Babe Ruth Award

From BR Bullpen

The Babe Ruth Award is an award given to the Major League Baseball player with the best performance in the World Series. The award was created by the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America in 1948. It was named for Babe Ruth, a New York Yankees legend who died in the previous year. It preceded the similar World Series MVP Award by seven years and was typically presented several weeks after the Series. Luis Tiant was the only player on the losing team to win the award for the Boston Red Sox in 1975.

Starting in 2007, the Award was modified to cover the entire postseason that year, and not just the World Series, as the much ore prestigious and mediatized World Series MVP Award - since renamed the Willie Mays Award, covered that ground much better. Still, the award remains a curiosity that receives almost no media coverage.

Award Winners[edit]

BabeRuthAward.JPG
Year MVP Team
1949 Joe Page New York Yankees
1950 Jerry Coleman New York Yankees
1951 Phil Rizzuto New York Yankees
1952 Johnny Mize New York Yankees
1953 Billy Martin New York Yankees
1954 Dusty Rhodes New York Giants
1955 Johnny Podres Brooklyn Dodgers
1956 Don Larsen New York Yankees
1957 Lew Burdette Milwaukee Braves
1958 Elston Howard New York Yankees
1959 Larry Sherry Los Angeles Dodgers
1960 Bill Mazeroski Pittsburgh Pirates
1961 Whitey Ford New York Yankees
1962 Ralph Terry New York Yankees
1963 Sandy Koufax Los Angeles Dodgers
1964 Bob Gibson St. Louis Cardinals
1965 Sandy Koufax Los Angeles Dodgers
1966 Frank Robinson Baltimore Orioles
1967 Lou Brock St. Louis Cardinals
1968 Mickey Lolich Detroit Tigers
1969 Al Weis New York Mets
1970 Brooks Robinson Baltimore Orioles
1971 Roberto Clemente Pittsburgh Pirates
1972 Gene Tenace Oakland Athletics
1973 Bert Campaneris Oakland Athletics
1974 Dick Green Oakland Athletics
1975 Luis Tiant Boston Red Sox
1976 Johnny Bench Cincinnati Reds
1977 Reggie Jackson New York Yankees
1978 Bucky Dent New York Yankees
1979 Willie Stargell Pittsburgh Pirates
1980 Tug McGraw Philadelphia Phillies
1981 Ron Cey Los Angeles Dodgers
1982 Bruce Sutter St. Louis Cardinals
1983 Rick Dempsey Baltimore Orioles
1984 Jack Morris Detroit Tigers
1985 Bret Saberhagen Kansas City Royals
1986 Ray Knight New York Mets
1987 Frank Viola Minnesota Twins
1988 Orel Hershiser Los Angeles Dodgers
1989 Dave Stewart Oakland Athletics
1990 Billy Hatcher Cincinnati Reds
1991 Jack Morris Minnesota Twins
1992 Dave Winfield Toronto Blue Jays
1993 Paul Molitor Toronto Blue Jays
1994 No World Series played due to strike
1995 Tom Glavine Atlanta Braves
1996 Cecil Fielder New York Yankees
1997 Moises Alou Florida Marlins
1998 Scott Brosius New York Yankees
1999 Mariano Rivera New York Yankees
2000 Derek Jeter New York Yankees
2001 Randy Johnson
Curt Schilling
Arizona Diamondbacks
2002 Troy Glaus Anaheim Angels
2003 Josh Beckett Florida Marlins
2004 Keith Foulke Boston Red Sox
2005 Jermaine Dye Chicago White Sox
2006 David Eckstein St. Louis Cardinals

Award Winners since the award was reconfigured to cover the entire postseason

Year MVP Team
2007 Jonathan Papelbon Boston Red Sox
2008 Cole Hamels Philadelphia Phillies
2009 Alex Rodriguez New York Yankees
2010 Tim Lincecum San Francisco Giants
2011 David Freese St. Louis Cardinals
2012 Pablo Sandoval San Francisco Giants
2013 David Ortiz Boston Red Sox
2014 Madison Bumgarner San Francisco Giants
2015 Wade Davis Kansas City Royals
2016 Jon Lester Chicago Cubs
2017 Jose Altuve
Justin Verlander
Houston Astros
2018 David Price Boston Red Sox
2019 Juan Soto
Stephen Strasburg
Washington Nationals
2020 Randy Arozarena Tampa Bay Rays
2021 Freddie Freeman Atlanta Braves