League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award

The League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is given in each of the two annual League Championship Series, for the American and National Leagues, to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance. The award has been presented in the National League since 1977, and in the American League since 1980. Dusty Baker won the inaugural award in 1977 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Frank White won the first American League award in 1980 with the Kansas City Royals. The eight Hall of Famers to win LCS MVPs include Roberto Alomar, George Brett, Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson, Kirby Puckett, Ozzie Smith, Willie Stargell, and John Smoltz.

Three players have won the award twice: Steve Garvey (1978, 1984), Dave Stewart (1990, 1993), and Orel Hershiser (1988, 1995). Seven players have gone on to win the World Series MVP Award in the same season in which they won the LCS MVP—all of them in the National League. Willie Stargell was the first to accomplish the feat, winning in 1979, and Darrell Porter won both in 1982. Hershiser notched his two wins in 1988, and Liván Hernández won both in 1997. Cole Hamels did it in 2008. David Freese, the 2011 NLCS MVP, was the last to accomplish the double win until Madison Bumgarner's brilliant performances in 2014. Three players have won while playing for the losing team in the series: Fred Lynn played for the 1982 California Angels; Mike Scott pitched for the 1986 Houston Astros; and Jeffrey Leonard played for the 1987 San Francisco Giants. Two players have shared the award in the same year twice, both in the National League; Rob Dibble and Randy Myers combined for 4 saves and 17 strikeouts in 10 ²⁄₃ scoreless innings pitched out of the 1990 Cincinnati Reds' bullpen. In 2016, the Chicago Cubs' Jon Lester and Javier Báez shared the award.

Many LCS MVPs have been presented to players who have exhibited rare or extraordinary statistical performances in the seven-game playoff series. Garvey, Leonard, and Albert Pujols hit four home runs in their winning series—Garvey in his first win. Adam Kennedy won the 2002 ALCS MVP for hitting 3 home runs in 5 games; he had hit 7 during the regular season and hit 80 in his 14-year career. David Ortiz had 11 runs batted in (RBI) during the 2004 ALCS and Iván Rodríguez had 10 during the 2003 NLCS—the only two players to reach double-digit RBI in the series in the history of the award. From the pitcher's mound, Steve Avery threw 16 ¹⁄₃ innings without giving up a run in the 1991 NLCS, and John Smoltz amassed 19 strikeouts the following year. Liván Hernández won the 1997 NLCS MVP after winning his only start and earning a win out of the bullpen in relief; he struck out 16 in 10 ²⁄₃ innings. Daniel Murphy won the 2015 NLCS MVP after hitting home runs in six consecutive games, setting a major league record.

Liván Hernández (1997, NL) and his half-brother Orlando Hernández (1999, AL) are the only family pair to have won the award. The only rookies to have won the award are Mike Boddicker (1983, AL), Liván Hernández, and Michael Wacha (2013, NL).