On Oct. 30, the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 to win game six of the World Series and become 2013 MLB Champions. The Sox won the series 4-2 winning in front of a sellout crowd at Fenway. David Ortiz was the series MVP with a .688 series batting average, 11 hits, 2 homeruns, and 6 RBI’s. Ortiz, affectionately known as “Big Papi,” is the fourth Dominican born MLB player to win the honor. His former Red Sox teammate, Manny Ramirez who is also from the Dominican Republic, won the award in 2004. Since 1955, MLB has awarded 58 players the honor of World Series Most Valuable Player which led us to give you “5 Black World Series MVP’s You Should Know.”
Frank Robinson
Playing for the Baltimore Orioles in 1966, outfielder Frank Robinson won the award with a series batting average of .857, 2 homeruns, and 3 RBI’s. Robinson also was with the Orioles when they won the championship in 1970. Other honors for Robinson include winning the triple-crown award in the ’66 season, being ninth on the most career homeruns list and being inducted into the hall of fame in 1982. He was also the first African American hired to manage a major league baseball team.
Reggie Jackson
Also known as “Mr. October” Reggie Jackson won the World Series MVP twice, in 1973 as a member of the Oakland Athletics and in 1977 with the New York Yankees. In the 73’ series, Jackson had a .310 batting average along with 9 hits and 6 RBI’s. But it was his performance in the 1977 World Series the Jackson’s performance earned him the nickname “Mr. October”. Jackson batted .450 for the series along with 8 RBI’s, and 5 homeruns, 3 of which he hit in the final and deciding game of the series. Jackson, the only player to win the honor twice, was inducted into the hall of fame in 1993.
Willie Stargell
Born Wilver Dornell Stargell, Willie Stargell won the MLB MVP honor playing first base as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1979. During the 79’ series Stargell batted .400 with 12 hits and 7 RBI’s. During that same post-season, Stargell also won the league championship series MVP award. Stargell was inducted into the hall of fame in 1988. During his career, Stargell was elected to the All-Star game seven times, was a two time homerun champion, and was a member of two World Series championship teams.
Dave Stewart
As a member of the Oakland Athletics, pitcher Dave Stewart won the MVP award of the 1989 World Series. Stewart won two of the four games of the series which included a complete game shutout. In 16 innings during the 89’ series, Stewart only allowed 3 earned runs. During Stewart’s career he was elected to the All-star game in 1989, was a three time World Series Champion and a two-time ALCS MVP.
Jermaine Dye
Outfielder Jermaine Dye won the World Series MVP award in 2005 as a member of the Chicago White Sox. In that series, Dye batted .438 with 7 hits and 3 RBI’s. Other highlights of Dye’s career include winning the Gold Glove Award in 2000 and the Babe Ruth Award in 2005. Dye played for four teams during his major league career. He retired from major league baseball in 2011.
-Daminon Lewis
