The first World Series was played in 1903, but it wasn't until 1955 that the Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Award was given out. The World Series MVP is cool in the fact that it is not always the team's best overall player that wins the award. Anyone can get hot over a seven-game series, and it has made for plenty of interesting WS MVP winners. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of legends who have won the award, but the World Series MVP isn't just flooded with Hall of Famers like many other sports championship MVP winners are. Below is a list of every WS MVP, along with some history on the award.

Year-by-year World Series MVP winners

1955: Johnny Podres, Brooklyn Dodgers, starting pitcher

1956: Don Larsen, New York Yankees, starting pitcher

1957: Lew Burdette, Milwaukee Braves, starting pitcher

1958: Bob Turley, New York Yankees, pitcher

1959: Larry Sherry, Los Angeles Dodgers, relief pitcher

1960: Bobby Richardson, New York Yankees, second baseman

1961: Whitey Ford, New York Yankees, starting pitcher

1962: Ralph Terry, New York Yankees, starting pitcher

1963: Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers, starting pitcher

1964: Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals, starting pitcher

1965: Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers, starting pitchers

1966: Frank Robinson, Baltimore Orioles, outfielder

1967: Bob Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals, starting pitcher

1968: Mickey Lolich, Detroit Tigers, starting pitcher

1969: Donn Clendenon, New York Mets, first baseman

1970: Brooks Robinson, Baltimore Orioles, third baseman

1971: Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates, outfielder

1972: Gene Tenace, Oakland Athletics, catcher

1973: Reggie Jackson, Oakland Athletics, outfielder

1974: Rollie Fingers, Oakland Athletics, relief pitcher

1975: Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds, third baseman

1976: Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds, catcher

1977: Reggie Jackson, New York Yankees, outfielder

1978: Bucky Dent, New York Yankees, shortstop

1979: Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates, first baseman

1980: Mike Schmidt, Philadelphia Phillies, third baseman

1981: Ron Cey (third baseman)/Pedro Guerrero (outfielder)/Steve Yeager (catcher), Los Angeles Dodgers

1982:Darrell Porter, St. Louis Cardinals, catcher

1983: Rick Dempsey, Baltimore Orioles, catcher

1984: Alan Trammell, Detroit Tigers, shortstop

1985: Bret Saberhagen, Kansas City Royals, starting pitcher

1986: Ray Knight, New York Mets, third baseman

1987: Frank Viola, Minnesota Twins, starting pitcher

1988: Orel Hershiser, Los Angeles Dodgers, starting pitcher

1989: Dave Stewart, Oakland Athletics, starting pitcher

1990: Jose Rijo, Cincinnati Reds, starting pitcher

1991: Jack Morris: Minnesota Twins, starting pitcher

1992: Pat Borders, Toronto Blue Jays, catcher

1993: Paul Molitor, Toronto Blue Jays, utility

1994: No World Series

1995: Tom Glavine, Atlanta Braves, starting pitcher

1996: John Wetteland, New York Yankees, relief pitcher

1997: Livan Hernandez, Florida Marlins, starting pitcher

1998: Scott Brosius, New York Yankees, third baseman

1999: Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees, relief pitcher

2000: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees, shortstop

2001: Randy Johnson (pitcher)/Curt Schilling (pitcher), Arizona Diamondbacks

2002: Troy Glaus, Anaheim Angels, third baseman

2003: Josh Beckett, Florida Marlins, starting pitcher

2004: Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox, outfielder

2005: Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox, outfielder

2006: David Eckstein, St. Louis Caridinals, shortstop

2007: Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox, third baseman

2008: Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies, starting pitcher

2009: Hideki Matsui, New York Yankees, designated hitter

2010: Edgar Renteria, San Francisco Giants, shortstop

2011: David Freese, St. Louis Cardinals, third baseman

2012: Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants. third baseman

2013: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox, designated hitter

2014: Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants, starting pitcher

2015: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals, catcher

2016: Ben Zobrist, Chicago Cubs, outfielder

2017: George Springer, Houston Astros, outfielder

2018: Steve Pearce, Boston Red Sox, first baseman

2019: Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals, starting pitcher

2020: Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers, shortstop

2021: Jorge Soler, Atlanta Braves, designated hitter

2022: Jeremy Pena, Houston Astros, shortstop

Multi-time winners

Only three players have won the award multiple times. Sandy Koufax was the first to do it in 1965, and Bob Gibson did it two years later in 1967. Reggie Jackson is the most recent player to accomplish the feat, winning a second award in 1977. All three of the players won the award twice, and no one has been named World Series MVP three times.

World Series MVP history

Until 2017, the award was a sized-down version of the Commissioner's Trophy, which is the trophy handed out to the Fall Classic winner. In 2017, the award was renamed the Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award, and with that, the trophy was changed to Mays' iconic catch from the 1954 Fall Classic. That year was Mays' rookie year and the only year he won the World Series. Unfortunately, it was the last year before the World Series MVP was handed out, meaning Mays was never named World Series MVP.

In 1955, Johnny Podres won the inaugural World Series MVP. The award has been given out every year since, except for in 1994, when there was no Fall Classic because of the player's strike.

Only once has an MVP been named in a losing effort. This was in 1960 when Bobby Richardson was named MVP after hitting 12 RBIs and a grand slam. Richardson – a second baseman – was also the first-position player to win the award.

Overall, 29 pitchers have been named WS MVP, four of which were relief pitchers. Positions players have been selected as MVP 40 times. 10 third basemen, nine outfielders, seven catchers and shortstops, and three designated hitters and first basemen have won. No second baseman has won the award since Bobby Richardson.

Three rookies have won the award. This includes Jeremy Pena, last season's winner and the first rookie position player to win. The other two rookies were Larry Sherry in 1959 and Livan Hernandez in 1997.

The Yankees have the most World Series MVP winners with 12. Pitchers were predominately chosen for the award in the early days of it. Twelve of the first 14 World Series MVPs were pitchers. Twenty-two winners are now in the Hall of Fame.

Twice before, multiple World Series MVPs were chosen. In 1981, Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, and Steve Yeager were all named MVP when the Dodgers won the World Series. When the Diamondbacks won their first and only World Series in 2001, both Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were named MVP. Ironically, the Diamondbacks are making their second World Series appearance this year.

The 2023 World Series will also feature a former MVP. Corey Seager won World Series MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020 and is now on the Texas Rangers. The Rangers will play the Diamondbacks in the World Series starting on Oct. 27.