| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| League | Major League Baseball |
| Awarded for | Annualmost valuable players of the twoLeague Championship Series |
| Country | United States, Canada |
| Presented by | American League, National League |
| History | |
| First award | 1977 (NL), 1980 (AL) |
| Most recent | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (AL) Shohei Ohtani (NL) |

TheLeague Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP)Award is given annually to theMajor League Baseball (MLB) players deemed to have the most impact on their teams' performances in each of the two respectiveLeague Championship Series that comprise the penultimate round of theMLB postseason. The award is given separately for a player in both theAmerican League Championship Series and theNational League Championship Series.[1] It has been presented in theNational League (NL) since 1977, and in theAmerican League (AL) since 1980.[2]Dusty Baker won the inaugural award in 1977 with theLos Angeles Dodgers, andFrank White won the first AL award in 1980 with theKansas City Royals. Twelve LCS MVP winners have been elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame:Roberto Alomar,George Brett,Dennis Eckersley,Rickey Henderson,David Ortiz,Kirby Puckett,CC Sabathia,Ozzie Smith,Mariano Rivera,Iván Rodríguez,John Smoltz, andWillie Stargell.
Three players have won the award twice:Steve Garvey (1978, 1984),Dave Stewart (1990, 1993), andOrel Hershiser (1988, 1995). Incidentally, all three of these players won their two awards with two different teams. Building off of this, Garvey is the only player to win NLCS MVP twice, Stewart the only player to win ALCS MVP twice, and Hershiser the only one to win in both leagues. Nine players have gone on to win theWorld Series MVP Award in the same season in which they won the LCS MVP—eight from the NL and one from the AL. Three players have won while playing for the losing team in the series:Fred Lynn played for the1982 California Angels;[3]Mike Scott pitched for the1986 Houston Astros;[4] andJeffrey Leonard played for the1987 San Francisco Giants.[5] Two players have shared the award in the same year three times, all in the NL;Rob Dibble andRandy Myers for the1990 Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Cubs'Jon Lester andJavier Báez in 2016, andChris Taylor andJustin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017.
Adam Kennedy won the2002 ALCS MVP when he hit three home runs in a single game;[6] he had hit 7 during the regular season and hit 80 in his 14-year career.[7]Nelson Cruz won the award in the2011 ALCS after hitting six home runs in the series.Adolis García won the award after having 15 RBIs during the2023 ALCS. From thepitcher's mound,Steve Avery threw16+1⁄3 innings without giving up a run in the1991 NLCS,[8] andJohn Smoltz amassed 19 strikeouts the following year to win MVP honours.[9]Liván Hernández won the1997 NLCS MVP after winning his only start and earning a win out of the bullpen inrelief; he struck out 16 in10+2⁄3 innings.Daniel Murphy won the2015 NLCS MVP after hitting home runs in six consecutive games (including the final two games of the preceding division series), setting a major league record for consecutive postseason games with a home run.[10]Shohei Ohtani won the2025 NLCS MVP after hitting three home runs and pitching six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts inGame 4.[a]
Liván Hernández (1997, NL) and his half-brotherOrlando Hernández (1999, AL) are the only family pair to have won the award.[11] The onlyrookies to have won the award areMike Boddicker (1983, AL),Liván Hernández (1997, NL),Michael Wacha (2013, NL),Randy Arozarena (2020, AL) andJeremy Peña (2022, AL).[12][13]
