Albert Pujols Wins National League MVP for the Second Time

There's still time for them to screw it up, but it appears that the voters for the National League MVP and Cy Young Awards may actually be starting to get it. Tim Lincecum's Cy Young win rejected the long held notion that wins are more important than how well you pitched and, today, voters ignored Ryan Howard's monster RBI totals and selected Albert Pujols as the National League's Most Valuable Player.

Pujols turned in a magnificent offensive season, finishing as the NL's leader in OPS+, Isolated Power and Runs Created. His counting stats weren't too shabby either. He hit .357 with 37 homers, 116 RBI and scored 100 runs. His production carried an otherwise mediocre Cardinal team for most of the season, and had he not missed 13 games with a calf injury the Cardinals may have made a serious push for the Wild Card.

Howard finished second, snapping the string of Phillie MVPs at two and keeping alive the belief that baseball writers prize things that have more to do with circumstance than actual ability. Howard's 146 RBI and a strong September were the only things to recommend him for the award. Ryan Braun of the Brewers finished third and Manny Ramirez finished fourth in the voting, even though he was only a National Leaguer for 53 games.