What is the difference between the World Series MVP and the Babe Ruth Award?

Individual awards in sports are a recognition of outstanding performance in their respective disciplines, and in Major League Baseball, there are two highly significant awards for players of teams participating in the postseason. These are the World Series MVP and the Babe Ruth Award.

World Series MVP vs Babe Ruth Award

The World Series MVP is presented by Major League Baseball to the best player of the World Series, regardless of whether their team ultimately clinches the championship. Since 1955, this award has been honouring exceptional players. In 2017, it began to be named after Willie Mays, a Cooperstown member renowned for his career with the Giants and Mets. The only player to be named the World Series MVP despite being on the losing team was infielder Bobby Richardson of the New York Yankees in 1960. The latest winner is Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers, the 2023 champions.

As for the Babe Ruth Award, it is not awarded by Major League Baseball but by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America to the player with the best performance in the postseason. The award was first given in 1949, a year after the passing of the legendary New York Yankees baseball player it is named after, to the best player in the World Series. However, since 2007, it has been presented to the best player across all playoff games.

The list of past winners includes Hall of Fame members such as Phil Rizzuto, Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente, Reggie Jackson, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Tim Lincecum, David Freese, David Ortiz, José Altuve, and Jeremy Peña.

All the World Series MVPs

1955, Johnny Podres, Brooklyn Dodgers

1956 Don Larsen, New York Yankees

1957, Lew Burdette, Milwaukee Braves

1958, Bob Turley, New York Yankees

1959, Larry Sherry, Los Angeles Dodgers

1960, Bobby Richardson, New York Mets

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, Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals

1968, Mickey Lolich, Detroit Tigers

1969, Donn Clendenon, New York Mets

1970, Brooks Robinson, Baltimore Orioles

1971, Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates

1972, Gene Tenace, Oakland Athletics

1973, Reggie Jackson, Oakland Athletics

1974, Rollie Fingers, Oakland Athletics

1975, Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds

1976, Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds

1977, Reggie Jackson, New York Yankees

1978, Bucky Dent, New York Yankees

1979, Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates

1980, Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies

1981, Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, Steve Yeager, Los Angeles Dodgers

1982, Darrell Porter, St. Louis Cardinals

1983, Rick Dempsey, Baltimore Orioles

1984, Alan Trammell, 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, José Rijo, Cincinnati Reds

1991, Jack Morris, Minnesota Twins

1992, Pat Borders, Toronto Blue Jays

1993, Paul Molitor, Toronto Blue Jays

1994 Series canceled

1995, Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves

1996, John Wetteland, New York Yankees

1997, Liván Hernández, Florida Marlins

1998, Scott Brosius, New York Yankees

1999, Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees

2000, Derek Jeter, New York Yankees

2001, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, Arizona Diamondbacks

2002, Troy Glaus, Anaheim Angels

2003, Josh Beckett, Florida Marlins

2004, Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox

2005, Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox

2006, David Eckstein, St. Louis Cardinals

2007, Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox

2008, Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies

2009, Hideki Matsui, New York Yankees

2010, Edgar Renteria, 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, Salvador Pérez, Kansas City Royals

2016, Ben Zobrist, Chicago Cubs

2017, George Springer, Houston Astros

2018, Steve Pearce, Boston Red Sox

2019, Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals

2020, Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers

2021, Jorge Soler, Atlanta Braves

2022, Jeremy Pena, Houston Astros

2023, Corey Seager, Texas Rangers

All the Babe Ruth Award winners

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, New York Mets

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 Series canceled

1995, Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves

1996, Cecil Fielder, New York Yankees

1997, Liván Hernández, Florida Marlins

1998, Scott Brosius, New York Yankees

1999, Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees

2000, Derek Jeter, New York Yankees

2001, Randy Johnson and 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

2007, Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox

2008, Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies

2009, Alex Rodríguez, 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, José Altuve and Justin Verlander, Houston Astros

2018, David Price, Boston Red Sox

2019, Juan Soto and Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals

2020, Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays

2021, Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves

2022, Jeremy Pena, Houston Astros