It appeared to be Shohei Ohtani's award for the taking and, failing that, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s if the Toronto Blue Jays had won the World Series.
Instead, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was awarded the honors of World Series MVP after two dynamite starts and a clutch relief appearance.
Below, you'll find the last MLB odds to win World Series MVP before Game 7, where Yamamoto was available at +600 ahead of first pitch.
We'll close the book on this market until next postseason. Check back when the MLB playoffs next come around.
World Series 2025 MVP odds
| Player |  |
|---|---|
 Shohei Ohtani |
-105 |
 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. |
+130 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto |
+600 |
| Trey Yesavage |
+3000 |
| Addison Barger |
+3500 |
Odds as of 11-1.
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How is the World Series MVP decided?
The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award is decided by a committee of media members and officials attending the final game.
The honor is awarded to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance during the World Series — performance during earlier postseason rounds does not count toward this award.
The World Series MVP can be given to a player from either the winning or losing team, although a player from the losing team winning the award has only happened once (Bobby Richardson, NYY, 1960).
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How to read World Series MVP odds
The World Series MVP odds are displayed in a list format with corresponding odds for each player considered an MVP candidate. The odds will reflect the implied probability of that player winning MVP.
Most sportsbooks in North America will list World Series MVP odds in American format:
- Jose Altuve -120
- Bryce Harper +187
This means that a $100 bet on Altuve would profit $83 (or a $120 bet would win $100), while a $100 bet on Harper would profit $187. Use our odds converter to switch American odds to decimal or fractional and to see how much you could win using different odds.
World Series MVP history
The World Series MVP Award has been handed out to the player deemed to have had the greatest impact on his team's performance during the championship series every year starting in 1955. Before the 2017 postseason, the award was renamed in honor of Willie Mays in remembrance of the Hall-of-Famer's historic catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series. The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award trophy is a wooden pedestal topped by a bronze sculpture of Mays making the iconic catch.
Pitchers have won the award 30 times (four times by relief pitchers), including 12 of the first 14 years from 1955 to 1968. More recently, dating back to 2004, the award has been won 17 of the last 21 years by non-pitchers.
| Position | Total |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 30 |
| Outfielder | 10 |
| Third baseman | 10 |
| Shortstop | 8 |
| Catcher | 7 |
| First baseman | 4 |
| Designated hitter | 3 |
| Second baseman | 1 |
Betting has only been available on the World Series MVP Award since 2003. The table below lists those winners, in addition to their odds to win before the World Series began.
| Year | MVP winner | MVP odds | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Yoshinobu Yamamoto |
+3000 | SP |
| 2024 | Freddie Freeman |
+3000 | 1B |
| 2023 |  Corey Seager |
+475 | SS |
| 2022 |  Jeremy Pena |
+2500 | SS |
| 2021 |  Jorge Soler |
+3500 | RF |
| 2020 | Corey Seager |
+800 | SS |
| 2019 |  Stephen Strasburg |
+1950 | SP |
| 2018 |  Steve Pearce |
+5500 | LF/1B |
| 2017 | George Springer |
+2200 | CF |
| 2016 |  Ben Zobrist |
+1500 | 2B/OF |
| 2015 |  Salvador Perez |
+2500 | C |
| 2014 |  Madison Bumgarner |
+700 | SP |
| 2013 | David Ortiz |
+900 | DH/1B |
| 2012 | Pablo Sandoval |
+1200 | 3B |
| 2011 |  David Freese |
+1000 | 3B/1B |
| 2010 | Edgar Renteria |
+3300 | SS |
| 2009 |  Hideki Matsui |
+800 (field) | OF |
| 2008 |  Cole Hamels |
+600 | SP |
| 2007 | Mike Lowell |
+1200 | 3B |
| 2006 | David Eckstein |
+1500 | SS |
| 2005 |  Jermaine Dye |
+1000 | RF |
| 2004 | Manny Ramirez |
+500 | LF |
World Series MVP trends
- Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson (1960) is the only player to win World Series MVP honors while playing for the losing team.
- The World Series MVP award has been awarded to a pitcher 42% of the time since its inception.
- In 2022, the Houston Astros’ Jeremy Pena became just the third rookie ever to win the World Series MVP award.
- Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, and Reggie Jackson are the only players to win the World Series MVP award more than once.
World Series MVP Odds FAQs
No odds will be available for 2026 World Series MVP until next October.
Los Angeles Dodgers SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto won the 2025 World Series MVP after dominating the Blue Jays in two starts and one relief appearance.
Since 2003, 16 of the last 20 World Series MVPs have gone to non-pitchers, with the four exceptions being Stephen Strasburg, Madison Bumgarner, Cole Hamels, and Josh Beckett. Otherwise, third baseman and outfielders are the most common positions to win the award.
