The candidates
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Albert Pujols, First base, Cardinals |
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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).
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| AB | HR | AVG | RBI | R | SB |
| 568 | 47 | .327 | 135 | 124 | 16 |
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Prince Fielder, First base, Brewers |
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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.
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| AB | HR | AVG | RBI | R | SB |
| 591 | 46 | .299 | 141 | 103 | 2 |
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Hanley Ramirez, Shortstop, Marlins |
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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.
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| AB | HR | AVG | RBI | R | SB |
| 576 | 24 | .342 | 106 | 101 | 27 |
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Andre Ethier, Outfielder, Dodgers |
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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.
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| AB | HR | AVG | RBI | R | SB |
| 596 | 31 | .272 | 106 | 92 | 6 |
Honorable mention: Ryan Howard, Phillies, Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies, Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
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Poll
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Who will be the NL MVP?
| 81% | Albert Pujols STL |
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| 6% | Prince Fielder MIL |
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| 4% | Hanley Ramirez FLA |
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| 3% | Andre Ethier LA |
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| 5% | Other |
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| Total Votes: 3901 |
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| Past Results | | Year | MVP | | 2008 | Albert Pujols, St. Louis | | 2007 | Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia | | 2006 | Ryan Howard, Philadelphia | | 2005 | Albert Pujols, St. Louis | | 2004 | Barry Bonds, San Francisco | | Complete list | |
