I would say he is one of the great mid season waiver wire pick ups of all time (the greatest STILL being Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1926… who the Cardinals picked up from the Cubs and he clinched the World Series that year.)
So it got me thinking… who else has won a post season MVP in a season where they started with another team?
And because I am a lunatic, I am going to try and list them all.
POST SEASON MVPS WHO BEGAN THE SEASON WITH A DIFFERENT TEAM
DONN CLENDENON
New York Mets
1969 World Series MVP
Acquired in trade with Montreal Expos
for Bill Carden, Dave Colon, Kevin Collin and Steve Renko
RICKEY HENDERSON
Oakland A’s
1989 ALCS MVP
Acquired in trade with New York Yankees
for Greg Cadaret, Eric Plunk and Luis Polonia.
MIKE DEVEREAUX
Atlanta Braves
1995 NLCS MVP
Acquired in trade with Chicago White Sox
for Andre King
DAVID JUSTICE
New York Yankees
2000 ALCS MVP
Acquired in trade with Cleveland Indians
for Zach Day, Ricky Ledee and Jake Westbrook
CODY ROSS
San Francisco Giants
2010 NLCS MVP
Claimed off of waivers from Florida Marlins.
DONN CLENDENON
New York Mets
1969 World Series MVP
Acquired in trade with Montreal Expos
for Bill Carden, Dave Colon, Kevin Collin and Steve Renko
RICKEY HENDERSON
Oakland A’s
1989 ALCS MVP
Acquired in trade with New York Yankees
for Greg Cadaret, Eric Plunk and Luis Polonia.
MIKE DEVEREAUX
Atlanta Braves
1995 NLCS MVP
Acquired in trade with Chicago White Sox
for Andre King
DAVID JUSTICE
New York Yankees
2000 ALCS MVP
Acquired in trade with Cleveland Indians
for Zach Day, Ricky Ledee and Jake Westbrook
CODY ROSS
San Francisco Giants
2010 NLCS MVP
Claimed off of waivers from Florida Marlins.
Each of those GMs for those teams probably crowed big time when their pick ups got some hardware in October.
I wonder if any will be added to this list at the end of the World Series.
(Did someone say Cliff Lee?)