Pujols Earns His Second NL MVP

The writers have spoken. Albert Pujols is once again the National League Most Valuable Player.

The news was broken earlier this afternoon. The Cardinal first baseman received 369 points and 18 first place votes. This is the second time that Pujols has won the award (2005).

His overall numbers for the season were outstanding, as always. After eventually losing the National League batting title to Atlanta’s Chipper Jones in the last week of the season, Pujols still finished with a healthy .357 batting average, driving in 116 runs and knocking 37 over the wall.

Pujols was able to flash the leather, as well, by once again playing Gold Glove-caliber defense. He sported an excellent .996 fielding percentage this season while manning first base for the Cardinals.

The main challenger for the award, Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard, finished up with 308 points and 12 first place votes.

I personally expected to see Howard come away with his second National League MVP award. Though Howard’s average was down at .251, his power numbers were better than Pujols’.

In addition, there has been much speculation as to whether or not a player’s team making the playoffs should factor into the voting for the MVP. Apparently, that did not hold any weight here; as the Cardinals missed the playoffs while the Phillies went on to win the World Series.

Still, even though I would not have picked him, I do believe that Pujols deserved this award. He has, without a doubt, been the best player in the National League during the 21st century; if not, the Major Leagues.  

Congratulations to him. I look forward to picking him up in my fantasy draft next season.