The best postseason performances by reigning World Series MVPs

It takes a special performance, one that a fan base will likely remember forever, to take home the Most Valuable Player Award in the World Series.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 2025 heroics certainly fit that bill. The Dodgers right-hander earned five wins en route to Los Angeles’ second consecutive championship, spinning 37 1/3 innings with a sparkling 1.45 ERA. That included two starts in the Fall Classic against the Blue Jays: a one-run complete game in Game 2 and six more innings of one-run ball in Game 6.

Then Yamamoto really cemented his name in October legend. He came out of the bullpen on zero days’ rest in Game 7, pitching a scoreless final 2 2/3 frames in the Dodgers’ 11-inning victory.

How might Yamamoto follow that all-time run? We’ll find out this week, with the ace scheduled to make his first start of the 2026 postseason Tuesday in the NLDS against the Braves.

The Dodgers already know a thing or two about following World Series MVP honors with another big October. Freddie Freeman took home the '24 MVP before launching a walk-off home run in Game 3 of the ‘25 World Series.

Here are some of the best postseason runs by reigning World Series MVPs. Notably, no player has yet won consecutive World Series MVPs.

George Springer, 2018, Astros
Lost ALCS to Red Sox

Springer hit five home runs in seven games to help the Astros win the 2017 World Series and earn MVP honors, and while the ‘18 Astros couldn’t come up with back-to-back titles, it wasn’t for lack of effort from Springer. Houston’s center fielder and leadoff man whacked four home runs in just eight games that postseason, slashing .400/.447/.829 overall. Springer showed up as the Astros fell to the Red Sox in the ALCS, too, going 8-for-21 with four extra-base hits and five RBIs.

Mariano Rivera, 2000, Yankees
Won World Series over Mets (MVP: Derek Jeter)

Mo wasn’t perfect in the 2000 postseason, as he was when the Yankees went back-to-back in 1998 and ‘99, the latter of which won him World Series MVP honors. But Rivera was more than good enough as New York finished off the “three-peat.” He made 10 appearances with six saves, allowing just three runs across 15 2/3 innings (1.72 ERA). That included pitching in all four Yankees wins in the World Series.

Tom Glavine, 1996, Braves
Lost World Series to Yankees

Glavine was excellent in 1995 during Atlanta’s championship run. He made four starts, going 28 innings with just five earned runs (1.61 ERA) and 19 strikeouts. Glavine then posted eerily similar numbers in 1996: four starts, 26 2/3 innings, five earned runs and 24 strikeouts. The biggest difference? The Braves won all four of Glavine’s starts in ‘95, including two World Series games. They went 2-2 behind Glavine the following year and eventually fell to the Yankees in the Fall Classic. Extra marks for Glavine here, too, for his bases-clearing triple in Game 7 of the NLCS -- on the same day he pitched seven scoreless innings.

Dave Stewart, 1990, Athletics
Lost World Series to Reds

Stewart was the epitome of a workhorse during the A’s 1988-90 run of consecutive World Series appearances. He earned MVP honors in the club’s only win in '89, tossing a five-hit shutout in Game 1 and seven innings of three-run ball -- enough for the win -- in Game 4. His 2.17 ERA the following year was actually his best of those three postseasons. Stewart finished at least eight innings with just one earned run in three of his four starts, yet he lost with a complete-game effort in Game 4 of the World Series.

Reggie Jackson, 1978, Yankees
Won World Series over Dodgers (MVP: Bucky Dent)

You don’t earn the moniker “Mr. October” for no reason. After helping guide the Yankees to the 1977 championship and earning his second career World Series MVP, Jackson might have been even better in ‘78 as the Yankees went back-to-back. He recorded at least one hit in nine of 10 games with four home runs and a whopping 14 RBIs. Jackson finished that playoff run with a 1.317 OPS.

Pete Rose, 1976, Reds
Won World Series over Yankees (MVP: Johnny Bench)

Rose had 10 hits (.370 average) to earn the MVP nod in the Big Red Machine’s first World Series win, a thrilling seven-game bout with the Red Sox. While he wasn’t quite that good the following year, he didn’t need to be. Cincinnati dominated its way to a four-game World Series sweep of the Yankees and its second straight championship. In seven games in the 1976 postseason, Rose batted .300 with three doubles and a triple. He did most of his damage with six hits in the NLCS against the Phillies.

Bob Gibson, 1968, Cardinals
Lost World Series to Tigers

You don’t see many performances like Gibson’s anymore. He won World Series MVP in 1967 by tossing three complete games and allowing just three runs, including the win in a decisive Game 7. He starred again the next Fall Classic with three more complete games and just five runs allowed, though four of those runs came in a Game 7 loss. He posted 17 strikeouts in Game 1, still the record for most K's in a postseason game. And Gibson -- who hit 24 regular-season home runs in his career -- actually went deep in both the 1967 and '68 World Series, too.