History of MLB Awards

Put me in, Coach! The days are getting longer and the weather is getting warmer, and baseball season is ramping up. We thought it would be a great time to take a look at the most famous MLB awards — in case you needed some inspiration for your next award or trophy ceremony.

This is probably one of the most recognizable sports trophies out there, and arguably the most coveted in baseball. The Commissioner’s Trophy is what the World Series-winning team receives in addition to the players’ rings. The current design of the trophy includes a flag for each team in both the National and American Leagues. 

The champion team of the National League playoffs receives the Warren C. Giles Trophy, named after the former league president. Since its inception, this trophy was passed from champion to champion each year until 2017 when teams would get customized trophies each year. 

William Harridge is the American League counterpart of Giles. For years the design featured a golden eagle and the league’s emblem with a baseball and a league banner. This design also changed in 2017 to an all-silver trophy topped by a pennant. 

Also known as the MVP award, it originated in 1910 as the Chalmers Award — and was, in fact, far from the Chalmers Automotive Company. The award then became a cash prize before officially being named the Kenesaw Mountain Landis Memorial Baseball Award.

Originating in 1956, this classic plaque-style award shows a metal casted hand catching a baseball — which only makes sense because the Cy Young Award (named after the Hall of Fame pitcher) goes to the best pitchers in the Major League. 

This award goes to one player in each of the two leagues and winners are voted on by the Baseball Writers Association Of America (BBWA). In 1987 it was renamed The Jackie Robinson Awarded to mark the 40th anniversary of Robinson’s boundary-busting introduction to baseball.

The BBWA also votes for their first, second, and third place choices for the manager of the year, and the highest score wins the award. The Manager of the Year award was first awarded in 1983, and only 4 managers have won the award for managing in both leagues.

The Rawlings Gold Glove award is pretty self explanatory: It’s a golden glove-shaped award that is given out each year to the player who shows the most outstanding use of (you guessed it) their glove in a fielding position. A total of 18 gloves are given out each year.

The best player in an offensive position in both the American and National Leagues get awarded the silver slugger. It’s a plaque award with a silver baseball bat attached, and winners are chosen based on stats like batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage.

Baseball fans and members of the media vote to decide which Major League player is the top hitter in each league. The award was introduced in 1999 to mark the 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron shattering Babe Ruth’s career home run record.

Along with a regular season MVP award, there’s also one to honor the player who makes an impact during the final round of World Series competition games: The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award, renamed to honor Mays in 2017. The League Championship MVP trophy is awarded during the second round of MLB postseason play, and an MVP award is also given out after the mid-season All Star Game.  

Ready to start designing awards for your baseball team? Our process begins with a consultation to help you determine which materials, shapes, sizes, and messages suit you. Once we’ve settled on these details, we produce awards in plenty of time for your event while you sit back and relax. Need a rush? No problem, we’ll take good care of you. No matter what you need, we seek to deliver reliably, affordably, and with the best results in the industry.
Our promise to you is simple: We will provide the best, every time we work together — let’s get started.

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