World Series MVP and River Cats go hand in hand 

There’s potentially just two games left in the 2022 MLB season, with the Houston Astros leading the Philadelphia Phillies three games to two.

In the 23 seasons of baseball in West Sacramento, four River Cats have won the coveted Willie Mays World Series MVP Award.

Let’s take a look at the former River Cats who led their teams to a World Series title.

OF Manny Ramírez — 2004 (Boston Red Sox 4, St. Louis Cardinals 0)

Ramírez hit .412 with a homer and four RBIs en route to a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. The veteran signed with Oakland in 2012, playing 17 games for the River Cats, totaling eight runs, three doubles, and 14 RBIs.

OF Jermaine Dye — 2005 (Chicago White Sox 4, Houston Astros 0)

Like Ramírez, Dye played a major part in ending a World Series drought. The Will C. Wood High School product (Vacaville) was 7-for-16 (.438) with three runs, a homer, three RBIs, and a 1.214 OPS for the White Sox. Dye hit .262 with 12 runs, four doubles, two home runs, and 10 RBIs in 17 games with Sacramento (2002-2003).

INF Pablo Sandoval — 2012 (San Francisco Giants 4, Detroit Tigers 0)

Sandoval marks the first of two San Francisco legends to both win a World Series MVP and play for the River Cats. The infielder lined three homers in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series to earn MVP. Sandoval also went yard and plated three over nine games for the River Cats in 2017.

LHP Madison Bumgarner — 2014 (San Francisco Giants 4, Kansas City Royals 3)

Bumgarner was the hero in 2014, going 2-0 with a 0.43 ERA, a save, a 0.48 WHIP, and 17 strikeouts over 21.0 innings in San Francisco’s seven-game series vs Kansas City. The ace punched out nine across two rehab starts for the River Cats (2017-2018).