Our current MLB Monday miniseries finds itself in the weird strike-split season where the playoffs got a little … complicated. There were first-half division winners and second-half division winners; there were divisional playoffs; there were the usual league championship series. And it all ended the same way it normally does: with a World Series at the end. So, here we go without the ad-hoc LDS MVP analyses.

1981 World Series MVP: Ron Cey, 3B; Pedro Guerrero, RF; Steve Yeager, C, Los Angeles (original-tie); Guerrero (revised)

Absolutely ridiculous to have 3 guys voted as the Series co-MVPs, in truth, so we’re happy to break this up sensibly. Oh, did we mention the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in 6 games to win their first Series since 1965? Third baseman Ron Cey (.958 OPS), right fielder Pedro Guerrero (1.179 OPS), and catcher Steve Yeager (1.052 OPS) all “won” the vote, somehow. Guerrero was the best with 2 HRs and 7 RBI.

Any pitchers to consider? Nope. So, why did Cey (1 HR, 6 RBI) and Yeager (2 HRs, 4 RBI) get the love they did? The Yankees won the first 2 games in New York, before L.A. came back to win the next 3 contests at home by 1 run each: Guerrero and Yeager each hit huge HRs in Game 5 to provide the winning formula, so that sort of explains part of it. Cey had 5 RBI in Games 3 and 4 combined, as well. So … okay? But still!

In the end, we have to go with Guerrero’s numbers, which are better in almost every way than those of Cey or Yeager. Even using a fancy sabermetric like “Win Probability Added” shows us that Guerrero was considerably more impactful than Cey—who in turn was even more considerably impactful than Yeager. That’s our order, if anyone’s asking. So, we give this one to Guerrero, who also won our 1985 NL MVP nod.

1981 ALCS MVP: Graig Nettles, 3B, New York (original, confirmed)

The Yankees roughed up the Oakland Athletics in a three-game sweep by an aggregate 20-4 score. It was ugly, and with the short series, we have to turn to the hitters: who did the most damage? Well, it was the vote winner, 3B Graig Nettles, who hit 1 HR and drove in a whopping 9 runs on the back of a .500 batting average and a 1.488 OPS. No Yankees starter went more than 6 IP, either, so we confirm this award, easy.

1981 NLCS MVP: Burt Hooton, SP, Los Angeles (original); Ray Burris, SP, Montréal (revised)

It took the Dodgers the full 5 games to eliminate the Montréal Expos, and L.A. had to win both Games 4 and 5 on the road, no less. Starter Burt Hooton was named the NLCS MVP by the voters, and it’s hard to disagree as he went 2-0 in this matchup without allowing an earned run. He didn’t have dazzling stuff, though, walking 6 and striking out 7 in his 14 1/3 IP. His WHIP (1.159) shows he was good but not great.

So, what about any of the Dodgers hitters? No regular had an OPS over .800 for the 5-game matchup, so that’s not going to cut it. The Expos losing Game 5 by a 2-1 margin, we could look at 2 players from the Montréal roster: SP Ray Burris (17 IP, 1-0, 0.53 ERA, 0.765 WHIP) and C Gary Carter (.438 BA, 1.050 OPS). Burris won Game 2 on the road and pitched 1-run ball for 8 innings in Game 5 before the bullpen lost it.

That seems better than Carter to us, who actually hit no HRs and didn’t drive in a single run across the 5 games, either. That’s a weird stat line: he walked 4 times and scored 3 times to lead his team in those categories, but 6 singles and 1 double didn’t manage any RBIs. Oh well … is that enough to warrant an MVP nod? Carter had 1 hit and 1 walk in Game 5, so he wasn’t quiet. We’re going with Burris here, for pure WPA.

1981 AL MOTY: Earl Weaver, Baltimore

The split-season leaves us with weird numbers, but 4 managers stood out: Baltimore’s Earl Weaver (plus-7 PPP), Milwaukee’s Buck Rodgers (plus-4), Detroit’s Sparky Anderson (plus-3), and Oakland’s Billy Martin (plus-3). Three of these guys have won this award from us before, but we’re eliminating Martin right away as the A’s won the AL West Division readily, with him being the only manager in plus-PPP land.

The AL East was more rugged: the Brewers had the best overall record, with the Orioles trailing by a single game. The Tigers were 2 games behind in the combined standing. Only the Brewers, however, managed to win one of the “half seasons” to qualify for the postseason. Weaver was clearly the best manager, however, and the Os missed out on the first-half title by 2 games and the second-half title by 2 games. He’s our pick.

1981 NL MOTY: John McNamara, Cincinnati

This award comes down to St. Louis Manager Whitey Herzog (plus-3 PPP) and Cincinnati Manager John McNamara (plus-9 PPP). Like the Orioles, the Reds didn’t win either half of the season, missing out on the two half crowns by a combined 2 games—while posting the best record in the league overall. The Cardinals also pulled off a similar feat, missing out on either side of the season by a combined 2 games. Just crazy.

Herzog had won 3 straight AL West Division titles with the Kansas City Royals before moving on to the Cardinals, while McNamara had managed the A’s right before they launched their 1970s dynasty. Both have more news to make ahead in the 1980s, so keep your eyes open for them in this space. But we’re going with McNamara here, because that PPP mark in a shortened season (108 games) is absolutely stunning.