We have reached the Sign Stealing Era of MLB history, so to speak, and because the Houston Astros were cheating in more ways than just that at the time, this is going to be a tough edition of MLB Monday to wade through today. So … in the immortal words of Bette Davis, fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy night. We don’t relish this, and we’d like to focus on the more positive dynamics of baseball history soon.

2017 World Series MVP: George Springer, CF, Houston (original); Joc Pederson, OF, Los Angeles (NL) (revised)

The Trashstros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games to win their first World Series ever, after being in existence since 1962. Houston won Games 3 and 5 at home, and we learned after the 2019 offseason that the team had been sign stealing to gain an illegal advantage there. The Trashstros went back to Los Angeles for Game 6 with a 3-2 lead in the matchup and closed it out with a surprising Game 7 victory on the road.

Houston centerfielder George Springer won the MVP vote, after a regular-season where he posted a then-best .889 OPS. He was in his age-27 season at the time, so it didn’t raise any eyebrows. We know better now, and we don’t be choosing any Trashstros hitter for this award. And no Houston pitcher earned it, either. So, with a full series, we can look to the L.A. roster for a pick here—and an honest one, at that: two options.

First, outfielder Joc Pederson (3 HRs, 5 RBI, 1.344 OPS) or starting pitcher Rich Hill (2.08 ERA, 12 Ks). Since Hill didn’t record a win in the Fall Classic, it’s hard to choose him. Likewise, Pederson only played in six games (20 plate appearances)—but he did make the most of it. We later assume Pederson started doing PEDs (see that analysis here), but at this point, we think he was clean, and so he becomes our de facto MVP.

2017 ALCS MVP: Justin Verlander, SP, Houston (original); Lance McCullers, Jr., P, Houston (revised)

His cheating after leaving Detroit is well documented; we’re not going to shred Houston SP Justin Verlander here again. But he’s also not winning any awards from us, either, so the Trashstros’ seven-game matchup victory over the New York Yankees—with all four Houston wins coming at home, no less—will not see Verlander’s MVP vote win verified at all. And we cannot give it any Trashstros hitter, either, obviously.

That leaves us with either a different Houston pitcher or a Yankees player, since the matchup thankfully also went seven games (amazing how shallow this “championship” looks now for the Trashstros, huh?). We do like Houston pitcher Lance McCullers, Jr., however: 1 save, a 0.90 ERA, with 9 Ks in 10 innings pitched, via a 0.600 WHIP. He started one game without getting a decision, but he clearly stifled the Yankees well.

No New York hitter checks off all our boxes, as rookie right fielder Aaron Judge did have a caught stealing on the docket. So, McCullers, it is. We have reason to suspect he was drinking the same magic potions that Verlander and other Houston pitchers were, so we’re comfortable with this award reassignment, for sure.

2017 NLCS MVP: Chris Taylor, UTL & Justin Turner, 3B, Los Angeles (original-tie); Turner (revised)

The Dodgers beat the defending champions in five games to reach their first World Series since 1988. This was the fifth consecutive postseason appearance for L.A. at the time, a streak that will reach 12 straight Octobers this fall. The Dodgers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the matchup and barely looked back, as the MVP vote was split between utility player Chris Taylor (1.248 OPS) and third baseman Justin Turner (1.145).

We’re going to go with Turner, who had a slightly higher batting average (.333 to .316) in the series and drove in four more runs (7-3) than Taylor did. The UTL man did score two more runs (5-3), but Turner also posted a significantly higher WPA mark (0.70 to 0.37). That is the clincher in our minds: situational context matters.

2017 AL MOTY: Paul Molitor, Minnesota (original, confirmed)

Of the five playoff teams, only two were guided by managers with positive PPP influences: Houston and Minnesota. Forget the Trashstros skipper, of course, and Minnesota Manager Paul Molitor (plus-2) won the MOTY vote. Oddly, those were the only five teams to also finish over .500, so Molitor will get confirmed by us, although we’d like to high-five Kansas City Royals Manager Ned Yost (plus-8) for his efforts, too.

2017 NL MOTY: Torey Lovullo, Arizona (original); Dave Roberts, Los Angeles (revised)

Despite his minus-3 PPP mark, Arizona Diamondbacks Manager Torey Lovullo won the NL vote. He won’t be securing our hardware, obviously. Yet the best effort by a playoff-bound skipper was turned in by Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts (plus-2), again—despite his team’s 11-game edge over Arizona. So, Roberts it is, even though San Diego Padres Manager Andy Green (plus-12) did all he could to get his team 71 wins!