| Year | Links to the article about that corresponding ALCS or NLCS |
† | Member of theBaseball Hall of Fame |
* | Indicates that the player won theWorld Series MVP Award the same year |
§ | Indicates that the player's team lost the series |
^ | Indicates multiple award winners in the same year |
(#) | Indicates number of times winning League Championship Series MVP at that point (if he won multiple times) |





| Year | Player | Team | Position | Selected statistics | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Frank White | Kansas City Royals | Second baseman | [14] | |
| 1981 | Graig Nettles | New York Yankees | Third baseman |
| [15] |
| 1982 | Fred Lynn | California Angels§ | Outfielder |
| [16] |
| 1983 | Mike Boddicker | Baltimore Orioles | Starting pitcher |
| [17] |
| 1984 | Kirk Gibson | Detroit Tigers | Outfielder |
| [18] |
| 1985 | George Brett† | Kansas City Royals | Third baseman |
| [19] |
| 1986 | Marty Barrett | Boston Red Sox | Second baseman |
| [20] |
| 1987 | Gary Gaetti | Minnesota Twins | Third baseman |
| [21] |
| 1988 | Dennis Eckersley† | Oakland Athletics | Relief pitcher |
| [22] |
| 1989 | Rickey Henderson† | Oakland Athletics | Outfielder |
| [23] |
| 1990 | Dave Stewart | Oakland Athletics | Starting pitcher |
| [24] |
| 1991 | Kirby Puckett† | Minnesota Twins | Outfielder |
| [25] |
| 1992 | Roberto Alomar† | Toronto Blue Jays | Second baseman |
| [26] |
| 1993 | Dave Stewart (2) | Toronto Blue Jays | Starting pitcher |
| [27] |
| 1994 | Series cancelled due toplayer's strike | [28] | |||
| 1995 | Orel Hershiser (2) | Cleveland Indians | Starting pitcher |
| [29] |
| 1996 | Bernie Williams | New York Yankees | Outfielder |
| [30] |
| 1997 | Marquis Grissom | Cleveland Indians | Outfielder |
| [31] |
| 1998 | David Wells | New York Yankees | Starting pitcher |
| [32] |
| 1999 | Orlando Hernández | New York Yankees | Starting pitcher |
| [33] |
| 2000 | David Justice | New York Yankees | Outfielder |
| [34] |
| 2001 | Andy Pettitte | New York Yankees | Starting pitcher |
| [35] |
| 2002 | Adam Kennedy | Anaheim Angels | Second baseman |
| [6] |
| 2003 | Mariano Rivera† | New York Yankees | Relief pitcher |
| [36] |
| 2004 | David Ortiz† | Boston Red Sox | Designated hitter |
| [37] |
| 2005 | Paul Konerko | Chicago White Sox | First baseman |
| [38] |
| 2006 | Plácido Polanco | Detroit Tigers | Second baseman |
| [39] |
| 2007 | Josh Beckett | Boston Red Sox | Starting pitcher |
| [40] |
| 2008 | Matt Garza | Tampa Bay Rays | Starting pitcher |
| [41] |
| 2009 | CC Sabathia† | New York Yankees | Starting pitcher |
| [42] |
| 2010 | Josh Hamilton | Texas Rangers | Outfielder |
| [43] |
| 2011 | Nelson Cruz | Texas Rangers | Outfielder |
| [44] |
| 2012 | Delmon Young | Detroit Tigers | Designated hitter |
| [45] |
| 2013 | Koji Uehara | Boston Red Sox | Relief pitcher |
| [46] |
| 2014 | Lorenzo Cain | Kansas City Royals | Outfielder |
| [47] |
| 2015 | Alcides Escobar | Kansas City Royals | Shortstop |
| [48] |
| 2016 | Andrew Miller | Cleveland Indians | Relief pitcher |
| [49] |
| 2017 | Justin Verlander | Houston Astros | Starting pitcher |
| [50] |
| 2018 | Jackie Bradley Jr. | Boston Red Sox | Center fielder |
| [51] |
| 2019 | Jose Altuve | Houston Astros | Second baseman |
| [52] |
| 2020 | Randy Arozarena | Tampa Bay Rays | Outfielder |
| [53] |
| 2021 | Yordan Alvarez | Houston Astros | Designated hitter |
| [54] |
| 2022* | Jeremy Peña | Houston Astros | Shortstop |
| [55] |
| 2023 | Adolis García | Texas Rangers | Outfielder |
| [56] |
| 2024 | Giancarlo Stanton | New York Yankees | Designated hitter |
| [57] |
| 2025 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | Toronto Blue Jays | First baseman |
| [58] |





