League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award

League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award
SportBaseball
LeagueMajor League Baseball
Awarded forAnnual most valuable players of the two League Championship Series
CountryUnited States, Canada
Presented byAmerican League, National League
History
First award1977 (NL), 1980 (AL)
Most recentGiancarlo Stanton (AL)
Tommy Edman (NL)
Madison Bumgarner, the 2014 National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player, won both this award and the World Series MVP in the same season.

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 comprise the penultimate round of the MLB postseason. The award is given separately for a player in both the American League Championship Series and the National League Championship Series.[1] It has been presented in the National League (NL) since 1977, and in the American League (AL) since 1980.[2] Dusty Baker won the inaugural award in 1977 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Frank White won the first AL award in 1980 with the Kansas City Royals. The eleven Hall of Famers to win LCS MVPs include Roberto Alomar, George Brett, Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson, David Ortiz, Kirby Puckett, Ozzie Smith, Willie Stargell, John Smoltz, Iván Rodríguez, and Mariano Rivera.

Three players have won the award twice: Steve Garvey (1978, 1984), Dave Stewart (1990, 1993), and Orel Hershiser (1988, 1995). Incidentally, all three of these players won their two awards with two different teams. Nine players have gone on to win the World Series MVP Award in the same season in which they won the LCS MVP—eight from the NL and one from the AL. Three players have won while playing for the losing team in the series: Fred Lynn played for the 1982 California Angels;[3] Mike Scott pitched for the 1986 Houston Astros;[4] and Jeffrey Leonard played for the 1987 San Francisco Giants.[5] Two players have shared the award in the same year three times, all in the NL; Rob Dibble and Randy Myers for the 1990 Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Cubs' Jon Lester and Javier Báez in 2016, and Chris Taylor and Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017.

Nelson Cruz won the award in the 2011 ALCS after hitting 6 home runs in the series. Adolis García won the award after having 15 RBIs during the 2023 ALCS. Adam Kennedy won the 2002 ALCS MVP when he hit 3 home runs in 1 game;[6] he had hit 7 during the regular season and hit 80 in his 14-year career.[7] From the pitcher's mound, Steve Avery threw 16+1⁄3 innings without giving up a run in the 1991 NLCS,[8] and John Smoltz amassed 19 strikeouts the following year.[9] Liván Hernández won the 1997 NLCS MVP after winning his only start and earning a win out of the bullpen in relief; he struck out 16 in 10+2⁄3 innings. Daniel Murphy won the 2015 NLCS MVP after hitting home runs in six consecutive games (including the final two games of the preceding division series), setting a major league record for consecutive postseason games with a home run.[10]

Liván Hernández (1997, NL) and his half-brother Orlando Hernández (1999, AL) are the only family pair to have won the award.[11] The only rookies to have won the award are Mike Boddicker (1983, AL), Liván Hernández (1997, NL), Michael Wacha (2013, NL), Randy Arozarena (2020, AL) and Jeremy Peña (2022, AL).[12][13]

  1. ^ Rand, Michael (September 3, 2009). "Thursday (Derek Jeter over Joe Mauer for MVP?) edition: Wha' Happened?". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Archived from the original on August 2, 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  2. ^ Gillette, Gary; Palmer, Pete, eds. (2006). The 2006 ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia. Sterling. p. 1656. ISBN 1-4027-3625-8.
  3. ^ "1982 California Angels Batting, Pitching, and Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  4. ^ "1986 Houston Astros Batting, Pitching, and Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  5. ^ "1987 San Francisco Giants Batting, Pitching, and Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference kennedy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Adam Kennedy Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference avery was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference smoltz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Mets' Daniel Murphy sets mark with homer in sixth straight playoff game". ESPN.com. 2015-10-22. Archived from the original on 2015-10-22. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
  11. ^ "Orlando Hernández Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  12. ^ "Michael Wacha named NLCS MVP". Archived from the original on 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  13. ^ Bob Nightengale (October 18, 2020). "With four ALCS homers, Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena named series MVP". USAToday.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.