Our MLB Monday miniseries returns to full status today, and we have an editorial note to add: despite the expansion of the playoffs to include 2 League Division Series in both the American and National circuits, we will not be drilling down that deeply for “MVP” hardware. We don’t do it for the NBA, NFL, or NHL playoffs. The only reasons we do it for the LCS matchups is because the awards existed from the start. FYI.

1995 World Series MVP: Tom Glavine, SP, Atlanta (original, confirmed)

The Atlanta Braves finally overcame their inability to win 1-run games in the postseason and won the World Series in 6 games, beating the Cleveland Indians who had not reached the postseason since losing the 1954 Fall Classic. The Braves organization won its first Series since 1957 as well, so this was a fun matchup for the fans. Five games in the set were decided by 1 run, with Atlanta winning 3 of them; that made a difference.

Braves starting pitcher Tom Glavine (2-0, 1.29 ERA, 0.714 WHIP) won the MVP vote after tossing 1-hit, shutout ball in the deciding Game 6. He also won Game 2, and both his victories were 1-run triumphs for Atlanta. Is there anyone else for us to consider? Several different hitters had good weeks against the Cleveland pitching staff, and the Braves pitching (2.67 ERA) did its job well, too. But which player was best?

Atlanta right fielder David Justice had some big moments, topping the lineup in RBI (5) and walks (5). But he only hit .250 in the Series, with an .850 OPS. Other hitters did a little better, demonstrating the overall spread-out effort by the offense. Likewise, other pitchers were good, too, but in the end, Glavine’s numbers were the most impactful of any player in the matchup. We will confirm the vote, readily.

1995 ALCS MVP: Orel Hershiser, Cleveland (original); Kenny Lofton, CF, Cleveland (revised)

Seven years after his masterful 1988 postseason, Orel Hershiser was at it again, this time for the Indians. He won the ALCS vote after posting a 2-0 record, with a 1.29 ERA and 0.857 WHIP, in leading Cleveland to a 6-game matchup victory over the Seattle Mariners—making their first postseason ever. Seattle was up 2-1 in the series before dropping 3 straight games, with Hershiser winning a huge Game 5 after his Game 2 win.

But we find it hard to ignore center fielder Kenny Lofton (.458 BA, 1.142 OPS, 3 RBI, 4 BBs, 5 SBs) here. Despite the fact 4 Cleveland hitters put up at least a .900 OPS, Lofton’s all-around game still stands out tremendously in a matchup where the Indians outscored the Mariners, 23-12. Yes, clearly all the Cleveland pitchers were very good (1.64 ERA), not just Hershiser. So we go with Lofton for this award instead, logically.

1995 NLCS MVP: Mike Devereaux, OF, Atlanta (original); Chipper Jones, 3B, Atlanta (revised)

The Braves swept the Cincinnati Reds in 4 games to win their third NL pennant in four postseasons, and outfielder Mike Devereaux (.308 BA, .973 OPS, 5 RBI, ) won the MVP vote. However, there were a lot of great batting lines in this uneven matchup: Atlanta outscored Cincy, 19-5, which shows how dominant the Braves pitching was, too. Offensively, we like third baseman Chipper Jones (.438, 1.151, 3 RBI) more here.

On the mound, however, no starter got more than 1 start, and no individual totaled more than 8 innings pitched. It’s hard to give a pitcher this award, in a sweep, unless he made 2 starts or saved all 4 games, etc., as has happened in the past. So, we stick with hitters: Jones also stole a base while Devereaux had just 4 hits total in the series. That’s not enough to warrant an MVP nod at all. So we re-assign this award to Jones.

1995 AL MOTY: Lou Piniella, Seattle (original); Kevin Kennedy, Boston (revised)

Voters gave this award to Mariners Manager Lou Piniella (minus-1 PPP) since it was Seattle’s first-ever postseason after 19 seasons of existence. But we can’t give the nod to a guy with that PPP mark. Cleveland won the AL Central by 30 games, so it’s hard tor reward Indians Manager Mike Hargrove (plus-7 PPP) despite his league-best PPP mark. Fortunately, we have a perfectly good candidate in Boston here.

Manager Kevin Kennedy (plus-6 PPP) guided his team to a 7-game edge over the New York Yankees, and that is good enough for us to give him this award. We also give a special nod to Texas Rangers Manager Johnny Oates (plus-5 PPP) who kept his team within 4.5 games of the Mariners in the AL West, even though that wasn’t good enough for the wild-card berth—which went to the Yankees, by the way.

1995 NL MOTY: Don Baylor, Colorado (original, confirmed)

The Braves won the NL East by 21 games; the Reds won the NL Central by 9 games; and the Los Angeles Dodgers won the NL West by 1 game over the Colorado Rockies. Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda (plus-3 PPP) and Rockies Manager Don Baylor (plus-5) both deserve consideration for this reward, with Baylor getting the vote win at the time for getting Colorado to the wild-card spot in just its 3rd season of existence.

Baylor was the better manager; both teams made the postseason; and Colorado exceeded expectations coming off a 53-64 season the year before. We will confirm Baylor’s nod here, because it is quite crazy to imagine an expansion team making the playoffs so soon (at that time, even if a subsequent expansion team would better the mark soon enough). We may have taken away his 1979 AL MVP, but he gets to keep this.