Philly Sports Today

With both men vying for their second NL MVP award, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols won the award after receiving 18 of the 32 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and collecting 369 total points. Ryan Howard finished in second, picking up 12 first-place votes and 308 points. Brad Lidge, who was a perfect in 48 save opportunities during the regular season and playoffs, drew the other two first-place votes and 104 points, which was good enough for eighth place in the voting.

I’m a little disappointed that the Phillies did not maintain their stranglehold on the NL MVP trophy, but it’s tough to argue against Pujols. Fat Albert hit .357, had a .462 on-base percentage, and led the NL with a .653 slugging percentage. In comparison, Howard hit .251, had a .339 on-base percentage, and had a .543 slugging percentage. While Howard’s 48 homeruns and 146 RBIs dwarf Pujols’s 37 homers and 116 RBIS, Albert’s 104 walks with only 54 strikeouts look a lot better than Ryan’s 81 walks and 199 strikeouts. Finally, Howard had two months (July and September) when he looked played like an MVP. Pujols had five (six if you project his June numbers since he missed the half of the month). Oh yeah, Pujols also played with an elbow that could explode and require surgery at any point.

Pujols winning the award this year kind of makes up for him not winning it in 2006, the year that Howard was named MVP. In 2006, Pujols’s Cardinals won the World Series, but Howard won the MVP even though the Phillies missed the playoffs. This year, Howard’s Phillies won the World Series, but Pujols won the MVP even though the Cardinals missed the playoffs. I guess it all evens out.

On another note, hopefully Howard not winning the NL MVP will mean that the Phillies will save a little bit of money when they take him to arbitration. For some reason, I don’t think there is any way that a second-place finish in the NL MVP voting will hurt Ryan’s 2009 paycheck.

Go Phillies.