Major League Baseball’s Commissioner’s Trophy
The New York Giants
Since their move from New York City to San Francisco before the 1958 season, the Giants and their fans have endured seasons of futility and disappointment. The last World Series win for the Giants was in 1954 against the Cleveland Indians. Since the move, The Giants made it to the World Series three times since the 1958 relocation, but lost each time. The Giants played and lost to the Florida Marlins in their last NLDS appearance in 2003, and the Marlins were the eventual World Series champs.
In this year’s Division Series, the Giants played the Atlanta Braves. and won the series three games to one. Playing the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS, they were heavy underdogs as the Phillies were the two-time defending National League champions. Their win over the Phillies was the first time that the NL West champion made it to the World Series since 2001.
The Texas Rangers
The Rangers franchise and their fans also were long suffering for success. This team started out in 1961 as the Washington Senators, and had ten out of eleven losing seasons while there. In 1972, the team moved to Arlington, Texas, and did not participate in post season play for over 20 years.
In the 2010 ALDS, The Rangers squared off against the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays. They split the first four games before the Rangers won decisively in game five. This was the first divisional series win in franchise history. Additionally, the Rangers were the last team that had never won a post season series.
Up against the New York Yankees in the ALCS, the Rangers faced a team that they had never beaten in three post season appearances. By closing out the Yankees in six games, Rangers reached their first World Series in team history. It also marks the first time since 1991 that the AL West champion has won the pennant.
The 2010 World Series
This year was the 106th Major League Baseball World Series. The playoff between the American League champion Texas Rangers and the National League champion San Francisco Giants for baseball’s Commissioner’s Trophy was a best of seven game series. The Giants won the series and this coveted trophy 4-1 on November 1. This was their first World Series championship since 1954, and their first since relocating to San Francisco from New York City in 1958.
The Champion’s Commissioner’s Trophy
Unlike hockey’s Stanley Cup that is passed yearly from champion to champion, a newly created Commissioner’s Trophy is presented each year. This baseball champion’s trophy was first awarded in 1967 to the St. Louis Cardinals. Since 1967, the Commissioner’s Trophy has been awarded every year except 1994 when a season ending players’ strike forced cancellation of the entire post season. The New York Yankees, with their seven World Series wins, have won the most Commissioner’s Trophies. In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds are tied for the most trophies won with three wins apiece.
Trophy Design
The current Commissioner’s Baseball Trophy is made by Tiffany & Co., and is worth approximately $15,000. Excluding the base, the trophy is 24 inches tall, and is 11 inches in diameter. Being made of sterling silver, it weighs approximately 30 pounds. The highlight of this striking trophy is 30 gold-plated flags, one for each of the Major League teams. These flags rise above a silver baseball covered with latitude and longitude lines that symbolize the world. The stitching on the baseball is pure Tiffany, being done in 24-karat vermeil. The signature of the commissioner is inscribed on the base, along with “Presented by the Commissioner of Baseball”. This is a new design, and was presented for the first time to the winning New York Yankees at the conclusion of the 2000 World Series.
This baseball trophy is truly one of a kind, and emblematic of the skills necessary to make it through a long season, playoffs and the winning of the World Series.
