Just 4 players have won multiple World Series MVP Awards
The Rangers won the 2023 World Series, and Corey Seager was named the World Series MVP ... again.
That puts him in exclusive company -- Seager is just the fourth player to win multiple World Series MVP trophies since the award was first given out in 1955.
The Rangers' star shortstop, who homered in Texas' first three wins of the Fall Classic, had already won one World Series MVP Award in 2020 with the Dodgers.
The three previous players to be named World Series MVP twice are Hall of Famers and postseason legends: Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson.
Here's a rundown of the group Seager joined in 2023, starting with the most recent to join the multi-World Series MVP club.
Corey Seager
World Series MVP: 2020 (Dodgers), 2023 (Rangers)
SeagerĄ¯s 2020 postseason was the stuff of legend ¨C having already been named MVP of the NLCS, he hit .400 (8-for-20) with two home runs, five RBIs and an eye-popping 1.256 OPS in six games against the Rays, leading the Dodgers to their first World Series title since 1988.
Three years and one huge free-agent contract later, Seager made another trip to the World Series as a member of the Rangers and came through at every turn. With the Rangers staring down a Game 1 loss, trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Seager launched a monster game-tying two-run homer off D-backs closer Paul Sewald, setting up an 11th-inning walk-off.
He added two more homers in Games 3 and 4 in Arizona, and sealed the deal on his second career World Series MVP award in the Game 5 clincher. With the Rangers hitless through six innings against D-backs ace Zac Gallen, Seager broke through with a leadoff single in the seventh and scored the first run of the game, effectively turning the tide for his club and paving the way for their first World Series win in franchise history. Seager closed out the series hitting .286 with three home runs and six RBIs.
Reggie Jackson?
World Series MVP: 1973 (A's), 1977 (Yankees)
When Jackson became Mr. October for the Yankees, he also became the most recent player to win a second World Series MVP. Jackson's three-home run game against the Dodgers in the clinching Game 6 of the 1977 World Series at Yankee Stadium is one of the greatest postseason games of all time. He also homered in Games 4 and 5, including one off fellow Hall of Famer Don Sutton.
That series cemented his legend, but Jackson was already a playoff star before he got to New York. He led the A's to the second of their three straight World Series championships from 1972-74, when they held off the underdog Mets in a seven-game series. Jackson batted .310 with a homer, a triple, three doubles and six RBIs in the World Series -- and that home run came in the winner-take-all Game 7 at Oakland Coliseum.
Bob Gibson?
World Series MVP: 1964, 1967 (Cardinals)
You never wanted to see Gibson on the mound. But you really didn't want to see Gibson on the mound in the World Series. The Cardinals legend pitched St. Louis to two World Series titles in the 1960s, dominating the Yankees in 1964 and the Red Sox three years later. Both series went seven games, and Gibson was on the mound for both winner-take-all Game 7s.
In 1964 -- pitching on two days' rest after a 10-inning, 13-strikeout complete game win in Game 5 at Yankee Stadium -- Gibson finished off the Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris-led Bronx Bombers with a nine-strikeout complete game in St. Louis.
In 1967, he was even better. Gibson won Games 1, 4 and 7 against a Red Sox team led by Carl Yastrzemski, who won the AL MVP and Triple Crown that year. Each was a complete-game victory: Gibson pitched a one-run, 10-strikeout complete game in Game 1, a six-strikeout shutout in Game 4 and a two-run, 10-strikeout gem in Game 7 at Fenway Park. Yes, in 27 innings pitched in the '67 Fall Classic, Gibson allowed only three total runs.
Sandy Koufax
World Series MVP: 1963, 1965 (Dodgers)
The Dodgers icon was the first player to win multiple World Series MVPs. Koufax's performances in the 1963 and 1965 Fall Classics capped off two of the greatest seasons of all time -- he also won MLB's pitching Triple Crown both years, leading the Majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts.
In 1963, Koufax led Los Angeles into a World Series showdown with the rival Yankees. He outdueled fellow Hall of Famer Whitey Ford in Game 1 and Game 4, and the Dodgers swept New York. Koufax struck out 15 Yankees in Game 1 in New York -- a record at the time for the most K's in a World Series game -- then clinched the series with a one-run complete game at Dodger Stadium.
Two years later, the Dodgers pulled off a seven-game comeback against the Twins after dropping the first two games of the World Series. Koufax was outdueled by fellow Hall of Famer Jim Kaat in Game 2, but he bounced back to beat Kaat in Game 5 and the winner-take-all Game 7. A Twins lineup led by MVP Zoilo Versalles and Hall of Famers Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew couldn't touch Koufax. In Game 5 at Dodger Stadium, the southpaw pitched a 10-strikeout shutout. In Game 7 in Minnesota, he did it again: another shutout, 10 more K's.