World Series MVPs: Full list of every MVP award winner by year

The 2024 MLB season is nearing its conclusion, and in a matter of days, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers will (once again) be competing against one another for the Commissioner’s Trophy. But there's another title handed out at the completion of the season and series, and it's one of note: The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player award.

What is the World Series MVP award?

During the final game of the MLB World Series, the MVP award is given to the most deserving player within the series. It's voted upon by a select committee of reporters and officials who are in attendance, as well as a small percentage of fan votes that are cast on MLB.com. (Voting typically opens at the start of the 6th inning of a series-clinching game—votes are tossed if the game doesn't end in a World Series winner.) You can expect the MVP announcement at the final game of the series—and yes, it's possible for a player from the losing team to win. In fact, it's happened before.

History of the World Series MVP award

Since its inception in 1955, every position has been awarded the World Series MVP. Some of the most influential players have won the award—think Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez and more. But what makes it special is that the recipient doesn't have to be the year's most dominant player—it's different than the AL and NL MVP. He can simply rise to the occasion under the spotlight of the Fall Classic.

Last year, the Texas Rangers won the title after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in six games. Notably, Rangers shortstop Corey Seager became only the fourth player to win the series MVP twice (first in 2020 with the Dodgers), thanks to his performance recoring a .286 batting average, a .375 on-base percentage, a .762 slugging percentage, three home run, six RBI, six runs, and six hits.

While there are a few especially strong candidates to win the 2024 World Series MVP, whoever walks away with the award will join a prestigious list of players. Here's the full list of MLB players who have won the World Series MVP since its inception in 1955—and note that no World Series was played in 1994 due to the players strike.

World Series MVP winners: Full list

Players who have won the World Series MVP more than once

There are only four players who were able to win the World Series MVP award twice, and they were Sandy Koufax with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1963, 1965), Bob Gibson with the St. Louis Cardinals (1964, 1967), Reggie Jackson with the Oakland Athletics (1973) and the New York Yankees (1977) and Corey Seafer with the Dodgers (2020) and Texas Rangers (2023).

Players who have shared the World Series MVP title

Twice in World Series history have multiple people shared the MVP award. The first occurred back in 1981, when Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager did so after helping the Dodgers defeat the Yankees in six games.

The most recent was in 2001, when the starting pitching duo of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling shared the award after helping the Arizona Diamondbacks win the World Series in seven games over the Yankees.

Has a player on the losing team ever won World Series MVP?

Bobby Richardson is also the only player to have won World Series MVP despite being on the losing team. Richardson slashed .367/.387/.667 while recording one home run, eight runs, 12 RBI, and 11 hits in seven games for the Yankees. The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Yankees in seven games.