Hey All,
Well, I don't have a ton to say today. St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols was named the National League MVP this afternoon. He was voted this unanimously. He received all 32 first-place votes and 448 points in balloting announced by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Florida's Hanley Ramirez, the NL batting champion, was second with 233 points, followed by Philadelphia's Ryan Howard (217) and Milwaukee's Prince Fielder (203), who tied Howard for the big league lead in RBIs. This is the third time he's been voted the MVP in his career.
No problem with this whatsoever on my part. Pujols is definitely the best player in the National League, if not the entire sport and is most definitely the most feared hitter in the sport today. Personally, my feeling is that Pujols is second behind Joe Mauer as best player in the entire league simply because he plays first base while Mauer is a catcher, a much more demanding defensive position.
Pujols led the majors in home runs (47), runs (124), slugging percentage (.658) and intentional walks (44), and topped the NL in on-base percentage (.443). He was second in the league in doubles (45) and third in batting average (.327) and RBIs (135).
He was especially dangerous with the bases loaded, going 10 for 17 with five grand slams, three doubles and 35 RBIs. This last line is just staggering to me. I mean, more than half the time he comes through with a hit and half of those went over the fence! What is he a machine! Oh and he did so while hurt! Albeit, it was a minor injury of a bone spur in his right elbow but still!
If you want to read more about Pujols and his amazing career and this award, you can do so here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4686092
All, this and I haven't even mentioned just how much I like him as a guy. Albert is a devout Christian who is active in many charities and other off the field things, such as causes involving people with Down Syndrome as his step daughter, Isabella, is afflicted with this condition. If you would like to read more about Albert Pujols the man, I would suggest checking out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Pujols
That's all I have today, take care and Happy Thanksgiving.
Joe
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