We have arrived in the 1990s on MLB Monday and its miniseries on postseason awards (and then some). The Oakland Athletics played in their third straight World Series, and then they had the highest payroll in baseball. Sounds funny to think about now, huh? The game would change forever soon, thanks to a variety of factors, and it’s never been the same since this time period—for better or for much, much worse, though.

1990 World Series MVP: José Rijo, SP, Cincinnati (original); Billy Hatcher, LF, Cincinnati (revised)

The Cincinnati Reds won their first World Series since 1976—and their last one to date, as well—with a surprising 4-game sweep of the defending MLB champs from Oakland. It was ugly, too, as the Reds outscored the A’s by a combined 22-8 margin, which oddly included 2 games decided by 1 run. The cliché is correct: you can’t lose the close ones, as they ruin your season, or in this case? Your postseason. Check it!

Cincy starter José Rijo (2-0, 0.59 ERA, 15 1/3 IP, 14 Ks, 0.913 WHIP) won the MVP vote, but what about the Reds bullpen? Five different relievers combined for a 0.00 ERA in 13 IP with 12 Ks. Those guys were just as responsible as Rijo for the Series victory. And how about left fielder Billy Hatcher? He hit .750 in this matchup with a 2.050 OPS, while third baseman Chris Sabo helped, too: .563 BA, 2 HRs, 5 RBI, 1.611 OPS.

There’s a lot to choose from here: Rijo was the sentimental pick, as he had been traded by the A’s to the Reds in 1987 for a future Hall of Famer (Dave Parker) in his twilight years. He won Games 1 and 4 with dominant efforts, but the bullpen was able to better him, basically, showing that it didn’t matter really who was on the mound for Cincinnati: the A’s scuffled the whole time, lowering Rijo’s “value” in the matchup. That’s just fact.

But the Reds offense roughing up a strong Oakland pitching staff was the bigger story, and it’s hard to overlook Hatcher’s insane batting line—even if it only came in 4 games. How the heck does a guy hit .750 against the defending champs while putting up an OPS over 2.000? That is just unheard of, and it has to be rewarded with this MVP nod. Sabo was great, too, but Hatcher’s .800 OBP also needs highlighting. WTAF?!

1990 ALCS MVP: Dave Stewart, SP, Oakland (original); Harold Baines, DH, Oakland (revised)

The A’s swept the Boston Red Sox, holding the losers to just 1 run per game, literally, in the matchup, while scoring at will (5 runs per game) in return. Oakland SP Dave Stewart (2-0, 1.13 ERA) won the MVP vote, but he struck out just 4 batters in 16 IP. It was clearly a team effort to hold down the Red Sox lineup, so why single out Stew when everyone else was doing it, too? SPs Mike Moore and Bob Welch were just as effective.

So, the hitters? Oddly, Oakland didn’t hit a single home run in the 4 games, but we’re going to go with the venerable designated hitter Harold Baines here: .357 BA, .866 OPS, 3 RBI, 2 BBs, 1 SB. That’s an all-around effort which tops the others in the regular lineup, really. The RBI mark tied for the team best, and just generally speaking, he provided the broadest impact, even though he wasn’t playing defense at all. Oh well.

1990 NLCS MVP: Rob Dibble, RP & Randy Myers, RP, Cincinnati (original-tie); Paul O’Neill, RF, Cincinnati (revised)

In a 6-game matchup that featured 4 single-run outcomes, the Reds eliminated the Pittsburgh Pirates, thanks to a dominant effort by voted MVPs from the Cincy bullpen: Rob Dibble (0.0 ERA, 5 IP, 10 Ks, 1 SV, 0.200 WHIP) and Randy Myers (0.00 ERA, 5 2/3 IP, 7 Ks, 3 SVs, 0.882 WHIP). If we had to pick between the 2 guys, we’d go with Dibble, who was virtually un-hittable, allowing just 1 base runner in his outings. But …

Right fielder Paul O’Neill (4 RBI, 1.324 OPS) was pretty good, too, as was first baseman Hal Morris (.417 BA, 1.000 OPS) and Hatcher (2 RBI, 0.933 OPS), again. Since the pitching staff was all good all around (2.38 ERA), we’re going to go with O’Neill here, who would go on to more success with the New York Yankees later in this decade. He is one of the all-time greats in terms of clubhouse leadership and on-the-field effort.

1990 AL MOTY: Jeff Torb0rg, Chicago (original); Joe Morgan, Boston (revised)

The AL West featured the A’s beating out the Chicago White Sox by 9 games, despite Chicago Manager Jeff Torborg (plus-7 PPP) getting the most out of his roster. He won the MOTY vote, but we’re going with Boston Manager Joe Morgan (again), because his plus-3 PPP effort helped the Red Sox win the AL East by 2 games over the superior Toronto Blue Jays. That’s a difference maker, and this is the second time we’ve picked him.

1990 NL MOTY: Jim Leyland, Pittsburgh (original); Roger Craig, San Francisco (revised)

The Pirates won the NL East by 2 games over the New York Mets, but mostly because two Mets managers combined for a minus-7 PPP. Pirates Manager Jim Leyland (plus-2 PPP) won the MOTY vote, but it’s clear that the “Mess” were more responsible for the final outcome here. In the NL West, the Reds topped the Los Angeles Dodgers by 5 games and the San Francisco Giants by 6 games in winning that division. But …

Cincinnati Manager Lou Piniella (minus-1 PPP) wasn’t the reason the Reds won, though, and Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda (even-0 PPP) didn’t impact this race much, either. But Giants Manager Roger Craig (plus-3 PPP) made this a 3-way race when it never should have been, so we’re giving him our nod. This means for the first time in this miniseries, we didn’t agree with any of the 5 voting results. Shocker!