This MLB Monday miniseries continues through the 1950s with this look at the World Series MVP and Manager of the Year awards, with a vote winner for the former and our best approximations for the latter. There was yet another New York City Fall Classic, which had to have gotten kind of boring for the rest of the country, in truth. After all, who wants to see the same thing year after year? Good question for another day.

1956 World Series MVP: Don Larsen, SP, New York (AL) (original); Yogi Berra, C, New York (AL) (revised)

The New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games to claim another MLB title. This time, the Yanks beat the Dodgers, 9-0, in Game 7 on the road, which was pretty humiliating for Brooklyn. The Dodgers had forced Game 7 with an extra-innings, 1-0 victory in Game 6 at home. So, it had to be a letdown to lose so badly in the deciding contest. N.Y. starting pitcher Don Larsen won the MVP vote, mostly for this.

But we like catcher Yogi Berra (3 HRs, 10 RBI, 1.248 OPS) a little more for the award, as Larsen was kind of embarrassing in his other Series start (1 2/3 IP, 4 walks, 4 runs albeit unearned). His perfecto came in Game 5 at home, but the Yankees lost that momentum thanks to the Game 6 loss. So we’re not sure why the voters went Larsen’s way when N.Y. starter Johnny Kucks tossed a three-hit shutout in Game 7 on the road.

Dodgers starter Sal Maglie was the best pitcher in the Series, overall, pitching two complete games, but he also lost Game 5 to Larsen—which is no disgrace. In the end, Berra hit the Series-clinching HR in the first inning of Game 7, and with his other numbers in total, he deserves this MVP nod much more than Larsen. New York also gave up 8 unearned runs in this series, and Berra did not commit an error. That’s a plus.

1956 AL MOTY: Pinky Higgins, Boston

The only manager of a winning team to post a positive PPP mark was Boston Red Sox Manager Pinky Higgins (plus-4). Yankees Manager Casey Stengel (minus-1) guided his team to a 9-game margin for the pennant victory, but he was on cruise control, obviously, with that talented roster. The Red Sox finished 13 games behind New York, by the way. This is Higgins’ first win of the award.

1956 NL MOTY: Walter Alston, Brooklyn

The Dodgers won the pennant by one game over the Milwaukee Braves and by two games over the Cincinnati Redlegs. Brooklyn Manager Walter Alston (plus-3 PPP) and Cincinnati Manager Birdie Tebbetts (plus-3) were good, while the Braves’ two managers combined for an even-zero PPP mark. We’re giving this to Alston for the third year in a row—and to a Brooklyn skipper for the sixth straight season!