| Willie, Mickey and the Duke Award | |
| Description: | "Presented to a group of players or a specific team who are forever linked in baseball history." |
| Sport: | Baseball |
| Presenter: | Baseball Writers' Association of America, New York chapter |
| Country: | United States |
| Location: | New York City, U.S. |
| Year: | 1995 |
The Willie, Mickey and the Duke Award is presented annually by the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America to a group of players, or a specific team, who are linked together by a single event or common attribute in baseball history.
The award is named after and in honor of the inaugural winners who made up the iconic centerfield trio for each of the New York baseball teams in the 1950s: Willie Mays (New York Giants), Mickey Mantle (New York Yankees), and Duke Snider (Brooklyn Dodgers).
The award was created in 1995 by Claire Smith, then a sportswriter for The New York Times, in part due to worries that attendance at the annual Baseball Writers' Association of America dinner would be curtailed due to the ongoing baseball strike and in part to honor baseball people in baseball who were linked by a common attribute or an event.[1]
The inaugural winners of the award were it's namesakes: Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Duke Snider, centerfielders of the Major League teams of New York City in the 1950s – the New York Giants, the New York Yankees, and the Brooklyn Dodgers.[2]
The award has since been given annually to groups of players, managers, or coaches as well as iconic teams who are in some way linked together in baseball history.[1]
| Year | Winners | Historical connection | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Trio of icon outfielders for the New York City Major League teams of the 1950s. | [3] | ||
| 1996 | Trio of shortstops for the New York City Major League teams of the 1940s and 1950s. | [4] | ||
| 1997 | Trio of outfielders for the 1969 New York Mets. | [5] | ||
| 1998 | Pitching duo of the 1940s Boston Braves, immortalized in the poem "Spahn and Sain, then Pray for Rain | ". | ||
| 1999 | Pitching duo who led the 1969 New York Mets to their first World Series title. | |||
| 2000 | Pitchers who threw perfect games for the New York Yankees. | |||
| 2001 | The shot heard 'round the world, iconic walk-off home run in the third game of 1951 National League tie-breaker series. | [6] | ||
| 2002 | Manager and coaches for three-peat World Series-winning New York Yankees (–). | |||
| 2003 | The tie-breaking home run in the 1978 American League East tie-breaker game. | |||
| 2004 | Star first basemen of the 1980s New York City baseball teams. | |||
| 2005 | 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers | 50th anniversary of the Dodgers' only title won in Brooklyn. | ||
| 2006 | Buckner's error in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. | |||
| 2007 | Jackson's three-homer game in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series. | |||
| 2008 | Top performers in the 1968 "year of the pitcher" season. | |||
| 2009 | Career-long players for their respective New York teams. | |||
| 2010 | The "Core Four" teammates of the World Series-winning New York Yankees teams of the 1990s and 2000s. | |||
| 2011 | Retiring long-time baseball managers. | [7] | ||
| 2012 | 1962 New York Mets | 50th anniversary of the inaugural season of the "Amazin' Mets". | [8] | |
| 2013 | 1973 New York Mets | 40th anniversary of the unlikely pennant-winning run of the 1973 Mets, defined by pitcher Tug McGraw's catchphrase "Ya Gotta Believe | ". | [9] |
| 2014 | Aaron's 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth's career home run record. | [10] | ||
| 2015 | Koufax's perfect game against the Chicago Cubs. | [11] | ||
| 2016 | Trio of ace pitchers for the Oakland Athletics, known collectively as the "Big Three". | [12] | ||
| 2017 | Trio of formidable relief pitchers for the 2016 New York Yankees, combining for 41 saves and a 2.35 earned run average over 148 appearances. | [13] | ||
| 2018 | 1998 New York Yankees | 20th anniversary of the 1998 World Series-winning Yankees, the first of three consecutive titles. | ||
| 2019 | 1969 New York Mets | 50th anniversary of the World Series-winning run by the "Miracle Mets". | [14] | |
| 2020 | Go-ahead run in the top of the 9th-inning of Game 5 of the 2000 World Series, clinching a third consecutive title for the New York Yankees. | |||
| 2021 | Iconic home run at Shea Stadium after the 9/11 attacks. | |||
| 2022 | Cast and crew of A League of Their Own | 30th anniversary of the release of the film on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. | [15] | |
| 2023 | Longest serving broadcasting team for the New York Mets. | [16] | ||
| 2024 | Infield for the 1999 New York Mets, dubbed the "Best Infield Ever" by Sports Illustrated. | [17] | ||