St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols won his second NL MVP award, powering past Philadelphia star Ryan Howard by a comfortable margin Monday. Pujols hit .357 with 37 home runs and 116 RBIs while playing with a sore right elbow. He was rewarded despite the Cardinals' fourth-place finish in the NL Central. "I wasn't surprised at all," Pujols said. "You have to consider everything. You have to put all the numbers together." Source: Foxsports.com 369 points - Albert Pujols (18 first place votes) 308 points - Ryan Howard (12 first place votes) 139 points - Ryan Braun 138 points - Manny Ramirez 126 points - Lance Berkman 121 points - CC Sabathia
Albert had a relatively quiet season but still put up big numbers. Hes money year in and year out. This guy is the best in baseball.
but....his team didn't make the playoffs. I thought his feelings were quite evident when he didn't win it and his team made the playoffs and I think it was when Ryan Howard won it and they didn't make the playoffs......I guess it's diferent now huh? Money player for sure but I guess his standards for winning only work one way.
Right man won it despite missing the playoffs. I'm taking nothing away from Howard, cuz he's one hell of a hitter. But, he only hit .251 compared to Pujols .357 average.
I agree Dawk. It was just amusing that he whined when he didn't win it and he lead his team to the playoffs and this year he had basically the typical numbers he always has (GREAT NUMBERS) but his team "didn't" make the playoffs....so what's different? I noticed he didn't give the award back.
Actually I felt Pujols deserved it more the year Howard won it and Howard more this season. I factor in how far the person carries his team towards the playoffs. Doug....Pujols never said Howard didn't deserve it that year.....the reason he was "whining" as you call it is because of what I just stated.....99.9% of the time being a factor in the playoff race is a determining factor right or wrong. That's evidence by the fact Pujols this season on a 4th place team is the lowest standings wise to win it since Andre Dawson with the Cubs. So he was a little miffed when he didn't win and Howard did that year for a team that wasn't in contention. History has now come full circle though and it's evened out imo.
At first Pujols said that you should take your team to the playoffs in order to win the award, he said this when Howard won it over him, and now that he won it in a year where his team is the lowest for an MVP since Dawson on the cubs in 87, it's ok. I am not saying that Pujols shouldn't have won it, but no matter how you slice it, his hypocrisy is hilarious His name reminds me of an article I wrote as a preview for the 2006 season here LOCKERROOM: Professor's Pastime Prognostications excerpt from a prediction: Albert Pujols will sign a lucrative endorsement deal with mighty mint toilet cleaner and coin the slogan, From the Poo-holes to the blue holes with a fresh scent every time.
The voters are the hypocrites......for almost 20 years they tell you that how far you carry your team to the playoffs is what makes you worthy.....and then magically give it to Howard the Year Pujols takes the Series.....and now it's the same all over again.....karma's a snitch.
:icon_rolleyes: Really? Because average is the greatest stat there ever was, right? For example, it takes into account every time you get on base. Oh, wait. Well, at least it distinguishes between different types of hits and puts more weight on extra-base hits. No, it doesn't do that either? Yeah, it's a pretty low average for someone to be mentioned in the MVP voting, but to only look at that stat is goobered. If you were to say, Pujols deserved it because he had a 1.114 OPS compared to Howard's .880 OPS, then I'd completely agree with you. But to completely ignore Howard's run production because his average was low is pretty stupid. The right player got it, even if he shouldn't have won it according to his own standards. The whole playoff argument is pretty dumb. As long as your team is in contention, why does it matter?
Common sense says you don't look at just one stat when comparing players. And if you do, you sure as hell don't use average. I assume you think Webb should have won the Cy Young because he had the most wins? And Christian Guzman ranked fourth in average. M-V-P! M-V-P! I'm not saying Howard should have won, because clearly Pujols was better, but to discount Howard just because of his average is ridiculous.
