Today on MLB Monday, we look at another World Series champion that we know employed PED users, for sure. This makes our job here a little more complicated, of course, but it cannot be avoided. We’re going to face a lot of these issues going forward, sadly. Please remember, “steroids” (used as a generic term for PEDs to this point) weren’t banned officially from MLB until 1991, so maybe we were lucky to escape until now?

2004 World Series MVP: Manny Ramírez, LF, Boston (original); Keith Foulke, CL, Boston (revised)

The Boston Red Sox, led by multiple PED users, swept the St. Louis Cardinals after reaching the World Series for the first time since 1986. Left fielder Manny Ramírez was voted the MVP, but we know he’s a cheater, so we have to re-assign this award to someone who was not a cheater. The picking may be slim as a result. By the way, he also made 2 errors in the field, so we have no idea why he won the vote at the time.

The victors outscored the vanquished, 24-12, in this matchup, so a lot of hitters did damage. But the Red Sox made 8 errors in 4 games, which is just pathetic. The best hitter to field perfectly and not be associated with PEDs was right fielder Trot Nixon (3 RBI, .971 OPS), and those numbers aren’t shocking enough to warrant an MVP trophy. But 3 different starters won games without giving up a single earned run, so we are stuck.

Thus, we settle on closer Keith Foulke (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 1 SV, 1.000 WHIP, 8 Ks in 5 IP). He won Game 1 in relief, and he closed out the Series in Game 4. It’s a compromise choice under the circumstances, but it’s a fair and honest one: technically, he blew the save in Game 1 without giving up a run, but he stuck it out and earned the vulture victory. That takes some mental fortitude in Game 1 when pitching for Boston, so … yeah.

2004 ALCS MVP: David Ortiz, DH, Boston (original); Jason Varitek, C, Boston (revised)

Boston made history by overcoming an 0-3 deficit in the LCS against the hated New York Yankees, and confirmed PED user David Ortiz was voted the MVP. So, again, we have to shop around for a better choice. One possibility is catcher Jason Varitek (7 RBI, .926 OPS), a player we consider “clean” at the time. We could go with Foulke again (0.00 ERA, 6 Ks in 6 IP), but we feel we should stick with a hitter here, in context. Done.

2004 NLCS MVP: Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis (original, confirmed)

The Cards dropped the Houston Astros in a thrilling, 7-game matchup, with first baseman Albert Pujols (4 HRs, 9 RBI, 4 BBs, .500 BA, 1.563 OPS) winning the MVP vote. Houston centerfielder Carlos Beltrán (4 HRs, 8 BBs, 4 SBs, .417 BA, 1.521 OPS) had an amazing series in a losing effort, as well. But he went hitless in the Game 7 loss, while Pujols supplied 2 hits. We have to confirm this award, since all the pitchers were meh.

2004 AL MOTY: Buck Showalter, Texas (original); Joe Torre, New York (revised)

The AL West Division race was a close one, with Anaheim winning 92 games, Oakland winning 91 games, and Texas winning 89 games. Of that bunch, Athletics Manager Ken Macha (plus-5 PPP) was the best, but Rangers Manager Buck Showalter (plus-2) won the AL MOTY vote for some reason. Yet Minnesota Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire (plus-5) and Yankees Manager Joe Torre (plus-12) deserve consideration, too.

Minnesota won the AL Central by 9 games over the Chicago White Sox, and New York beat out Boston by 3 games in the AL East. In the end, it’s hard to overlook that PPP mark from Torre, however: it’s insane and the highest we’ve seen here in this miniseries. This is our second nod for Torre, as we confirmed his 1996 vote win despite disagreeing with his 1998 vote win. Again, this all evens out in the end, folks, really. Trust us.

2004 NL MOTY: Bobby Cox, Atlanta (original); Jim Tracy, Los Angeles (revised)

The Atlanta Braves won the NL East by 10 games, and even though he posted just a plus-1 PPP mark, Braves Manager Bobby Cox won the NL MOTY vote. He’s won this award 3 times from us already, in addition to his AL MOTY vote win in 1985. But did he deserve this one? Eh. While Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa (plus-5) was very good, St. Louis won the NL Central by 13 games over Houston. Still, he was better than Cox.

However, the skipper we think deserves this nod is Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Jim Tracy (plus-4), as his team outlasted the cheating San Francisco Giants by 2 games to win the NL West Division. The Giants got a plus-3 PPP effort from Felipe Alou in the dugout, so Tracy had to be at his best with everything on the line against the cheaters from the City by the Bay.