Watch Video of Kirk Gibson's amazing Pinch Hit (courtesy of MLB.com)
Post-season baseball isn't what the League MVP award is all about. In fact, annual voting to determine the winner takes place in that window of time spanning the end of the regular season and the World Series. Well before Kirk Gibson earned immortality with his game winning home run that set the tone for the 1988 World Series, he set the tone for the Dodgers season long run to the Championship from the first day of Spring Training that year. The 1987 Dodgers were a soft team, 16 games under .500. They played, they lost, they went home, nobody kicking over the water cooler. When Gibson hit the free-agent market after the season, the Dodgers knew he was just the jolt they needed. The front office signed him, and then turned him loose on the lambs in Dodger blue. Before long the whole team had taken on his toughness. The Dodgers soared to the National League pennant, despite no .300 hitters, no 30-homer men, no 100-RBI producers. The 1988 season was not Gibson’s best from a statistics standpoint (.290, 25 home runs, 76 RBIs, 31 stolen bases), but the numbers hardly told the story. This ballplayer's special leadership traits inspired a previously average team to act and play like Champions.
Offered here is Kirk Gibson’s 1988 National League Most Valuable Player Award plaque. The elegant circular trophy is comprised of a 16" diameter black wooden backing affixed with a metal octagonal plaque and 10k gold accoutrements. Gibson has inscribed the back of the award, “My 1988 National League MVP Award Kirk Gibson 23” in silver sharpie. A rare and significant offering of Baseball’s most prestigious individual award, representing one of the greatest seasons enjoyed by any player in baseball’s modern era. Includes a signed LOA from Kirk Gibson and an additional LOA from PSA/DNA (auto.)