No surprises here, at least not for me. I expected Albert Pujols to be the unanimous MVP among SBN voters, and he was.
The AL winner is the guy I would have chosen; you may be a bit surprised at the second-place finisher.
Points for MVP are awarded as follows: 14 points for a first-place vote, then 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 for 2nd through 10th place.
BCB ballots:
Al: 1) Albert Pujols 2) Ryan Howard 3) Prince Fielder 4) