Only once in AL/NL history did the eventual Most Valuable Players, Cy Young award winners and Rookies of the Year appear in the same postseason. It happened in 1981, under extenuating circumstances. A players’ strike split the season into two halves, prompting the league to expand the postseason from four teams to eight.
Meanwhile, two of the award winners received multiple honors. Rollie Fingers was the AL MVP and Cy Young. Fernando Valenzuela was the NL Cy Young and Rookie of the Year.
Advertisement Which brings us to 2024. This postseason will be absolutely star-studded. And yes, it could include both eventual MVPs, Cy Young Winner and Rookies of the Year.
The expansion of the playoffs from 10 teams to 12 in 2022 helped create the possibility. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ Paul Skenes winning Rookie of the Year could wreck it. But this October, we’re going to see: *The two likely MVPs, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees *The two likely Cy Youngs, Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves (who might not be healthy enough to pitch) and Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers .
*And a host of leading Rookie of the Year contenders, from the San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrill and Milwaukee Brewers’ Jackson Chourio in the NL to the Baltimore Orioles’ Colton Cowser and Yankees’ Luis Gil and Austin Wells in the AL. As if that’s not enough, we’ve also got the likely MVP runner-ups, Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals and Francisco Lin.