So our (former) star finished sixth in the NL MVP balloting, picking up a third-place vote. But he didn't garner a first-place vote, and as such he cannot be considered a Bizarro MVP.
What's a Bizarro MVP? Thanks for asking! Basically, it's . . . nah, it would be easier if I just linked to this article I wrote for the Baseball Digest Daily website that discusses the topic. I hope you'll find it a fun little diversion and agree with my that, indeed, Carney Lansford is the Ultimate Bizarro forever and ever.
PS: All tiny little errors in the article---for as long as they're there---are products of my less than eagle eye.
Update [2006-11-22 0:21:22 by Basil]: There's some Bizarro MVP-related chatter at this Baseball Primer. According to a poster:
Okay, maybe not completely . . .
Update [2006-11-22 0:21:22 by Basil]: The AL MVP voting reveals a Bizarro MVP candidate: 1st, Morneau, MIN (15 first-place votes); 2nd, Jeter, NYY (12): {. . .} 7th, Santana, MIN (1).
I'm not entirely certain Santana qualifies as a Bizarro MVP. He won the Cy Young Award going away and had a great case for being more valuable than his teammate Morneau, the actual MVP winner. This is why Bizarro MVP is a reflective exercise: to allow time and context to obscure the reasons for a lonely first-place vote.