For MLB Monday today, we take on the first postseason of the twenty-first century (depending on your perspective, of course), and the “end” of the New York Yankees’ most recent dynastic run of titles. Yes, the team won its third straight World Series—and fourth in five seasons—but the Bronx Bombers have only won it all again one time since this season, which is pretty amazing when you think about it. Enjoy today!

2000 World Series MVP: Derek Jeter, SS, New York (AL) (original); Paul O’Neill, RF, New York (AL) (revised)

The first intercity World Series since 1956 featured the Yankees and the New York Mets, with the defending champions winning the Fall Classic in 5 games that were actually pretty close. New York (AL) outscored New York (NL) by a combined 19-16 score, winning the first 2 games at home by 1 run each—and then winning Game 4 on the road by 1 run, too. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was voted the Series MVP at the time.

Why? He hit .409 with 2 RBI and a 1.344 OPS, but he struck out 8 times while walking just 3 times. He did lead the team with 6 runs scored, however, despite not leading the team in on-base percentage. That honor went to right fielder Paul O’Neill, who hit .474 in the matchup—also with just 2 RBI, despite his 1.335 OPS. He also walked 3 times, but O’Neill only whiffed 4 times. Why would voters choose Jeter in this situation?

Yankees pitching was a mixed bag, despite a 2.68 ERA as a team overall. The only pitcher to get 2 starts didn’t pitch all that well, and he didn’t get a win, either. The best starter was a probable PED user at the time. The most effective reliever did not get a save or a win. In general, no one stands out noticeably on the mound, so it’s back to a debate between Jeter and O’Neill then. We pick the guy with the much higher BA.

2000 ALCS MVP: David Justice, LF, New York (original); Bernie Williams, CF, New York (revised)

New York topped the Seattle Mariners in 6 games to win the AL pennant, and left fielder David Justice (8 RBI, .824 OPS) was voted the MVP. But he hit just .231 and struck out 7 times in the matchup. We’re not impressed. Centerfielder Bernie Williams (.435 BA, 1.090 OPS) looks better to us, as does Jeter (.318, 1.055). Even first baseman Tino Martinez (.320, .890) hit/played better than Justice in this series. Tough choices.

The Yankees outscored the Mariners, 31-18, here, and no N.Y. pitcher dominated the matchup with 2 impressive starts. We have to go with Williams here for the same reasons we went with O’Neill above: just more consistency at the plate throughout the matchup. He won this award in 1996, too, and so he becomes just the second player—after Paul Molitor—to win this hardware twice, so far, in our minds. Well done.

2000 NLCS MVP: Mike Hampton, SP, New York (original, confirmed)

The Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals in 5 games to win their first NL pennant since 1986, and it wasn’t very close: New York won its 4 games by a combined 29-13 margin. Mets SP Mike Hampton (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 16 IP, 12 Ks, 0.813 WHIP) won the MVP vote at the time, and it will be hard to top that, as a lot of N.Y. hitters had good series: 4 of them posted OPS marks from .947 to 1.487 overall. In fact, one of them was very good.

Catcher Mike Piazza (1.487 OPS, 5 BBs, 0 Ks) stands out the most, really. That’s a pretty good week to have in the spotlight, and while Hampton won Games 1 and 5 to bookend the matchup, Piazza hit .412 with 5 extra-base hits among his 7 total knocks. Throw in the walks, and it’s a crazy, insane batting line he put up. Yet again, a lot of Mets hitters did well, while Hampton set the tone for the series—and finished it off. Check.

2000 AL MOTY: Jerry Manuel, Chicago (original); Jim Fregosi, Toronto (revised)

The Chicago White Sox won the AL Central by 5 games over the Cleveland Indians, and Manager Jerry Manuel (plus-3 PPP) won the MOTY vote. He did have the higher PPP mark of any playoff-bound team, although Toronto Blue Jays Manager Jim Fregosi (plus-6) put out the best effort among winning teams—finishing just 4.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East. New York Manager Joe Torre (plus-2) was solid.

Circumstantially, it seems like Torre would have no case here, but the Boston Red Sox finished between the Yankees and the Blue Jays, and they perhaps should have won the division if not for Manager Jimy Williams (minus-1). While Torre benefitted from Williams’ ineptitude, he still had to overcome Fregosi’s brilliance. Cleveland Manager Charlie Manuel (minus-2) all but handed the AL Central to the White Sox.

The 2 Manuels are not related, but they’re key figures here: Charlie’s struggles benefitted Jerry’s team, while Torre had to survive to overcome Fregosi. Yet Torre was working with a seriously amazing roster, as evidenced by the team’s postseason successes. He didn’t really need to do much, so in the end, we’re giving this nod to Fregosi for serious—and relevant—overachievement. We’re surprised he’s not won this before.

2000 NL MOTY: Dusty Baker, San Francisco (original); Bobby Valentine, New York (revised)

The San Francisco Giants posted the best record in the NL and won the West Division by 11 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite posting just an even-0 PPP mark, though, Manager Dusty Baker won the MOTY vote. We know his team was employing/enabling cheaters at this point, too, so for two reasons—factual and moral—we would never give him this award. His team cheated to win; he did nothing to help.

This is the third time Baker won this award, and yet we only confirmed one of those votes (1997). Overrated? You betcha. A cheater? Confirmed thrice over. Pretty sad that people like him so much. But we digress: who should win this award for real? It comes down to 3 managers: Atlanta’s Bobby Cox (plus-5), New York’s Bobby Valentine (plus-6), and St. Louis’ Tony La Russa (plus-4). All teams made the playoffs.

The Cardinals finished 10 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds to cruise comfortably into the postseason with 95 victories. The Braves (95 wins) and the Mets (94) fought it out to the end for the NL East Division title, but New York claimed the wild-card slot by a comfy 8 games over the Dodgers. None of the 3 teams was in real danger of missing the playoffs. So all things being otherwise equal, Valentine gets our trophy.