NL MVP

Winner: Albert Pujols, St. Louis -- Story | Voting Results
Users Choice: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia
Danny Knobler's prediction: Albert Pujols, Cardinals.
How does Pujols win, when his Cardinals finished fourth in the NL Central? He wins because Manny Ramirez spent the first half of the season in Boston, because CC Sabathia spent the first half of the season in Cleveland, and because Ryan Howard spent the first half of the season mostly striking out. Besides, Pujols' 1.114 OPS was the best by any major leaguer in the past four years. Not only that, but without Pujols, the Cardinals might have finished last. I'd go with Manny, but the voters will take Albert.

The candidates Albert Pujols, First base, Cardinals With all the talk of Pujols being a unanimous MVP winner this season, it's no wonder Cards fans took a deep breath when after the season the slugger declared he wants to finish his career in St. Louis. His resume is impressive, with two MVP awards already under his belt, a Gold Glove, Rookie of the Year honors, a batting title and the NL home run champ in 2009. He also finished 2009 as the major league leader in slugging percentage (.658). Even more impressive is this eternal MVP continues to repeat his success. Consider this ...his career lows top some of the league's best -- 32 HR, 103 RBI, .394 OBP, .561 slugging percentage and .314 batting average. With these types of numbers, Pujols will probably get what he wants (to be a Cardinal for his entire career). AB HR AVG RBI R SB 568 47 .327 135 124 16 Prince Fielder, First base, Brewers Fielder finished second in the majors in homers, trailing Pujols by just one, and finished tied (with Ryan Howard) for first in RBI. While he didn't match his career-best 50 homers from 2007, he did improve his totals in home runs, RBI, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and average from 2008. He's dedicated to his club and pushed his body to play all 162 games, the only player in the majors to do so this season. He has proven he can maintain his level of power from season to season. AB HR AVG RBI R SB 591 46 .299 141 103 2 Hanley Ramirez, Shortstop, Marlins Hanley's .342 batting average was tops in the NL and he became the first Marlin to win a batting title and the first NL shortstop to do so since Dick Groat in 1960. He reached 100-plus RBI for the first time in his career and finished with 24 home runs and 27 stolen bases. He did hit some highs and lows during the season -- a career-high 16-game hitting streak in August and an end-of-season slump which tallied a .194 batting average in his final 10 games. As one of the highest-paid players on the Marlin's roster, he has done his fair share of carrying the load, keeping the Marlins in the race until the last week of the season. AB HR AVG RBI R SB 576 24 .342 106 101 27 Andre Ethier, Outfielder, Dodgers Ethier had a breakout season while playing for the club that finished with the best record in the NL. He impressed with a major league-leading six walk-off hits, four of which were homers, and both were the most in one season since 1974. Although his batting average dipped from last season (.305 in 2008), he had his first 30-plus homer/100-plus RBI season and was the first Dodger to hit more than 40 doubles since Shawn Green hit 49 in 2003. AB HR AVG RBI R SB 596 31 .272 106 92 6 Honorable mention: Ryan Howard, Phillies, Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies, Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals

Select Award AL - Most Valuable Player NL - Most Valuable Player AL - Cy Young Award NL - Cy Young Award AL - Rookie of the Year NL - Rookie of the Year AL - Manager of the Year NL - Manager of the Year Poll Who will be the NL MVP? 7% CC Sabathia PHI   42% Ryan Howard PHI   12% Manny Ramirez LA   38% Albert Pujols STL   Total Votes: 4122   Past Results Year MVP 2007 Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia 2006 Ryan Howard, Philadelphia 2005 Albert Pujols, St. Louis 2004 Barry Bonds, San Francisco Complete list