We are in Year 2 of the Sign Stealing Era in MLB history: we have another compromised MLB champion this year, unfortunately. Congratulations to the desperate Boston Red Sox, who are confirmed to have used two different cheating methods to become relevant in professional baseball this century after eight-plus decades of relative suckitude from 1919 to 2003. Sadly, we will deal with more of this coming up, still. Ugh.

2018 World Series MVP: Steve Pearce, UTL, Boston (original); David Price, SP, Boston (revised)

Perhaps nothing says so much as the voted MVP of this Fall Classic: an age-35 journeyman utility player suiting up for his seventh and final MLB team after a career of irrelevancy. Here’s looking at you, Steve Pearce. The Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games, somehow, as even we struggled at the time to explain it. Stranger Series have happened without cheating, of course, but this never felt right to us.

So, we can’t choose any hitters from Boston for this award, but what about the pitching staff? We will have to choose someone. And we choose Red Sox starting pitcher David Price, who posted a 2-0 record with a 1.98 ERA in the matchup, to go along with a 0.951 WHIP in 13 2/3 IP. He won Games 2 and 5, each a situation where surely the Dodgers felt they needed to win—or had to win, obviously. We’re fine with this; so be it.

2018 ALCS MVP: Jackie Bradley, Jr., CF, Boston (original); Price (revised)

Boston outcheated the Houston Trashstros in a five-game series to win the pennant, with center fielder Jackie Bradley, Jr., winning the ALCS MVP vote. And this is what most fans forget about cheaters, really: Bradley was a lifetime .225 hitter, but outside of his Red Sox career, he hit just .159 for the Kansas City Royals, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Toronto Blue Jays in 565 ABs. Cheating helps shitty players, too.

They just become slightly less shitty. And that’s the story for Bradley. So, which pitcher can we switch this award to? Closer Craig Kimbrel had three saves, but his 4.50 ERA and 2.000 WHIP aren’t deserving of an award here. Price will take the cake again with two starts, a 1-0 record, a 3.38 ERA, and a 1.125 ERA; he struck out 13 batters in 10 2/3 IP as well, winning Game 5 on the road—which is impressive, considering.

2018 NLCS MVP: Cody Bellinger, 1B, Los Angeles (original); Yasiel Puig, RF, Los Angeles (revised)

The Dodgers won their second-straight NL pennant in a seven-game matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers, with first baseman Cody Bellinger (.591 OPS) winning the MVP vote for Los Angeles. We’re not sure why this happened, even if someone delivered the big hit in a Game 7. Bellinger had 4 RBI and 2 SBs to go along with his .200 BA in the matchup, but still … we’re more inclined to dismiss his achievements here.

Right fielder Yasiel Puig (.983 OPS) is our pick for this hardware; he hit better and more consistently in the seven games, and he also had a big home run in Game 7 as well. It just makes more sense, no matter what.

2018 AL MOTY: Bob Melvin, Oakland (original); Scott Servais, Seattle (revised)

The Oakland Athletics claimed the last wild-card spot in the playoffs, thanks to Manager Bob Melvin (plus-2 PPP), who won his third MOTY vote. The A’s had a seven-game cushion for that postseason slot, though, so is there anyone else to consider? Boston Manager Alex Cora (plus-5) did well, but we know he was cheating; forget him. Otherwise, we look to Seattle Mariners Manager Scott Servais (plus-12 PPP).

The Ms finished eight games behind Oakland in the AL West, but we cannot ignore that PPP mark for a team that posted a winning record (89-73). That’s the rule, so we take away the trophy from Melvin for the third time, which doesn’t seem fair. We assume he will get one back, eventually. It is what it is.

2018 NL MOTY: Brian Snitker, Atlanta (original); Bud Black, Colorado (revised)

The Atlanta Braves won the NL East by eight games over the Washington Nationals, and while Manager Brian Snitker (minus-2 PPP) won the MOTY, we won’t be giving him our nod. Milwaukee Manager Craig Counsell (plus-5) guided his team to a one-game edge over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, while Colorado Rockies Manager Bud Black (plus-6) got his team into the postseason by three games. Dilemma!

The Brewers had a cushion in winning 96 games that the 91-win Rockies did not, so we give this trophy to Black for his efforts. He won the 2010 NL MOTY vote, undeservedly, so like we said above, usually what comes around goes around. Black posted the highest PPP mark in the league—and his team made the playoffs. That’s almost always a clincher for us. This means no winners were confirmed. Interesting …