It seems like only yesterday that we lived through this World Series on deck today for this MLB Monday miniseries entry. Time flies, doesn’t it? “And then one day you find 10 years have got behind you; no one told you when to run. You missed the starting gun” … no shit. But we digress: this was the first time a Canadian team won the World Series, too, which made it truly a “world” championship of sorts, right?!

1992 World Series MVP: Pat Borders, C, Toronto (original); Jimmy Key, P, Toronto (revised)

The Toronto Blue Jays finally climbed the hump after many years of near success, beating the Atlanta Braves in 6 games to win the Fall Classic for the first time. The winners emerged victorious in all 4 wins by 1 run each time, with the Braves outscoring them, 20-17, overall. That means 7 of the 8 losses Atlanta suffered in the 1991 and 1992 World Series combined came by 1 run. Talk about bad bullpens and rotten luck … wow.

Toronto catcher Pat Borders (.450 BA, 1.250 OPS) won the MVP vote, despite the pitching heroics of veteran Jimmy Key (2-0, 1.00, 9 IP) and reliever Duane Ward (2-0, 0.00, 6 Ks in 3 1/3 IP). Borders had a lot of hits, but he didn’t lead the team in runs scored, and 2 other Blue Jays also knocked in 3 runs apiece. He just doesn’t stand out that much against the rest of his teammates, where as Key does (more so than Ward, too).

Key won Game 4 as a starter and Game 6 as a reliever, which is interesting as he would have been in line to start Game 7. He clearly was willing to do whatever it took for his team to win, and the Game 4 victory was a 2-1 pitching duel against Atlanta ace (one of many, of course) Tom Glavine—and it gave the Blue Jays a commanding 3-1 lead in the Series. After the Braves won Game 5 on the road, it was back to Atlanta.

Toronto needed to win Game 6 to avoid a Game 7, and Key tossed 1 1/3 innings in relief to get it done. Borders did have 2 hits in the game, but he didn’t score a run or drive in one. He just had a lot of hits; yet again, they didn’t add up to a lot of impactful moments. Other hitters had just as much or more value in the matchup than Borders. Meanwhile, Key had more influence on the outcomes than the other pitchers. Check.

1992 ALCS MVP: Roberto Alomar, 2B, Toronto (original, confirmed)

The Blue Jays ended the Oakland Athletics’ mini-dynastic run in a 6-game series that is very famous for this home run—which led to Toronto second baseman Roberto Alomar (.423 BA, 2 HRs, 4 RBI, 5 SBs, 1.157 OPS) winning the MVP vote. With those numbers, it’s hard to argue for anyone else here. Toronto scored 31 runs in the matchup, and after losing Game 1 at home, the Blue Jays recovered to win 3 straight on that HR.

There were other good performances from numerous Toronto players, but that HR changed everything as the series was about to be evened up at 2 games apiece. In fact, down 6-1 in the 8th inning, the Blue Jays pounded the famously stellar Oakland bullpen to tie the game and steal it in extra innings. None of that happens without Alomar’s hit, and the rest of his numbers are an extreme amount of icing on the cake.

1992 NLCS MVP: John Smoltz, SP, Atlanta (original); David Justice, RF, Atlanta (revised)

For the second year in a row, the Braves knocked out the Pittsburgh Pirates in 7 games, and Game 7 was a classic doozy in this matchup. Pittsburgh fell behind 3-1 in the series, and it had the lead in the 9th inning of Game 7, but Atlanta rallied and pulled off the amazing victory. Braves starter John Smoltz (2-0) won the MVP vote, meaning the voters resisted going with an emotional vote after the end of it all, surprisingly.

Smoltz tossed 20 1/3 IP total in the matchup, but he also had 10 walks, which we don’t like at all. Overall, the Braves pitching wasn’t very good, so we look to the hitters: Atlanta right fielder David Justice (2 HRs, 6 RBI, 6 BBs, .979 OPS) really stands out, in terms of an overall offensive profile with no defensive errors. Therefore, we re-assign this award, with no disrespect to Smoltz, of course. It is what it is, as you know.

1992 AL MOTY: Tony La Russa, Oakland (original, confirmed)

Both Toronto Manager Cito Gaston (plus-5 PPP) and Oakland Manager Tony La Russa (plus-7 PPP) are excellent candidates for this award, which was won by La Russa at the time. This was La Russa’s third vote win (1983, 1988), by the way. The Blue Jays beat out the Milwaukee Brewers by 4 games in the AL East, but the Brewers manager was terrible (minus-4 PPP). That all but handed the division to the Blue Jays.

Meanwhile, the A’s finished 6 games ahead of the defending champion Minnesota Twins in the AL West, with their manager (minus-1 PPP) also not exactly providing formidable challenges. Overall, we confirm La Russa’s vote win for the PPP mark and the situational difficulty combined. But Gaston clearly was very good, too. We just wanted to make that clear, for posterity and the formal record.

1992 NL MOTY: Jim Leyland, Pittsburgh (original); Bobby Cox, Atlanta (revised)

Pirates Manager Jim Leyland (plus-4 PPP) won the vote for the second time in 3 years, as Pittsburgh won the NL East by 9 games over the Montréal Expos, who got a minus-2 PPP effort from the manager role. Meanwhile, the Braves won the NL West by 8 games over the Cincinnati Reds, thanks to Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox (plus-4 PPP) as the Reds received a plus-3 PPP managerial effort. Situational advantage? Cox.