Welcome back to MLB Monday, as we took a little break ourselves for the first time in forever as we do some self-care realignment. There was a fun World Series again this postseason, as you see below, and yet we also continue with our ongoing challenges of sorting through drama with awards analysis in retrospect with what we know now (and probably knew then, too, really). Always keep that in mind for the present, too.

2003 World Series MVP: Josh Beckett, SP, Florida (original, confirmed)

The Florida Marlins made the postseason again, for just the second time ever, and they won the World Series again—all without ever winning a division title. Go figure. They beat the New York Yankees in 6 games to emphatically close the door on the recent run of success for the Bronx Bombers that began in 1996. The Yankees would not make it back to the World Series again for 6 more seasons, for example.

But we digress: Marlins starting pitcher Josh Beckett (1-1, 1.20 ERA, 16 1/3 IP, 19 Ks, 0.796 WHIP) won the MVP vote, but we don’t like giving the hardware to pitchers with losses in any short series. Fellow SP Brad Penny won 2 games with a 2.19 ERA, but his WHIP was unsightly (1.622 in just 12 1/3 IP), so it’s hard to reward him for that performance. Thus, we will have to look to the hitters for a better MVP candidate.

This was an odd Fall Classic, though, as New York outscored Florida, 21-17, in the 6 games, and no Marlins hitter really stood out, either. Therefore, we will confirm the award for Beckett: he took the loss in Game 3 at home despite striking out 10 batters in just 7 1/3 IP, and then he tossed a 5-hit, complete-game shutout in Game 6 on the road to clinch the championship. That will have to be good enough for posterity now.

2003 ALCS MVP: Mariano Rivera, RP, New York (original, confirmed)

The Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox in 7 games to win the AL pennant, going to extra innings in Game 7 at home to clinch it. Reliever Mariano Rivera (1-0, 1.13 ERA, 2 saves, ) was voted the MVP; he previously won our trophy for the 1998 World Series even though he stripped of his vote win for the same nod in 1999. Stuff evens out in the end, right? In this matchup, he saved Games 3 and 5 before winning Game 7. Not bad.

No SPs posted 2 wins here, so what about the hitters? Catcher Jorge Posada (1 HR, 6 RBI, .922 OPS) was the big standout, but he wasn’t overtly dominant. Since this went 7 games, we can look at the Boston roster, too: a few different batters played pretty well, while the best Red Sox pitcher actually gave up the series-losing HR in Game 7. So that’s no good, even if incidental. So, do we go with Posada or Rivera here. We don’t know.

Boston actually outscored New York in this LCS, by a 30-29 margin, so that really means that we should go with Rivera and confirm his award. Yet the Yankees only hit .227 as a team, so maybe Posada’s effort really does stand out more. Facing a team that knew his stuff well, Rivera only notched 6 Ks in his 8 IP, so he wasn’t particularly dominant. But contextual/situational results matter, so we will confirm his hardware.

2003 NLCS MVP: Iván Rodríguez, C, Florida (original); Beckett (revised)

The Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs in a memorable 7-game matchup best remembered for the fan interference at Wrigley Field that led to the unwinding of the Cubs. Florida won Games 6 and 7 on the road to clinch its second NL pennant, although the winner of the LCS MVP vote, Florida catcher Iván Rodríguez, is ineligible for our trophy since we firmly believe he used PEDs. You can disagree, but oh well.

Pudge also made an error in this matchup, so we would not have given him the nod, anyway. Rookie utility player Miguel Cabrera (you may have heard of him) is our choice for the offensive MVP (3 HRs, 6 RBI, 1.027 OPS), while Beckett hauled the water on the mound, too (1-0, 3.26 ERA, 2 BBs, 19 Ks, 0.672 WHIP). The Cubs had some good performers, too, but we won’t consider Sammy Sosa here, of course, for the obvious.

In the end, we’re going with Beckett who started Game 1 (no decision), won Game 5, and pitched 4 innings of one-run relief in Game 7. Remember, the Marlins were down 3-1 in this matchup, so Beckett had to win Game 5, and he delivered hugely (2-hit, CG shutout with 11 Ks) before perhaps being the star on the mound in Game 7 just a few days later. The fact he pitched so well in the World Series is amazing, in truth.

2003 AL MOTY: Tony Peña, Kansas City (original); Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota (revised)

The Kansas City Royals won 83 games, and their manager, Tony Peña, won the MOTY vote, thanks to the surprise finish and a plus-5 PPP mark. But he was matched by Minnesota Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire, who led his team to the AL Central Division crown by 4 games over the Chicago White Sox and 7 games ahead of the Royals. This was a bad vote as much as we admire Peña. But what about the other divisions?

Yankees Manager Joe Torre also put up a plus-5 PPP mark as his team outlasted the Red Sox by 6 games in the AL East Division, but New York had a lot more cushion for a playoff spot overall, thanks to the wild card. Out in the AL West, Oakland Athletics Manager Ken Macha (plus-2) helped his team stave off the Seattle Mariners by 3 games. We’re going with Gardenhire here for the PPP and the situational challenge.

2003 NL MOTY: Jack McKeon, Florida (original, confirmed)

The Marlins were 16-22 when they fired the manager and replaced him with veteran skipper Jack McKeon, who proceeded to post a 75-49 mark to get Florida into the postseason. That won him the NL MOTY vote, as the team’s plus-4 PPP mark overall ranked well within the league’s managerial hierarchy. San Francisco Giants Manager Felipe Alou (plus-7) might have done the best job, but he had help that wasn’t honest.

The Giants also won the NL West by 15.5 games, so Alou didn’t have to be that good. Likewise, Atlanta Braves Manager Bobby Cox (plus-5) helped his team beat out the Marlins by 10 games, but that wasn’t a crunch-time scenario. Chicago Cubs Manager Dusty Baker, the cheater, posted a plus-2 PPP mark as the Cubs won the NL Central by 1 game over the Houston Astros and 3 games over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Yet the Cubs had Sosa, and Baker was an enabler at this point in his career—and both Houston and St. Louis got negative PPP efforts from their managers, respectively. McKeon won this vote in 1999, as well, and we are confirming this award of his for 2003.