Our second MLB Monday miniseries moves to the final season (depending on your perspective, of course) of the 20th century—and the postseason was a battle (sort of) for the title of Team of the ’90s. We will leave it at that. The game was changing … and not in a good way. We’ve had some of the same challenges here as we did in the first MLB miniseries, and we will continue to faithfully execute our mission here for you. Duh.

1999 World Series MVP: Mariano Rivera, RP, New York (AL) (original); Chuck Knoblauch, 2B, New York (AL) (revised)

The New York Yankees won their third World Series in four years by denying the Atlanta Braves their second championship in five years (to go along with their five overall pennants). And it wasn’t close this time like it was in 1996, as the Bronx Bombers swept the Braves away with ease by an overall 21-9 combined score. There was a single 1-run loss for Atlanta this time, as New York closer Mariano Rivera was the MVP.

We named Rivera the MVP last year, so will we confirm his performance (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 2/3 IP) this time around?Well, three different pitchers in Yankees rotation won their only start of the matchup, pitching more innings than Rivera and keeping the Braves offense stifled, too (combined 21 2/3 IP and only 2 ERs). The key start was, incidentally, Game 1 in Atlanta, where SP Orlando Hernández struck out 10 hitters.

That victory took away the Braves’ home-field advantage and set the tone for the Fall Classic, in truth. When New York won Game 2 in Atlanta, the Yankees starter actually walked more batters than he struck out. So, that wasn’t worthy. But it was just 1 start—what about the Yankees offense? Four starters posted OPS marks between .800 and .915 as there was no singular star here. Choosing one of the 4 might be difficult to do.

Rivera actually tied with New York second baseman Chuck Knoblauch for Win Probability Added (0.50) on the team, and Knoblauch played in every game without committing an error. In fact, he led the Yankees with that .915 OPS and 5 runs scored, too, while adding 1 home run, 3 RBI, and 1 stolen base. He did it all, and because almost every pitcher smacked down Atlanta, we go with Knoblauch for leading the offense.

1999 ALCS MVP: Orlando Hernández, SP, New York (original, confirmed)

The Yankees beat East Coast rival Boston in 5 games to win the AL pennant, and Hernández (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 15 IP, 13 K) was named the MVP. But with 6 walks, the WHIP doesn’t impress us, and he didn’t win his game until the last one when the matchup was already in hand. Hernández started Game 1 and got the only second start. Is there someone else we can find to serve history and posterity better here?Let’s see.

Rivera had almost the same line he had in the World Series, oddly. Rivera had a win and 2 saves again, but he actually gave up more hits than innings pitched. Batting wise? Shortstop Derek Jeter had a great series at the plate, but he made 2 errors in the field. Third baseman Scott Brosius had a .930 OPS but only a .222 batting average. No batting line really jumps out at us. By default, we will confirm the vote then. Ho hum.

1999 NLCS MVP: Eddie Pérez, C, Atlanta (original, confirmed)

In a matchup where the last 5 games were all decided by 1 run each, the Braves beat the New York Mets in 6 games to win their fifth pennant of the decade. Atlanta took a 3-0 lead in the series and then held on to win Game 6 at home in extra innings by a 10-9 score; Braves catcher Eddie Pérez (.500 BA, 2 HRs, 5 RBI, 1.424 OPS) was the voted MVP. It’s hard to beat a stat line like that, but we have to look at the pitchers anyway.

The only standout is SP Greg Maddux (1-0, 1.93, 0.929 WHIP, 14 IP). He won Game 1 at home and then had a good start in Game 5 which the Mets eventually won in 15 innings. That’s not impressive enough to overcome the hitting line above, so we confirm this vote for perhaps the most anonymous Atlanta player of its 1990s pennant-winning teams. His 1.8 career WAR mark is brutal, to say the least. Oh well; it happens.

1999 AL MOTY: Jimy Williams, Boston (original); Johnny Oates, Texas (revised)

The Yankees won the AL East by 4 games over the Red Sox, and that seems to have swayed voters to go with Boston Manager Jimy Williams (plus-2 PPP) here. But he also had a 7-game cushion for the wild-card spot to work with in the end, so we’re not sold. Texas Rangers Manager Johnny Oates (plus-7) helped his team win the AL West over Oakland by 8 games, so that’s more impressive to us, for sure. Is there anyone else?

Cleveland won the AL Central by 21.5 games, so that’s not going to help us. Oates easily had the best PPP mark in the league, and it was a mark that really helped decide a division title and/or playoff spot. Oates won the vote in 1996 here, but we gave the hardware to someone else at the time. This is part of that circle here, where everything evens out in the end. Plus, there’s this to think about with the Red Sox, too. Sadly.

1999 NL MOTY: Jack McKeon, Cincinnati (original); Bobby Cox (revised)

The Cincinnati Reds finished with 96 wins, tying New York Mets for the wild card (the Mets then won a 1-game playoff), and the voters gave Manager Jack McKeon (even-0 PPP) the MOTY nod. We love McKeon, but no way should he have won this award with that PPP effort. In fact, the best PPP mark in the league belonged to Braves Manager Bobby Cox (plus-5), as Atlanta beat the Mets by 6.5 games in the NL East.

That’s as good as it gets when you have an upstart team trying to take your crown, and you post the best effort in the league. The next-best PPP mark by a manager on a winning team? Mets Manager Bobby Valentine at plus-2 overall. So, clearly, Cox earned his salary this time around with the Braves. This is our third time giving this nod to Cox, and he also won the AL MOTY vote in 1985. He was pretty darn good.