Apparently, many baseball fans are confused about this as am I. There are TWO awards:
Babe Ruth award, voted on well after the World Series by New York sports writers for what is now described as the best performance in the post season, which was the same as the World Series from 1949, when the Ruth award started, through 1968. After 1968 additional post season series were played.
Defunct Sport Magazine World Series MVP award, which was "renamed" by MLB to have the name of Willie Mays placed at the front. The award started in 1955.
I'm all for Mays getting much more recognition than he has in recent decades but this makes very little sense. Except for Barry Bonds, Willie Mays is the greatest living player.
Mays played in three World Series:
1954: Mays made a legendary catch in game one, which was mentioned when the WS MVP award was named after him in late September 2017. However, his teammate Dusty Rhodes was voted the Babe Ruth award. New York Giants swept Cleveland.
1962: New York Yankees beat San Francisco Giants in 7 games. Mays got a key double in the 9th inning of game 7 but hit only .250 and didn't do much else. Yankee pitcher Ralph Terry won both MVP awards.
1973: Oakland As beat New York Mets who had acquired Mays. This was Willie's final season and he couldn't contribute much. Bert Campaneris won the Ruth award and Reggie Jackson won the Sport Magazine award. Both played for Oakland.
Maybe Commissioner Manfred, the A-Rod Slayer, had good intentions but this gesture is so misplaced it's almost insulting. The great Willie Mays deserves better.
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