This edition of MLB Monday faces some ethical and moral challenges as delineated below, and it’s just the way it goes in the sport now. We have to navigate funky waters to find worthiness for our awards, just as we did in the first miniseries on professional baseball in North America. Yet there is a light here today: there was a first-time World Series champion (again), for the third time in 6 seasons. That counts for something!

2002 World Series MVP: Troy Glaus, 3B, Anaheim (original); Scott Spiezio, UTL, Anaheim (revised)

Thankfully, the blunders of the San Francisco Giants enabled the Anaheim Angels to win this matchup in 7 games, sparing us the horror of having to deal with Barry Bonds winning more tainted awards. Angels third baseman Troy Glaus (3 HRs, 8 RBI, 1.313 OPS, 1 error) was voted the Series MVP, although the mediots very easily could have given this nod to Bonds (4 HRs, 1.994 OPS, 13 BBs, 1 error). We don’t like either option.

Glaus was great at the plate, but the error … we have rarely given these awards to guys who make an error, since the sample size is so small: you have to be perfect on defense. But there were 10 errors in this Series matchup, eliminating a lot of players from consideration. Interestingly, the best candidate from Anaheim could be relief pitcher Brendan Donnelly, who won Game 6 in relief when the Angels defied odds.

He tossed 7 2/3 IP of scoreless baseball in the Fall Classic, allowing just 1 hit with a 0.646 WHIP. In a matchup where both teams combined for a 5.65 ERA, that kind of effort stands out. Honestly, no other pitcher was better in the Series. One more glance at the hitting stars reveals just Angels utility man Scott Spiezio (8 RBI, 6 BBs, .922 OPS), who hit the momentum-changing home run in Game 6. Dilemmas!

His 8 RBI were a Series-best effort; his 6 BBs were the best on his own team. He also stole a base, played error-free defense, and changed the whole outcome of the matchup with one swing of the bat. Thus we find this to be a close call with Donnelly’s efforts in 5 different appearances in a Fall Classic where there were 4 games decided by 1 run apiece, with the Angels winning 2 of them. In those 2 wins, he pitched just 1 inning.

So, we’re going with Spiezio instead. The Game 6 homer was huge, with his team down to its final 7 outs and down by 5 runs. It sparked a major comeback, and that momentum carried over into Game 7, where Spiezio added a run scored and a walk to the cause. That’s good enough for us.

2002 ALCS MVP: Adam Kennedy, 2B, Anaheim (original, confirmed)

The Angels defeated the Minnesota Twins in 5 games to win their first-ever pennant in team history, after coming painfully close in 1982 and 1986. Second baseman Adam Kennedy (3 HRs, 5 RBI, 1.357 OPS) won the LCS MVP vote; he was definitely the hitter star of this show, and no starting pitcher did well enough in this short series to match him. Rookie RP Francisco Rodríguez (2-0, 0.00) was good, but we confirm the vote.

2002 NLCS MVP: Benito Santiago, C, San Francisco (original); Robb Nen, RP, San Francisco (revised)

The Giants took a 2-0 lead in this matchup, winning both games on the road, and then the next 3 games were all 1-run affairs, with San Francisco emerging the victor in 5 games overall. Catcher Benito Santiago (2 HRs, 6 RBI, .964 OPS) won the MVP vote; he won’t win our award here because of his verified guilt in the BALCO scandal. Of course, it’s hard to find anyone on this roster who wasn’t guilty of something illicit.

None of the Giants starting pitchers won twice in this matchup. Therefore, we like closer Robb Nen for this award: 3 saves, 4 Ks in 3 1/3 IP. His story is a sad one, as overuse by Manager Dusty Baker—himself a lifelong enabler of cheaters—basically ended Nen’s career after this 2002 postseason. He was only 32 years old, but Baker had maxed out his closer’s arm over the 1998-2002 regular seasons. Shame on Baker, again.

2002 AL MOTY: Mike Scioscia, Anaheim (original); Art Howe, Oakland (revised)

Angels Manager Mike Scioscia (minus-2 PPP) somehow won the AL MOTY vote, despite his poor showing from the dugout. Anaheim claimed the wild-card spot with 99 wins, losing out in the AL West to the Oakland Athletics and their famous 20-game win streak. A’s Manager Art Howe (plus-7) actually should have won this award. He had the second-best PPP mark in the league, and Oakland won the AL West.

New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre (plus-4) had a good year, but his team won the AL East by 10.5 games over the Boston Red Sox, who got a minus-7 PPP effort from their manager. Minnesota Manager Ron Gardenhire (plus-8) was very good, even as his team won the AL Central by 13.5 games. So, with Howe and the A’s winning the AL West by just 4 games, we see his effort as being the most worthy here for the trophy.

2002 NL MOTY: Tony La Russa, St. Louis (original); Bob Brenly, Arizona (revised)

Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa (plus-2 PPP) won the NL MOTY vote, but his team skated to the NL Central title by 13 games. Atlanta Braves Manager Bobby Cox (plus-5) posted the best effort in the league, even though his team cruised to the NL East crown with a 19-game cushion. In the end, we like Arizona Diamondbacks Manager Bob Brenly (plus-3) for this award, as his team won the NL West by a small edge.

As the defending World Series champions, Arizona finished just 2.5 games ahead of the Giants, so Brenly’s effort was stellar under the circumstances, even if the D’backs still had a safe margin for a playoff spot. This was La Russa’s first NL MOTY win after a few in the American League previously, and we will note Baker’s regular-season incompetence (minus-3) ended up costing his cheating team in the World Series. Karma?