With Yoshinobu Yamamoto named the World Series MVP after a titanic effort throughout the Fall Classic, here’s a look back at some MVPs you may have forgotten about.
The 2025 MLB season has officially ended, with fans being treated to an all-time classic of both a World Series and a Game 7 as the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team since the 2000 New York Yankees to repeat as World Series champions.
The Toronto Blue Jays, who last won it all on Joe Carter’s walk-off home run in 1993, were just two outs away from lifting the Commissioner’s Trophy when closer Jeff Hoffman allowed a game-tying solo shot to veteran Miguel Rojas, a fittingly unlikely World Series hero.
Rojas cemented his hero status in the bottom half of the inning with a heroic throw home from second base that beat out Isiah Kiner-Falefa by the smallest of margins at home to keep the game alive before a Will Smith home run in the 11th inning gave the Dodgers what they needed for a 5-4 victory.
Star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was rightfully named World Series MVP, having tossed a complete game in Game 2, six innings of one-run ball in Game 6 and an incredible 2.2 innings of work in relief in Game 7, showing shades of 2001 Randy Johnson in the Dodgers’ victory.
Yamamoto certainly can’t be considered an unlikely hero, but every World Series has them – Rojas and Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages, who made a terrific game-saving catch in the bottom of the ninth inning, proved as much.
Though several stars have a World Series MVP to their name to solidify their status as among their generation’s best, there are also a handful of forgotten heroes who did take home the coveted Fall Classic MVP award, further proving it’s truly anyone’s game in October baseball.
With another incredible Fall Classic in the books, here’s a look back at three World Series MVPs from the 21st century fans may have forgotten about:
1. Jermaine Dye, 2005 World Series (Chicago White Sox over Houston Astros 4-0)
Picking an MVP for a four-game sweep may be the toughest task, with the White Sox not making it very easy on award voters in an incredible team effort displayed against Houston in the 2005 World Series.
While White Sox fans likely remember Paul Konerko’s go-ahead grand slam and Scott Podsednik’s walk-off home run, both in Game 2, as well as Geoff Blum’s iconic go-ahead shot in Game 3, none of those three players walked away with the World Series MVP award.
Instead, it was star outfielder Jermaine Dye, who went 7-for-16 with a double, home run and three walks over the course of the four-game series. Dye’s lone homer in the series came in the first inning of Game 1 against Roger Clemens, setting the tone for the contest and Fall Classic as a whole as Houston fell just short in four close games.
The outfielder likely solidified the MVP in his name with a go-ahead eighth-inning single in Game 4, breaking a scoreless tie and providing the only offense needed in a 1-0 victory.
The 2005 season marked the first of five years Dye spent with the White Sox, wrapping up his career on the South Side following the 2009 season. Dye followed up the World Series MVP with a career year in 2006, smacking 44 home runs and driving in 120 runs en route to an All-Star appearance, Silver Slugger award and fifth place finish in AL MVP voting.
2. David Eckstein, 2006 World Series (St. Louis Cardinals over Detroit Tigers 4-1)
In an often-forgotten World Series, writers were left with a tough choice between several good options after the 83-win Cardinals shocked the world by winning it all in 2006, speeding past the Tigers in just five games.
Beyond Eckstein, there were two other position players that put up compelling cases for the award for the Cardinals. Yadier Molina was 7-for-17 with two doubles, while Hall of Famer Scott Rolen hit .421 in the series with three doubles and a home run.
Ultimately it was Eckstein who won the award, getting to soak in his second World Series title as a player with the MVP award of the Fall Classic. Eckstein went 8-for-22 in the series with three doubles and four RBI, with two of his four RBI in the series coming in the clinching Game 5.
The MVP award also marked a stunning mid-series turnaround for Eckstein, who was 0-for-9 through the series’ first two games in Detroit before going 8-for-13 in three games at Busch Stadium.
3. Jeremy Peña, 2022 World Series (Houston Astros over Philadelphia Phillies 4-2)
An incredible series that I ranked as the best six-game Fall Classic of the 21st century, it’s easy to forget just how great Jeremy Peña was both in the World Series and in the postseason as a whole.
There are plenty of moments fans will remember forever from this series – the Phillies’ thunderous Game 1 comeback, the Astros tossing a combined no-hitter on the road in Game 4, a potential game-saving catch from Chas McCormick in Game 5 and a titanic series-winning blast from Yordan Alvarez in Game 6.
Yet beneath the nonstop chaos felt on both sides throughout the series was an incredibly steady rookie in Jeremy Peña. After hitting the series-winning home run in the ALDS and winning the ALCS MVP, Peña went an excellent 10-for-25 in the Fall Classic with two doubles and a home run while providing steady defense at shortstop, making the absence of Carlos Correa hard to notice.
While Peña may not have been the focal point of the series’ most recognizable moments, he quietly put a bow on one of the most remarkable rookie postseason performances we’ve ever seen. And it isn’t like he was completely absent from the big moments – it was Peña’s one-out single in the sixth inning of Game 6 that immediately preceded Alvarez’s series-changing home run.
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