In the 2008 regular season, even though his St. Louis Cardinals failed to make the postseason, it is clear that Albert Pujols was the most valuable player in the National League.
In all statistical categories, Pujols dominated the field.
Pujols led the league in park-adjusted weight on-base average (wOBA) (.468), VORP (96.8), EqA (.372), OPS (1.114), OPS+ (190), and WARP (13.0).
Pujols was obviously levels ahead of any of the competition in terms of hitting. Despite playing the non-premium defensive position of first base, he also put up great defensive numbers.
Pujols' plus-minus was +20 for the year, second among MLB first basemen behind the Angels' Mark Teixeira.
If you take into consideration that Pujols was obviously overall best offensive player in the league over the course of the season and consider that he is also one of the top defenders at his position, it is obvious that he is the most valuable player in the National League.
The main argument against Pujols is that his team did not make the playoffs.
However, Pujols and the rest of the Cardinals' line-up did enough to make the playoffs, finishing fourth in the National League in runs scored (779) behind the Cubs, Mets, and Phillies.
The main problem for the Cardinals was their pitching (4.19 ERA, 7th in the NL) and last time I checked, Albert Pujols is not a pitcher, nor can he give the pitchers any tips or hints on how to pitch well, since his forte is hitting.
Pujols also kept a team without many playoff aspirations in the beginning of the year in contention for most of the season, when without him they would have been in the cellar all season.
Now that I have explained why Pujols is easily the MVP of the National League, here are my picks for the rest of the top five.
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