MLB Monday gets closer to wrapping up this second awards analysis miniseries, as we come within two decades now of the current season. Crazy! We think this should be a straightforward analysis, which is a nice break from having to sort through the cheaters, liars, and thieves in the sport. But hey, as goes baseball, goes the nation, right? Pretty much. It is America’s pastime, after all, for better or for worse. We rest our case.

2006 World Series MVP: David Eckstein, SS, St. Louis (original, confirmed)

The St. Louis Cardinals won their first World Series since 1982 with a 5-game victory over the Detroit Tigers, who were in their first Fall Classic since winning it in 1984. Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein (.364 BA, 4 RBI, .891 OPS) won the MVP vote, although there was 1 other position player who probably outdid him (catcher Yadier Molina: .412 BA, 1.029 OPS). Overall, Eckstein was fourth among regulars in OPS, too.

The St. Louis pitching staff didn’t have any standouts, as all the starters pitched well, although the only one with 2 starts did get tagged with the only team defeat in the series (Jeff Weaver). So, we have to decide between Eckstein and Molina, each of whom played their positions error-free. Eckstein did top the roster in RBI, and for a matchup where St. Louis scored just 15 runs, that’s significant. Molina walked more, but …

In the end, we still think RBI are important, because a walk doesn’t always drive in a run, obviously. So, quite often, a walk is not as a good as a hit. Molina drove in a single run, despite his hefty batting average, and he scored 3 runs himself, just as Eckstein did. We will confirm the latter’s award, much to our surprise.

2006 ALCS MVP: Plácido Polanco, 2B, Detroit (original); Craig Monroe, LF, Detroit (revised)

The Tigers swept the Moneyball Oakland Athletics in the LCS, outscoring them 22-9 despite not having home-field advantage. Second baseman Plácido Polanco (.529 BA, 1.167 OPS) was voted the ALCS MVP; yet 5 regulars posted OPS marks over .900 here, so choosing one of them is like picking gnat shit out of pepper ($1 to JFK‘s Walter Matthau). On the converse side, no starting pitcher got 2 starts here, so we’re stuck.

In the end, we’re going with Detroit left fielder Craig Monroe (.429 BA, 1.286 OPS, 4 RBI, 3 BBs). Polanco hit better, but Monroe had more RBI, more runs scored, and more walks. Polanco had a lot of singles; eight of his nine hits were for one base only. Monroe played in all four games and generally did a lot more damage, while also playing error-free defense. He also hit a home run, which Polanco obviously did not do. Sealed.

2006 NLCS MVP: Jeff Suppan, SP, St. Louis (original); Yadier Molina, C, St. Louis (revised)

Despite winning just 83 games in the regular season, the Cardinals upended the 97-win New York Mets in seven games to win the National League pennant for the second time in three seasons. St. Louis SP Jeff Suppan (1-0, 0.60 ERA, 15 IP, 0.733 WHIP, 6Ks, 6 BBs) was named the MVP; he wasn’t traditionally dominant, but clearly, he was very effective in winning Game 3 and delivering a very strong Game 7.

Obviously, without that Game 7 road start of 7 IP and 1 earned run, the Cards aren’t winning this pennant, even if he didn’t get the official victory. Is there anyone else to consider? Both Molina (2 HRs, 6 RBI, 3 BBs, .348 BA, 1.075 OPS) and first baseman Albert Pujols (7 BBs, .318 BA, .983 OPS) had strong series, too, while Mets center fielder Carlos Beltrán (3 HRs, 9 RBI, 6 BBs, 1.054 OPS) also shone brightly. The latter had a one hit in Game 7, though, so we probably can just focus on the Cardinals players here alone: Molina or Suppan?

Suppan seemed to benefit from Molina’s defense and the gloves of his fielders more than than being dominant on his own: the fact he had the same number of walks and strikeouts is bad, and the strikeout total is low. We will go with Molina here for sustained production across all 7 games, plus his handling of the pitching staff, in general. His 8 hits were also tops on the Cardinals offense, so it was an all-around gem.

2006 AL MOTY: Jim Leyland, Detroit (original); Ken Macha, Oakland (revised)

The Tigers won 95 games behind Manager Jim Leyland (even-0 PPP) in his first year on the job, and that won him his third MOTY vote. However, he was out-dueled by Minnesota Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire (plus-3) who got his team to 96 wins and the AL Central Division crown. What a stupid vote! However, Oakland Manager Ken Macha (plus-8) was the best in the league, leading his team to an AL West title.

The A’s outlasted the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by 4 games in that division race, without the safety bet of the wild-card spot to save them (like it saved Detroit, which posted a 12-16 record in its final stretch to blow the division lead to the Twins). Therefore, we give this nod to Macha, surprisingly enough. Yes, this means we’ve taken away all 3 of Leyland’s voted MOTY nods, but we have the gift of hindsight, for sure.

2006 NL MOTY: Joe Girardi, Florida (original); Willie Randolph, New York (revised)

In another terrible vote, Florida Marlins Manager Joe Girardi (minus-2 PPP) won the NL MOTY nod, despite his team finishing under .500 for the year and 19 games behind the Mets in the NL East Division. Yes, the Marlins had a stripped roster, but it’s still a non-sensical vote. Meanwhile, Mets Manager Willie Randolph (plus-6) turned in the best performance of any skipper in the league as his team won a division.

We could also consider Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa (again), who posted a plus-1 PPP in a tight division race won by just 1.5 games over the Houston Astros. The Mets walked away with their division by 12 games, so even though his performance was barely good, La Russa made more of a direct impact on his team’s success. We’re torn, but it’s hard to overlook the 5-game gap in managerial performance. Randolph!