The Commissioner's Trophy is a trophy presented each year by the
commissioner of baseball to
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
's (MLB)
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
champion. The trophy depicts flags representing each team in Major League Baseball.
It is the only championship trophy of the
in North America that is not named after a particular person (contrasting with the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
's
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
,
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
's
Philip F. Anschutz Trophy, the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
's
Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, and the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
's
Vince Lombardi Trophy).
History
Although it was named in 1985, the trophy was first awarded in 1967, when the
St. Louis Cardinals defeated the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
. Coincidentally, the
1967 World Series was nine months after the
first Super Bowl, where the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
were awarded the AFL-NFL World Championship Trophy for defeating the
Kansas City Chiefs (the trophy was renamed the Vince Lombardi Trophy prior to
Super Bowl V following Lombardi's death in September 1970).
The trophy was not without precedent in Major League Baseball: the
Dauvray Cup (named after actress
Helen Dauvray) was awarded to the winner of the World Series between the National League and the
American Association from 1887 to 1890, and when a solitary major league remained, to the winner of the National League pennant, from 1891 to 1893. The Dauvray Cup was to be held by the victorious team and was to be relinquished the following year when (and if) a new champion team emerged. The Dauvray Cup mysteriously vanished following the 1893 series and has never been located. From 1894 to 1897, the
Temple Cup was awarded to the winner of a postseason contest between the two top National League clubs.
A new Commissioner's Trophy is created each year, much like the
Anschutz Trophy, the
O'Brien Trophy and the
Lombardi Trophy, and unlike the
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
, which is passed from champion to champion (the NBA's former championship trophy, the
Walter A. Brown Trophy, was passed from champion to champion through
1976
Events January
* January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
; a newly-designed trophy which was to become the O'Brien Trophy debuted in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
).
Historically, the trophy was only presented in the winner's
locker room
A locker is a small, usually narrow storage compartment. They are commonly found in dedicated cabinets, very often in large numbers, in various public places such as Changing room, locker rooms, workplaces, schools, transport hubs and the like ...
, but beginning in 1997, the presentation occurred on the field if the champion clinched the title in their home stadium.
Since
2017, when the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
won the World Series at
Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...
, the championship presentation occurs on the field even if the champion clinches the title on the road.
Since its inception, the only year that the Commissioner's Trophy has not been awarded was 1994, when the
players' strike ended the season on August 12, resulting in the cancellation of the entire post-season.
The
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
have won the most Commissioner's Trophies, winning seven World Series since 1977.
The
St. Louis Cardinals and
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
have each won four trophies, a National League record.
On October 31, 2018, during the parade celebrating the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
winning the World Series, the trophy was damaged by a beer can thrown by a spectator of the parade; it was subsequently repaired.
In 2020, in discussing the punishments for the
Houston Astros sign stealing scandal
The Houston Astros sign stealing scandal in Major League Baseball (MLB) broke in November 2019. Several members of the Houston Astros were disciplined for illegally using a video camera system to Sign stealing, steal signs from opposing teams ...
, which did not include stripping the Astros of their 2017 championship, commissioner
Rob Manfred referred to the Commissioner's Trophy as "a piece of metal." Following criticism for the dismissive nature of the remark, Manfred issued a public apology.
Design
The current trophy design was made by
Tiffany & Co. and unveiled in 2000. It is tall, excluding the base, and has a diameter of .
It weighs approximately
and is composed of
sterling silver. The trophy features 30 gold-plated flags, one for each Major League team. The flags rise above a silver baseball which is covered with latitude and longitude lines, symbolizing the world,
and which features 24-karat
vermeil stitching.
The base contains an inscription copy of the signature of the commissioner
and the words "Presented by the Commissioner of Baseball".
The original 1967 trophy was designed by Balfour Jewelers of
Attleboro, Massachusetts, was modeled after
Wrigley Field, and cost $2,500 ().
["Majors Award Series Trophy," ''The Portland Oregonian'', October 10, 1967, sports section page 3, wire service report attributed to ''The New York News''.] It initially featured 20 gold-plated flags, representing the then-20 Major League Baseball clubs, and a new flag was then subsequently added for each expansion team that joined Major League Baseball. The flags rose above two objects in the center: a golden ring and a golden baseball. The two participating teams in each year's World Series were represented by two press pins set on the base of the trophy.
By franchise
This table lists the teams that have won the Commissioner's Trophy since it was introduced in 1967. For a complete history of MLB championship teams, see ''
List of World Series champions
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) and concludes the Major League Baseball postseason, MLB postseason. First played in 1903, the World Series championship is a best-of-seven playoff and is a conte ...
''. The only team to win a World Series and not possess at least one Commissioner's Trophy are the
Cleveland Guardians/Indians, having last won the World Series in
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
, 19 years before its introduction.
See also
*
World Baseball Classic Trophy
*
''Chronicle-Telegraph'' Cup
References
External links
{{good article
World Series trophies and awards
Major League Baseball trophies and awards
Awards established in 1967
1967 establishments in the United States