MLB Monday might have a clean champion this year, although the World Series winners below do fit parts of the pattern—but not all of them. The franchise had been in existence since 1969 without winning a title, and it does reside in a Top 10 TV market, but the fan base was hardly desperate or rabid—and there is little, if any, circumstantial evidence of PED use on the roster. Sad that we have to state this, but we think it’s okay.

2019 World Series MVP: Stephen Strasburg, SP, Washington (original, confirmed)

Les Expos, in the form of the Washington Nationals, won the World Series in seven games over the cheating Houston Astros, a.k.a. the Trashstros. With victories in Games 2 and 5 on the road in a strange matchup where the road team won every contest, Nats starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg (see our contemporary analysis here) won the MVP vote. If not for an error, maybe left fielder Juan Soto might have challenged.

The phenom posted a 1.178 OPS with 3 HRs, 7 RBI, and 5 BBs in the Fall Classic. The Washington offense also got a boost from a few other players, but the pitching of Strasburg on the road where the Trashstros were stealing signs still in their home park is unmatched. It was somewhat of a superhuman performance, of course, from the one-time phenom himself. This was a swan song, of sorts, for his overall decent career.

2019 ALCS MVP: Jose Altuve, 2B, Houston (original); Gerrit Cole, SP, Houston (revised)

Houston appeared in its third consecutive ALCS, beating the New York Yankees in six games. Known cheater and sign stealer Jose Altuve, the Trashstros’ second baseman, won the MVP vote—and won’t be getting our hardware, obviously. None of the Houston position players will, so we have to look at the pitching, although that is dicey, too, as we’ve explored previously. So which player wins this trophy?

SP Gerrit Cole will get our nod, as he won Game 3 on the road in New York with seven shutout innings. He gave up just four hits while striking out seven players, and even though he walked five batters, too, none of them scored, and the Astros took a 2-1 lead in the matchup after dropping Game 1 at home. This singular effort, not one we usually give for an LCS MVP, produced a team-best WPA on the Houston pitching staff.

2019 NLCS MVP: Howie Kendrick, UTL, Washington (original); Max Scherzer, SP, Washington (revised)

The Nationals swept the St. Louis Cardinals to win the franchise’s first-ever NL pennant, and utility player Howie Kendrick (1.012 OPS, 4 RBI) was voted the MVP. Kendrick was always a media favorite, that touted prospect with the sweet swing that everyone predicted would win a batting title someday. Well, he never did that, and he only made one All-Star team (2011). We think this vote was a sentimental one, as a result of this.

His series WPA was tied for second among hitters, while three different SPs tossed at least 7 shutout innings in their single starts. That spreads out the vote a lot, so maybe that’s how Kendrick ended up with the hardware. We respect what Kendrick did, but he wasn’t the obvious “best hitter” here, and while there is no obvious “best pitcher” either, we like SP Max Scherzer (0.00 ERA, 0.429 WHIP, 11 Ks) for this trophy.

Washington was a wild-card team in the postseason, and after it stole Game 1 on the road, the Cardinals had to know they needed to win Game 2. Scherzer shut down that notion, giving up just one hit and two walks in seven innings while striking out almost a dozen St. Louis hitters. It was a must-win game for the Redbirds, and Scherzer just didn’t let it happen. At age 34, he was still dominant and needing to win a ring.

2019 AL MOTY: Rocco Baldelli, Minnesota (original); Aaron Boone, New York (revised)

This award comes down to Yankees Manager Aaron Boone (plus-4 PPP) and Minnesota Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli (plus-4), both of whom led their respective teams to a division title. The latter won the MOTY vote, mostly because of “expectations” we suspect. But the Twins won their division by 8 games, while New York won its division by only 7 games. In addition, the second-place managers matter here.

Tampa Bay Rays Manager Kevin Cash (plus-3) was more of challenge for Boone to overcome, while Cleveland Indians Manager Terry Francona (even-0) didn’t put up much of a fight. Therefore, we give this to Boone instead. Even with expectations, he did the job against better competition in the individual division race.

2019 NL MOTY: Mike Shildt, St. Louis (original); Craig Counsell, Milwaukee (revised)

Despite the feel-good story and a minus-1 PPP mark, Cardinals Manager Mike Shildt won the vote here. But the two best efforts in the senior circuit came from Atlanta Braves Manager Brian Snitker (plus-6) and Milwaukee Brewers Manager Craig Counsell (plus-8). They both made the postseason, and now we choose: Snitker won the vote last year, but does he deserve this trophy? No, as the Braves had a bigger cushion.