The MLB Monday miniseries cruises to the latter parts of the 1980s today with a look at the season of the “juiced-ball” theory. Home run totals were up all across the board, which is ironic considering our league MVP picks for this season. This was one of those years that we retrospectively disagreed with every award vote, so we will see if that carries over to these awards analyses today, too, starting with the Fall Classic …

1987 World Series MVP: Frank Viola, SP, Minnesota (original); Dan Gladden, LF, Minnesota (revised)

The Minnesota Twins won their first-ever World Series, even though the franchise itself won the 1924 Fall Classic as the (first) Washington Senators. They needed 7 games to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, and Twins starting pitcher Frank Viola (2-1, 3.72 ERA) won the MVP vote. He won’t win our vote, because he lost Game 4 on the road, and that ERA is not impressive, either. So, we have to look elsewhere for a true MVP winner.

There were a lot of hitting stars for Minnesota, so we can parse those later if needs be, and beyond Viola, there’s no worthy pitcher on the Twins, either. What about the Cardinals, since the matchup went the distance? Most of the decent St. Louis hitters committed defensive errors, and with a team ERA of 5.64 in this Series, the Cards pitchers are out, too, so we will look to the Twins lineup here once again to split hairs.

Centerfielder Kirby Puckett is out since he committed an error; that leaves us with catcher Tim Laudner (1 HR, 4 RBI, 5 BBs, .944 OPS), left fielder Dan Gladden (1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BBs, 2 SBs, .869 OPS), and third baseman Gary Gaetti (1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BBs, 2 SBs, .852 OPS). At first glance, it’s clear Gladden should have won this award for his all-around game, and he also had an RBI in the 4-2 win in Game 7. We’ll buy in now.

1987 ALCS MVP: Gary Gaetti, 3B, Minnesota (original, confirmed)

Minnesota rolled the Detroit Tigers in 5 games to win the AL pennant, with Gaetti (2 HRs, 5 RBI, .998 OPS) getting the MVP nod here. A quick glance at the composite box score here shows us this was correct choice as all other options were flawed: hitters with errors and/or caught stealing … and pitchers with high ERAs, etc. So, we confirm this one without much more need for discussion or explanation.

1987 NLCS MVP: Jeffrey Leonard, LF, San Francisco (original); Ken Dayley, RP, St. Louis (revised)

The Cardinals edged the San Francisco Giants in 7 games here, winning the final 2 games on home turf to complete a comeback. But Giants LF Jeffrey Leonard (4 HRs, 5 RBI, 3 BBs, 1.417 OPS) won the MVP vote, as his HR total was a record at the time for a 7-game playoff series. But S.F. was shutout in both Games 6 and 7, and while Leonard was the main reason the Giants took a 3-2 lead in the matchup, we can’t endorse this.

There are no good options in the St. Louis lineup for an MVP here, and both SPs who started the last 2 games also suffered losses earlier in the series. So, honestly, this comes down to a Cardinals reliever for us: either Ken Dayley (2 saves, 0.00 ERA, 0.750 WHIP) or Todd Worrell (1 save, 2.08 ERA, 1.154 WHIP). Clearly, it’s Dayley, who earned his saves in Game 1 and Game 6, both at home, the latter a huge 1-0 victory.

1987 AL MOTY: Sparky Anderson, Detroit (original); Tom Kelly, Minnesota (revised)

Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson (plus-2 PPP) won the vote here, as his team outdid the Toronto Blue Jays by 2 games to win the AL East. Blue Jays Manager Jimy Williams (who just passed away recently) was terrible, posting a minus-4 PPP mark. So we can’t give Sparky that much credit here, as Williams sort of gave it away. On the other side of the league, though, we have to recognize Twins Manager Tom Kelly.

Minnesota won the AL West by 2 games over the Kansas City Royals, mostly because Kelly posted a league-best plus-6 PPP effort. At the time, since the Twins only won 85 games, it looked like a “weak” team winning a “weak” division, etc. So, we can understand, perhaps, on how the mediots missed this one. However, that’s our job here: to fix the past via excellent hindsight, so we re-assign this trophy to Kelly as is proper to do.

1987 NL MOTY: Buck Rodgers, Montréal (original); Whitey Herzog, St. Louis (revised)

The vote went to the top PPP finisher in the league, Montréal Expos Manager Buck Rodgers (plus-8). But that only got his team to a third-place finish in the NL East, 4 games behind the Cardinals. While St. Louis Manager Whitey Herzog only managed a plus-4 PPP mark, it was enough to win the division by 3 games over the defending World Series champions, the New York Mets. We think Herzog deserves this one.

Why? Because the Mets should have won the division, and they did not. And because as good as Rodgers was, the Expos still finished in third place, 4 games out. Herzog’s efforts helped his team overcome the champs and exceed expectations on their way to another division title. And his PPP mark was one of the main reasons why, as Mets Manager Davey Johnson (minus-1) struggled to keep pace. It’s that simple to us.