We have reached a turning point on our MLB Monday miniseries entry: this was the final season before a World Series MVP Award was voted upon at the end of the Fall Classic. Woo-hoo! So, we present today our last individual analysis of the award, and we hope it will be even more fun going forward to match our picks against the media choices in the moment, at the time. That’s sure to be a fun ride, if the past is precedent.

1954 World Series MVP: Johnny Antonelli, P, New York (NL)

In a surprise result, the heavily favored Cleveland Indians—winners of an AL-record (at the time) 111 games during the regular season—were swept by the New York Giants. The NL champs won their first World Series since 1933, and it would be their last one in New York. Heck, it would be their last MLB championship until they had to cheat for one in 2010, while residing all the way across the country. Quite an interesting path.

Back to the point: Which N.Y. player gets hardware? Here are the candidates: Johnny Antonelli. That’s it. Our pick for the 1954 NL Cy Young also will be our pick for the World Series MVP, as no Giants hitter really stood out. He delivered a 0.84 ERA, despite a 1.406 WHIP, with a win in Game 2 and a save in Game 4. With 12 Ks in 10 2/3 IP, Antonelli wasn’t the only reason the Giants won the Series, but he was the primary one.

N.Y. pinch hitter Dusty Rhodes drove in 7 runs with 2 homers in just six ABs. That’s not enough to warrant the MVP, really, in our minds; it was a fluke. We all know Willie Mays (3 RBI, .802 OPS) made a huge defensive play in Game 1 that may have just stunned Cleveland into shock from which it never recovered. Two other N.Y. hitters each had seven hits, but they drove in just 1 run between them in the process.

It was a weird Series, in truth, but after stealing Game 1, the Giants’ 3-1 victory in Game 2 over AL Cy winner Early Wynn was cementing the situation for New York. That was Antonelli’s complete-game doing. Game 3 was a 6-2 blowout that all but clinched the Fall Classic for the Giants, and then Antonelli came in during the eighth inning of Game 4 to get the final five outs of the Series for New York. He choked the life out, period.

1954 AL MOTY: Al López, Cleveland

With those 111 victories, the Indians beat the New York Yankees by 8 games for the AL pennant. Cleveland Manager Al López posted the highest PPP mark (plus-7) in the circuit, so we have an easy job here to hand him his first MOTY nod. Despite a .617 winning percentage, the Indians would let him go after 1956 season, and he led the Chicago White Sox to the AL pennant in 1959, losing the Series then, too, to the L.A. Dodgers.

1954 NL MOTY: Walter Alston, Brooklyn

We don’t know if these Giants were cheating like the 1951 version, but N.Y. won the pennant by 5 games over the Brooklyn Dodgers, despite Giants Manager Leo Durocher and his even-0 PPP effort. Meanwhile, new Dodgers Manager Walter Alston delivered a whopping plus-11 PPP mark. This pennant race never should have been anything resembling close, so we have to hand it to Alston here, because that PPP result is nuts!

For the record, this is the fourth season in a row we chose a Dodgers manager for this award; the first three were won by Chuck Dressen.