Lance Berkman wasn't the only player not named Albert Pujols who received a 1st place vote in the SB Nation's NL MVP voting last year (2008)...Philadelphia Phillies' 1st baseman Ryan Howard struggled throughout the year only to lift Philly into the postseason with a late-season surge which saw the then-28-year-old slugger hit .352 in September with 7 doubles, 11 HR's and 32 RBI's in the last 24 games and 88 at bats to earn the distinction of being the league's most valuable player in the eyes of at least 3 of the SB Nation's writers. Berkman, who received one first place vote, had hit .312 on the year with a .420 OBP, .567 SLG and a .986 OPS in 159 games and 554 at bats over which the 32-year-old Astros' first baseman hit 46 doubles and 29 HR's while knocking in 106. Albert Pujols? Pujols was given 13 first-place votes by the 16 SB Nation's baseball writers who participated in the voting, handing the hulking 28-year-old St. Louis Cardinal his second MVP award a week before the Baseball Writers Association of America bestowed the same honor upon the then-8th-year pro for the second time in his career...
Will Albert Pujols take home his second-straight SBN NL MVP Award? (ed. note - "There might be more, I've only voted in two...") Is there any doubt? It's gotta be Pujols...After he hit for a .327 AVG with a .443 OBP, .658 SLG and 1.101 OPS in 160 games played in which the 29-year-old first baseman hit 45 doubles and 47 HR's while driving in 135? The only question is whether or not it will be unanimous...The 2009 SBN NL MVP is just a click away...Place your own NL MVP vote before checking the results...
| Rk | Player | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albert Pujols | St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 434 |
| 2 | Hanley Ramirez | Florida Marlins | - | 6 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 220 |
| 3 | Chase Utley | Philadelphia Phillies | - | 7 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 192 |
| 4 | Prince Fielder | Milwaukee Brewers | - | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 1 | - | - | - | 186 |
| 5 | Troy Tulowitzki | Colorado Rockies | - | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 134 |
| 6 | Tim Lincecum | San Francisco Giants | - | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 79 |
| 7 | Ryan Howard | Philadelphia Phillies | - | 4 | - | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 1 | 79 |
| 8 | Ryan Zimmerman | Washington Nationals | - | - | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | 2 | 79 |
| 9 | Adrian Gonzalez | San Diego Padres | - | - | 1 | - | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 71 |
| 10 | Pablo Sandoval | San Francisco Giants | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 57 |
| 11 | Matt Kemp | Los Angeles Dodgers | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | - | 1 | 56 |
| 12 | Ryan Braun | Milwaukee Brewers | - | - | 2 | - | - | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 39 |
| 13 | Chris Carpenter | St. Louis Cardinals | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 25 |
| 14 | Derrek Lee | Chicago Cubs | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 25 |
| 15 | Andre Ethier | Los Angeles Dodgers | - | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 24 |
| 16 | Adam Wainwright | St. Louis Cardinals | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 23 |
| 17 | Javier Vazquez | Atlanta Braves | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 16 |
| 18 | Matt Holliday | St. Louis Cardinals | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 12 |
| 19 | Joey Votto | Cincinnati Reds | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 11 |
| 20 | Mark Reynolds | Arizona Diamondbacks | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 21 | Todd Helton | Colorado Rockies | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 |
| 22 | Jayson Werth | Philadelphia Phillies | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 23 | Adam Dunn | Washington Nationals | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 24 | Juan Pierre | Los Angeles Dodgers | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| 25 | Justin Upton | Arizona Diamondbacks | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
| 26 | Raul Ibanez | Philadelphia Phillies | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
| 27 | Ubaldo Jimenez | Colorado Rockies | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
| 28 | Brian McCann | Atlanta Braves | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | 4 |
| 29 | Dan Haren | Arizona Diamondbacks | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | 4 |
| 30 | Michael Bourn | Houston Astros | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| 31 | Yadier Molina | St. Louis Cardinals | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| 32 | Nyjer Morgan | Washington Nationals | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 33 | Yunel Escobar | Atlanta Braves | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
• Ryan Zimmerman's just getting all kinds of love...the Gold Glove, The Silver Slugger, and now a third-place finish in the SB Nation's 2009 NL MVP voting...Adam Dunn shows up on some ballots too...and even Nyjer Morgan down there on the bottom...Were those sarcastic votes, or did they take the Award at face value as in the most valuable player to a particular team...? Either way, the recognition shouldn't go unnoticed...
• Albert Pujols gets 31 1st place votes. Who can argue with that? No one in the SB Nation apparently...
• Hanley Ramirez as the runner-up? The soon-to-be 26-year-old Marlins' SS knocked in 106 with 197 hits (42 doubles, 24 HR's) in 576 AB's, for a league-leading .342 AVG, a .410 OBP, .543 SLG, a .954 OPS, (148 OPS+), and 27 stolen bases?
• Only one pitcher in the top 12? Is that just because they have their own award? Do you think Tim Lincecum was clearly the most valuable pitcher?
• Who is your Most Valuable National? Dunn? Zimmerman? Lannan? Morgan?