The League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given annually to the
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
(MLB) players deemed to have the most impact on their teams' performances in each of the two respective
League Championship Series that comprise the penultimate round of the
MLB postseason. The award is given separately for a player in both the
American League Championship Series
The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the America ...
and the
National League Championship Series
The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...
. It has been presented in the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
(NL) since 1977, and in the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...
(AL) since 1980.
Dusty Baker won the inaugural award in 1977 with the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...
, and
Frank White won the first AL award in 1980 with the
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
. The ten
Hall of Famers
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
to win LCS MVPs include
Roberto Alomar
Roberto "Robbie" Alomar Velázquez (; ; born February 5, 1968)
is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball player for the San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Arizon ...
,
George Brett
George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player who played all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman for the Kansas City Royals.
Brett's 3,154 career hits are second- ...
,
Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American professional baseball pitcher and former color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...
,
Rickey Henderson
Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American retired professional baseball left fielder who played his 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with hi ...
,
Kirby Puckett
Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960 – March 6, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a center fielder for the Minnesota Twins (1984–1995). Puckett is the Twins' all-ti ...
,
Ozzie Smith
Osborne Earl Smith (born December 26, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Oz", Smith played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, winning the National ...
,
Willie Stargell
Wilver Dornell Stargell (March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001), nicknamed "Pops" later in his career, was an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman who spent all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1962–1982) ...
,
John Smoltz,
Iván Rodríguez, and
Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...
.
Three players have won the award twice:
Steve Garvey (1978, 1984),
Dave Stewart (1990, 1993), and
Orel Hershiser
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 2000. He later became a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005 and a bro ...
(1988, 1995). Incidentally, all three of these players won their two awards with two different teams. Seven players have gone on to win the
World Series MVP Award
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, which is the final round of the MLB postseason. The aw ...
in the same season in which they won the LCS MVP—all of them in the NL. Three players have won while playing for the losing team in the series:
Fred Lynn played for the
1982 California Angels;
Mike Scott pitched for the
1986 Houston Astros; and
Jeffrey Leonard played for the
1987 San Francisco Giants. Two players have shared the award in the same year three times, all in the NL;
Rob Dibble
Rob or ROB may refer to:
Places
* Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia
* Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia
People
* Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn
* Rob ( ...
and
Randy Myers for the
1990 Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Cubs'
Jon Lester
Jonathan Tyler Lester (born January 7, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals. L ...
and
Javier Báez
Ednel Javier Báez (born December 1, 1992), nicknamed "El Mago" (Spanish for "The Magician"), is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cu ...
in 2016, and
Chris Taylor and
Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017.
Garvey, Leonard,
Albert Pujols
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara () (); born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball first baseman, designated hitter and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "The Machine ...
, and
Randy Arozarena
Randy Arozarena González (born February 28, 1995) is a Cuban- Mexican professional baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2020, Arozarena set the MLB ...
hit four home runs in their winning series—Garvey in his first win.
Adam Kennedy
Adam Thomas Kennedy (born January 10, 1976) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Washington National ...
won the
2002 ALCS MVP when he hit 3 home runs in 1 game;
he had hit 7 during the regular season and hit 80 in his 14-year career.
David Ortiz
David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American former designated hitter (DH) and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played in the American League (AL) from 1997 to 2016, primarily wit ...
had 11
runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...
(RBIs) during the
2004 ALCS and Iván Rodríguez had 10 during the
2003 NLCS—the only two players to reach double-digit RBIs in the series in the history of the award. From the
pitcher's mound
A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refe ...
,
Steve Avery threw innings without giving up a run in the
1991 NLCS,
and
John Smoltz amassed 19 strikeouts the following year.
Liván Hernández won the
1997 NLCS MVP after winning his only start and earning a win out of the bullpen in
relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
; he struck out 16 in innings.
Daniel Murphy won the
2015 NLCS MVP after hitting home runs in six consecutive games, setting a major league record.
Liván Hernández (1997, NL) and his half-brother
Orlando Hernández
Orlando Hernández Pedroso (born October 11, 1965), nicknamed "El Duque" (Spanish for "The Duke"), is a Cuban-born right-handed former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Industriales of the Cuban National Series, the New York Yan ...
(1999, AL) are the only family pair to have won the award. The only
rookies to have won the award are
Mike Boddicker
Michael James Boddicker (born August 23, 1957) is an American right-handed former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles (1980–1988), Boston Red Sox (1988–1990), Kansas City Royals (1991–1992), and Milwaukee Brewers (199 ...
(1983, AL),
Liván Hernández (1997, NL),
Michael Wacha
Michael Joseph Wacha (; born July 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. He pla ...
(2013, NL),
Randy Arozarena
Randy Arozarena González (born February 28, 1995) is a Cuban- Mexican professional baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2020, Arozarena set the MLB ...
(2020, AL) and
Jeremy Peña (2022, AL).
Michael Wacha named NLCS MVP
/ref>
Key
American League winners
National League winners
References
;General
*
;Inline citations
Further reading
*
External links
Playoff and World Series Stats
at Baseball-Reference
{{featured list
*MVP
*MVP
Major League Baseball lists
Major League Baseball trophies and awards
Most valuable player awards
NLCS MVP
The League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players deemed to have the most impact on their teams' performances in each of the two respective League Championship Series that ...
ALCS MVP
The League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players deemed to have the most impact on their teams' performances in each of the two respective League Championship Series that ...