Strange to ponder that we only have 15 more of these MLB Monday miniseries entries before we catch up with the present day. Of course, by that time, the 2024 season will be concluded, and we will know if another team has found its way illicitly to a World Series title. As for this season, we do know at least one member of the championship team was not playing on the level, but is that enough to discount it all? Hmm.

2009 World Series MVP: Hideki Matsui, DH, New York (AL) (original, confirmed)

The New York Yankees won their first World Series since 2000 with a 6-game victory over the defending champs, the Philadelphia Phillies, with designated hitter Hideki Matsui (3 HRs, 8 RBI, .615 BA, 2.027 OPS) winning the MVP vote. It’s hard to argue with those numbers, as that is a crazy week of success at the plate. There is really no need to discuss any other options here, so we confirm the award without further noise.

2009 ALCS MVP: CC Sabathia, SP, New York (original, confirmed)

The Yankees earned their first AL pennant since 2003 with a 6-game triumph over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Starting pitcher CC Sabathia (2-0, 1.13 ERA, 16 IP, 12 Ks, 0.750 WHIP) won the MVP vote; he won Games 1 and 4 to help New York to a 3-1 series lead. On the hitting side, only third baseman Álex Rodríguez (3 HRs, 6 RBI, 8 BBs) can rival Sabathia for MVP consideration, but we know he was cheating.

For what it’s worth, future cheater Melky Cabrera was also on this team, playing well enough to garner some praise (4 RBI, 3 BBs, .940 OPS). Oh, and then was also second baseman Robinson Canó (4 RBI, 4 BBs, .892 OPS), as well. Okay, we should stop now; Sabathia was clean as far as we know, so the vote gets confirmed. We could dig deeper, but we’ve always counted this champion as a fraud, anyway. Enough said.

2009 NLCS MVP: Ryan Howard, 1B, Philadelphia (original, confirmed)

The Phillies dropped the Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 games to win a second-straight NL pennant, with first baseman Ryan Howard (2 HRs, 8 RBI, 6 BBs, 1.457 OPS) taking the MVP vote. That is a tough line to beat, yet in a matchup where the victors outscored the vanquished by a 35-16 margin, four different Philadelphia batters posted 1.000-plus OPS marks. That reduces Howard’s achievement a little bit. So … who else?!

No starter went 2-0; no starter surpassed even 10 IP; and no reliever posted multiple saves. That keeps us on the hitting side of the ledger. Howard’s numbers were the best of the quartet, and he didn’t commit an error, so we will just confirm this vote, too. It’s simpler that way, and it’s accurate, as well.

2009 AL MOTY: Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles (original); Joe Girardi, New York (revised)

The Angels won the AL West by 10 games, as Manager Mike Scioscia (plus-5 PPP) won the MOTY vote. He was good, for sure, but it also wasn’t quite that valuable. We’re more inclined to give this nod to Yankees Manager Joe Girardi (plus-8), who won the NL MOTY vote in 2006. Not only was Girardi’s PPP better, but his team won the AL East by … 8 games … over the cheating Boston Red Sox. Yeah, we know this is weird.

We don’t necessarily think of Girardi as a PED enabler, so we’re inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt here. This seems to be his only manager gig of three in his career where there were issues with cheaters. Scioscia certainly could have won this award from us for the third year in a row, but Girardi’s effort was just too superior. And we will say no more.

2009 NL MOTY: Jim Tracy, Colorado (original, confirmed)

The Colorado Rockies won the NL Wild Card by 4 games over the cheating San Francisco Giants, thanks to Manager Jim Tracy (plus-2 PPP). That was a better managerial effort than any of the three division winners, too, so we’re agreeable to confirm this vote, considering Giants Manager Bruce Bochy posted the same PPP mark even with his PED-enhanced roster. This is so hard to do on a regular basis, isn’t it? Ugh.