BLOG

The World Series is played between the champion clubs of the American and the National Leagues, which collectively includes 29 clubs based in the United States and one club from Canada. The "modern" World Series has been and annual event since 1903. Baseball has employed various championship formulas since the 1860's. When the term "World Series" is used by itself, it is usually understood to refer to the "modern" World Series exclusively.

The World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff. Best-of-seven has been the format of all the modern World Series except in 1903, 1919, 1920 and 1921 when the winner was determined through a best-of-nine playoff. The Series winner is awarded the World Series Trophy, as well as individual World Series rings. The Series winner also receives a larger proportion of the gate receipts than does the Series loser.

There have been three different "most valuable player" awards in baseball since 1911. The Chalmers Award was the first of those three and it was presented by between 1911 and 1914 by Chalmers Automotive a Detroit based automobile company. By 1915 the Chalmers Award was no longer considered popular. Rumors about possible cheating and the inability for any player to win more than once were factors which led to its demise.

1956-2014

The Cy Young Award was then Commissioner Ford Frick's idea to honor the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. Hard lessons were learned by the Chalmers Award (1911-1914) earlier in history so the recipients of the Cy Young Award were selected by the Baseball Writers Association of America from the inception of the award. During the first eleven years (1956 - 1966), only one winner from Major League Baseball was selected. Immediately after Commissioner Frick retired, the rules were changed to honor the best pitcher from each league.

1931-2014

The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball award given to one outstanding player in both the American and National Leagues. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The winners receive the Kenesaw Mountain Landis Memorial Baseball Award, which is named in honor of the first MLB commissioner, who served from 1920 to 1944. MVP voting takes place before the postseason but the results are not announced until after the World Series. The BBWAA began polling three writers in each league city in 1938, reducing that number to two per league city in 1961. The BBWAA does not offer a clear-cut definition of what "most valuable" means, instead leaving the judgment to the individual voters.

In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to one player from each league as voted upon by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). The award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA who alone selected a rookie of the year. Starting in 1947, all members of the national BBWAA organization voted. Jackie Robinson was awarded the first official Rookie of the Year award. When casting their ballots each BBWAA voter used their own discretion as to who qualified as a rookie until 1957 when they defined the term as someone with less than 75 at-bats or 45 innings pitched in any previous season. This guideline was later amended to 90 at-bats, 45 innings pitched or 45 days on a major league roster before September 1 of the previous year. It was amended to the current standards in 1971 to 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 45 days on the active roster of a major league club (excluding time on the disabled list) before September 1. Beginning in 1980 each voter names three rookies: a first place choice is given five points, a second place choice three points, and a third place one point. The award goes to the player with the most overall points. Prior to 1980 each voter cast one ballot for each league.