In light of Shohei Ohtani & Aaron Judge's potential MVP wins, a look at 6 instances where MVPs faced off in the World Series

Shohei Ohtani, the likely NL MVP this season, and Aaron Judge, the probable AL MVP, are set to face off in the World Series. Barring a surprise win for Bobby Witt Jr. or Francisco Lindor, these two will likely be crowned the MVPs of their respective leagues.

Later this week, they will compete for the championship title as well. That hasn't happened very often. In fact, only six times in baseball history have the two league MVPs met in the Fall Classic.

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MVP faceoffs in the World Series

It has been over a decade since the last time two MVPs faced each other in the World Series. This is a rarity for multiple reasons. For starters, the best player who is given the award isn't always on the best team or the one that survives the playoff gauntlet. It's challenging for even one MVP to make the World Series, let alone both.

Additionally, in recent years, voting has shifted away from prioritizing team records. In the past, it was often argued that a player couldn't be deemed valuable if their team performed poorly. This logic has largely been done away with, but it used to play a role.

The AL MVP is likely to be Aaron Judge (Credits: IMAGN)

Nevertheless, the last time it happened was in 2012 with Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers. There was an even longer drought before that: 1988 with Jose Canseco of the Oakland Athletics and Kirk Gibson of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 1980, Kansas City Royals star George Brett and Philadelphia Phillies legend Mike Schmidt were the MVPs and the stars of the Fall Classic. In 1976, Joe Morgan (Cincinnati Reds) and Thurman Munson (New York Yankees) faced off.

Just the year before, it happened again. In 1975, the World Series was between the Cincinnati Reds again, with Joe Morgan winning MVP again, and the Boston Red Sox, with Fred Lynn winning MVP.

The first time it happened was in 1970, when Boog Powell led the Baltimore Orioles against Johnny Bench and the Cincinnati Reds. With Judge and Ohtani now in different leagues and both on incredible trajectories, this matchup of MVPs could happen more frequently in the future.