Post Season MVPs versus their past or future teams - Another insane Sully Baseball list

For those of you who read my blog regularly, you know that every once in a while an idle thought would enter my cranium and it would evolve into me doing an elaborate list writing entry here.

My entire 800 page Home Grown vs Acquired Series started from the simple question "I wonder if the Red Sox had better luck acquiring players from other teams or developing their own talent."

I chronicled how my ideas can germinate into a blog post with my "Making of a Blog Post" entry. Well it happened again.

While on the treadmill watching coverage of the Yankees and Rangers courtship of Cliff Lee, I thought "The Yankees are trying to bring in a guy who consistently beat them in October. I wonder how many players have joined a team they beat in the playoffs."

Later I got more specific. "I wonder how many times a playoff MVP joined the team that he beat."

Then I thought "I wonder how many playoff MVPs won their award against a team they USED to play for."

And finally the question "How many players won a playoff MVP and then later played in the post season AGAINST the team that he won the award for?"

This is how my mind works, people.

And I can't just leave these thoughts hanging.
I have to list them.

And I did.

Post Season MVPs who joined the team they beat

FRANK ROBINSON
1966 World Series MVP for the Baltimore Orioles against the
Los Angeles Dodgers.
Joined the Dodgers in 1972





KIRK GIBSON
1984 ALCS MVP for the Detroit Tigers against the
Kansas City Royals
Joined the Royals in 1991





DENNIS ECKERSLEY
1988 ALCS MVP for the Oakland Athletics against the
Boston Red Sox
Joined the Red Sox in 1998




OREL HERSHISER
1988 NLCS MVP for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the
New York Mets
Joined the Mets in 1999.





RICKEY HENDERSON
1989 ALCS MVP for the Oakland Athletics against the
Toronto Blue Jays
Joined the Blue Jays in 1993





RANDY JOHNSON
2001 World Series Co-MVP for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the New York Yankees
Joined the Yankees in 2005.

Post Season MVPs who beat
a team they used to play for

LEW BURDETTE
1957 World Series MVP for the Milwaukee Braves against the
New York Yankees.
Played for the Yankees in 1950.





MIKE SCOTT
1986 NLCS MVP for the Houston Astros against the
New York Mets.
Played for the Mets from 1979-1982





DENNIS ECKERSLEY
1988 ALCS MVP for the Oakland Athletics against the
Boston Red Sox
Played for the Red Sox from 1978-1984





JOSE RIJO
1990 World Series MVP for the Cincinnati Reds against the Oakland Athletics
Played for the Athletics from 1985-1987

Post Season MVPs who later played against their team in the Post Season

DON LARSEN
1956 World Series MVP for the
New York Yankees
Pitched in the 1962 World Series for the San Francisco Giants against the Yankees





REGGIE JACKSON
1973 World Series MVP for the
Oakland A’s
Played in the 1981 ALCS for the New York Yankees against the A’s






I find it interesting that Dennis Eckersley appeared on the list twice.
I am guessing you did too.

21 things about tonight's pre game in Yankee Stadium

I may be a Red Sox fan, but a hat must be tipped to the Yankees for a goosebump filled closing night ceremony in the Bronx.

I have some thoughts.
Let's list them:

1. Even old and frail, Bob Shepherd sound amazing. Get well... they need his pipes in the new place.

2. The decision to have actors play the opening line up from 1923 was strange. Borderline "Knott's Berry Farm Musical Revue" territory. Good for ESPN that they didn't zoom in on them. Why not bring back descendants of the 1923 team?

3. Very cool moment was unveiling the 1922 AL Pennant that they raised over the park opening say in 1923. I wonder who has been keeping that all of these years?

4. I guess it says a lot about me being a film geek that I recognized the film scores they were playing as background music. Nice call playing the part of The Right Stuff soundtrack when John Glenn takes off.

5. Instead of having the sons of Billy Martin, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris out there, why not have John Turturro, Thomas Jane and Barry Pepper? For that matter, Erik Jensen who played Thurman Munson in The Bronx is Burning was awesome. Have him in full uni.

6. I can't believe they made poor Roy White jog all the way out to left field.

7. What was cooler than Willie Randolph sliding into second base? Great to see the Yankee fans bring him back into the family after the dreadful treatment he got from the Mets. Who knows? A few more third place finishes by Girardi and he might be the manager!

8. Great camera work by ESPN isolating Reggie Jackson in right field and having the fans chant "Reg-Gie!"

9. Man Yankee fans love Paul O'Neill. If he were a Red Sox hitter, I guess I'd love him too.

10. 15 years since he left, it's still odd seeing Wade Boggs in a Yankees uniform.

11. It really is amazing to look at Yogi Berra... a man who looks like an old Italian barber... and think not only was that man an athlete, but he was one of the greats of all time playing the most demanding position.

12. Stay healthy Yogi... baseball has never had a cooler elder statesman.

13. Thank God Yogi patched things up with George 9 years ago. Can you imagine this night with Yogi being a no-show.

14. Seriously, end with Yogi. When you have him, finish with him. Unless you cloned Joe-D, you're not going to top Yogi.

15. In the montage of third basemen, they didn't show the Boone home run. Not that I need to see it ever again, but it's odd that they showed so many great Yankee post season moments... doesn't that rank high?

15. In the montage of center fielders, I wonder why they didn't show Mickey Rivers.

16. Do you think David Wells was thinking "You guys could have signed me for 2008! I've been at home downing wings and yet still managed to tie Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes in the win column!"

17. How glad is Don Larsen that he got that perfect game? Save for that game, he had an unremarkable career. And yet on the night they close Yankee Stadium, he stands on the mound with Ron Guidry, Whitey Ford, Goose Gossage and the widow of Catfish Hunter.

18. I wonder if there was another former Yankee who won a Cy Young award? I wonder if that person was free? I bet Clemens didn't even get an invite.

19. The Red Sox couldn't pull off a night like this. The announcer would have to keep saying "It ended badly but we buried the hatchet" before every single player's intro.

20. It was nice to see Joba Chamberlain talking with the former Yankees and watching the ceremonies as if he was seeing his future. Now if only they could make up their minds if he should start or close.

21. I'm kind of glad the Yankees won. It would have been awkward to see the Orioles shaking hands on the field as the stadium closes up.

One more thing... I hope Freddie was there