World Series Most Valuable Player Award

The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the MLB postseason. The award was first presented in 1955 by Sport magazine, but since 1985 has been officially presented by MLB. The winner is determined during the final game of the World Series by a committee of reporters and officials present at the game.

On September 29, 2017, the award was renamed in honor of Willie Mays in remembrance of the 63rd anniversary of The Catch, which occurred the year before the award's debut; Mays never won the award himself.

The award winner has traditionally received a new car. Johnny Podres, the inaugural winner in 1955, received a Chevrolet Corvette. The 1977 winner, Reggie Jackson, received a Ford Thunderbird, while the 1983 winner, Rick Dempsey, received a Pontiac Firebird. Frank Viola, the 1987 MVP, received a Volvo 740.

Since 2004, General Motors had provided the vehicle. Examples include David Ortiz (2013 MVP) receiving a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado High Country, Ben Zobrist (2016 MVP) receiving a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible 50th Anniversary Edition, and Corey Seager (2020 MVP) receiving a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71.

A trophy has also been presented to the award winner since at least the late 1970s. In 1985, Major League Baseball (MLB) took over as the official award presenter from Sport magazine, although for a few years, MLB and Sport each presented different trophies to the winner. Trophies given to award winners include:

From 1955 through 2025, a total of 71 seasons, there have been 70 editions of the World Series played (there was no World Series in 1994). In 68 editions, a single MVP was named; in 1981, three MVPs were named; and in 2001, two MVPs were named. Thus, there have been a total of 72 MVPs.

The position at which players have won the most MVPs is pitcher, 30 times. Four of those winners were exclusively relief pitchers, the most recent being Mariano Rivera in 1999. Twelve of the first 14 MVPs were pitchers. From 1969 through 1986, the prevalence of pitcher MVPs declined, as only two pitchers won the award during this period. From 1987 through 1991, all of the MVPs were pitchers. Since 1995, 30 years ago, pitchers have won the award eleven times, the most recent being Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2025.

The most uncommon position for an MVP is second baseman, with only Bobby Richardson in 1960 winning at the position. Richardson is also the only MVP to be named from a losing World Series team.