meh” Series now 2006), there are still plenty of all time Classics (2016) to provide some deserving winners of this award.

1995: Atlanta Braves 4, Cleveland Indians 2

Reliever Jose Mesa got the win in Game 3 and a save in Game 5.

1996: New York Yankees 4, Atlanta Braves 2

John Smoltz got the win in Game 1, and gave up only a single run in eight innings in Game 5.

1997: Florida Marlins 4, Cleveland Indians 3

Chad Ogea won Games 2 and 6.

1998: New York Yankees 4, San Diego Padres 0

Tony Gwynn hit .500 with a home run in Game 1 that gave the Padres the lead.

1999: New York Yankees 4, Atlanta Braves 0

Bret Boone hit .538 with four doubles and three RBIs (the most of any Atlanta player).

2000: New York Yankees 4, New York Mets 1

Mike Piazza hit two home runs.

2001: Arizona Diamondbacks 4, New York Yankees 3

Roger Clemens got the win in Game 3, and held the Diamondbacks to one run in six and a third innings in Game 7.

2002: Anaheim Angles 4, San Francisco Giants 3

Barry Bonds hit .471 with four home runs.

2003: Florida Marlins 4, New York Yankees 2

Andy Pettite gave up only one earned run in 15.2 innings while striking out 14.

2004: Boston Red Sox 4, St Louis Cardinals 0

Larry Walker hit .357 with two home runs and two doubles, including a game-tier in Game 1.

2005: Chicago White Sox 4, Houston Astros 0

Lance Berkman hit .385 with two doubles and six RBIs.

2006: St Louis Cardinals 4, Detroit Tigers 1

Sean Casey hit .529 with two home runs – including one that gave the Tigers a lead in Game 5.

2007: Boston Red Sox 4, Colorado Rockies 0

The Rockies were so overmatched that this really should be a “No Award”, but Matt Holiday hit .294 with a three-run home run in Game 4 that briefly made it close.

2008: Philadelphia Phillies 4, Tampa Bay Rays 1

James Shields earned the Rays only win, but he pitched less than six innings. Carl Crawford hit two home runs, but they were solo shots in losing causes and he only hit .263 overall. So I’m going with No Award.

2009: New York Yankees 4, Philadelphia Phillies 2

Cliff Lee earned both wins for the Phillies with a 2.81 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched; Chase Utley clobbered five home runs while hitting .286 – pick your favorite.

2010: San Francisco Giants 4, Texas Rangers 1

Mitch Moreland led all players with a .462 average, and he hit the home run that would give the Rangers their only win.

2011: St Louis Cardinals 4, Texas Rangers 3

Mike Napoli hit .350 with 2 home runs and 10 RBIs; Josh Hamilton’s home run in Game 6 gave the Rangers an extra-innings lead in Game 6 and his double in Game 7 put them on the board first. I’m leaning towards Napoli.

2012: San Francisco Giants 4, Detroit Tigers 0

No award. The Tigers could only manage to score six runs total; they hit .159 as a team.

2013: Boston Red Sox 4, St Louis Cardinals 2

Matt Holiday’s double gave the Cardinals a lead in Game 3, and his home run tied the score in Game 5.

2014: San Francisco Giants 4, Kansas City Royals 3

In his two starts, Yordano Ventura hurled 12.1 innings giving up only two earned runs.

2015: Kansas City Royals 4, New York Mets 1

Curtis Granderson hit only .250, but he hit three home runs – each of which gave the Mets the lead in the game.

2016: Chicago Cubs 4, Cleveland Indians 3

Corey Kluber won Games 1 and 4 for the Tribe, but gave up four runs in as many innings in Game 7. Maybe Jason Kipnis, who hit .290 with three doubles and two home runs? Eh, if Kluber’s teammates did a little better in Game 5, they’d have won the series right there. So let’s give him the honor.

2017: Houston Astros 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 3

This one’s tough, because no individual player really stands out. The ones with key hits were generally awful overall (e.g. Cody Bellinger); the players with good totals weren’t around for the key moments (e.g. Joc Pederson). Pederson hit three home runs in six games, to a .333 average – he gets it.

2018: Boston Red Sox 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 1

Yasiel Puig had key hits in Games 3 (tying the score in extra innings) and Game 4 (a 3-run home run to start the scoring).

2019: Washington Nationals 4, Houston Astros 3

Yuli Gurriel hit .310, and his home run put the Astros on the board first in Game 7.

2020: Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Tampa Bay Rays 2

Kevin Kiermaier hit .368, with a game-tying home run in Game 4.

2021: Atlanta Braves 4, Houston Astros 2

No one on the Astros really stood out. Jose Urquidy got both of their wins, but pitched only a total of six innings. Not good enough for me. No Award.

2022: Houston Astros 4, Philadelphia Phillies 2

Kyle Schwarber led the Phillies with three home runs, four RBIs, and a .423 OBP.

2023: Texas Rangers 4, Arizona Diamondbacks 1

Arizona never really had a chance. Merrill Kelly earned their only win by holding Texas to one run in seven innings in Game 2….I’ll give it to him.

A few final thoughts….

That’s eight “No Awards” if you’ve been counting. Two players – Whitey Ford and Tom Glavine have both a WS MVP and a Bobby Richardson Award. Ford and John Smoltz could have won this twice. You’ll note that even if your team is swept or otherwise completely overmatched, there’s still room for someone to stand out (e.g. Bret Boone, 1999).

In case you missed them:

Part 1
Part 2