Journalist Rick Hummel Explains Ryan Tepera NL MVP Vote Mishap

Any baseball fan who took a few moments to peruse the National League MVP voting totals released on Thursday night wondered how Chicago Cubs reliever Ryan Tepera wound up receiving a 10th-place pick. 

No offense to Tepera, but a hurler who tossed 20.2 innings with a 3.92 ERA and 1.40 doesn't exactly scream out MVP. 

So what happened? 

Human error, it seems.

Hall of Fame reporter Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was mulling over his options for the final name on his ballot when he decided on Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner. Except when he went to click on Turner's name, Hummel accidentally selected Tepera.

"I'm sure the Tepera family is delighted," Hummel told NBC Sports Chicago's Gordon Wittenmyer. "But there's no way I would have voted for him. It was an accident." 

All in all, it's not something that ended up costing anyone an award on Thursday. Atlanta Braves star Freddie Freeman walked away with the MVP nod as expected, and Tepera added another footnote to one of the stranger baseball seasons ever played.