Nov 17 2008
Pujols Named NL MVP
Albert Pujols won the National League Most Valuable Player award for the second time Monday. His first came in 2005.
Pujols was the best player in the league this year. His biggest problem was that his team, the St. Louis Cardinals, finished fourth. A lot of people undoubtedly reasoned, “How valuable can he be when his team didn’t make the playoffs?”
Pujols garnered 18 of the 32 first-place votes. Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard received 12 first-place votes and finished second in the balloting. Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge got the other two first-place votes.
Howard led the National League with 48 homeruns and 146 runs batted in for the Phillies, who claimed the NL East and went on to win the World Series. However, he batted just .251 and struck out 199 times.
Pujols batted .357, had nearly twice as many walks as strikeouts (104 to 54), slugged 36 homers and totaled 117 RBI. Voting was conducted between the end of the regular season and the start of the postseason.