| Year | Player | Team | Position | Selected statistics | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Dusty Baker | Los Angeles Dodgers | Outfielder | [59] | |
| 1978 | Steve Garvey | Los Angeles Dodgers | First baseman |
| [60] |
| 1979* | Willie Stargell† | Pittsburgh Pirates | First baseman |
| [61] |
| 1980 | Manny Trillo | Philadelphia Phillies | Second baseman |
| [62] |
| 1981 | Burt Hooton | Los Angeles Dodgers | Starting pitcher |
| [63] |
| 1982* | Darrell Porter | St. Louis Cardinals | Catcher | [64] | |
| 1983 | Gary Matthews | Philadelphia Phillies | Outfielder |
| [65] |
| 1984 | Steve Garvey(2) | San Diego Padres | First baseman |
| [66] |
| 1985 | Ozzie Smith† | St. Louis Cardinals | Shortstop |
| [67] |
| 1986 | Mike Scott | Houston Astros§ | Starting pitcher |
| [68] |
| 1987 | Jeffrey Leonard | San Francisco Giants§ | Outfielder |
| [69] |
| 1988* | Orel Hershiser | Los Angeles Dodgers | Pitcher |
| [70] |
| 1989 | Will Clark | San Francisco Giants | First baseman |
| [71] |
| 1990^ | Rob Dibble | Cincinnati Reds | Relief pitcher |
| [72] |
| 1990^ | Randy Myers | Cincinnati Reds | Relief pitcher |
| [72] |
| 1991 | Steve Avery | Atlanta Braves | Starting pitcher |
| [8] |
| 1992 | John Smoltz† | Atlanta Braves | Starting pitcher |
| [9] |
| 1993 | Curt Schilling | Philadelphia Phillies | Starting pitcher |
| [73] |
| 1994 | Series cancelled due toplayer's strike | [28] | |||
| 1995 | Mike Devereaux | Atlanta Braves | Outfielder |
| [74] |
| 1996 | Javy López | Atlanta Braves | Catcher |
| [75] |
| 1997* | Liván Hernández | Florida Marlins | Starting pitcher |
| [76] |
| 1998 | Sterling Hitchcock | San Diego Padres | Starting pitcher |
| [77] |
| 1999 | Eddie Pérez | Atlanta Braves | Catcher |
| [78] |
| 2000 | Mike Hampton | New York Mets | Starting pitcher |
| [79] |
| 2001 | Craig Counsell | Arizona Diamondbacks | Infielder |
| [80] |
| 2002 | Benito Santiago | San Francisco Giants | Catcher |
| [81] |
| 2003 | Iván Rodríguez† | Florida Marlins | Catcher |
| [82] |
| 2004 | Albert Pujols | St. Louis Cardinals | First baseman |
| [83] |
| 2005 | Roy Oswalt | Houston Astros | Starting pitcher |
| [84] |
| 2006 | Jeff Suppan | St. Louis Cardinals | Starting pitcher |
| [85] |
| 2007 | Matt Holliday | Colorado Rockies | Outfielder |
| [86] |
| 2008* | Cole Hamels | Philadelphia Phillies | Starting pitcher |
| [87] |
| 2009 | Ryan Howard | Philadelphia Phillies | First baseman |
| [88] |
| 2010 | Cody Ross | San Francisco Giants | Outfielder |
| [89] |
| 2011* | David Freese | St. Louis Cardinals | Third baseman |
| [90] |
| 2012 | Marco Scutaro | San Francisco Giants | Second baseman |
| [91] |
| 2013 | Michael Wacha | St. Louis Cardinals | Starting pitcher |
| [92] |
| 2014* | Madison Bumgarner | San Francisco Giants | Starting pitcher |
| [93] |
| 2015 | Daniel Murphy | New York Mets | Infielder |
| [94] |
| 2016^ | Jon Lester | Chicago Cubs | Starting pitcher |
| [95] |
| 2016^ | Javier Báez | Chicago Cubs | Infielder |
| [95] |
| 2017^ | Justin Turner | Los Angeles Dodgers | Third baseman |
| [96] |
| 2017^ | Chris Taylor | Los Angeles Dodgers | Outfielder |
| [96] |
| 2018 | Cody Bellinger | Los Angeles Dodgers | First baseman |
| [97] |
| 2019 | Howie Kendrick | Washington Nationals | Second baseman |
| [98] |
| 2020* | Corey Seager | Los Angeles Dodgers | Shortstop |
| [99] |
| 2021 | Eddie Rosario | Atlanta Braves | Outfielder |
| [100] |
| 2022 | Bryce Harper | Philadelphia Phillies | Designated hitter |
| [101] |
| 2023 | Ketel Marte | Arizona Diamondbacks | Second baseman |
| [102] |
| 2024 | Tommy Edman | Los Angeles Dodgers | Shortstop |
| [103] |
| 2025 | Shohei Ohtani | Los Angeles Dodgers | Designated hitter / Starting pitcher |
| [104] |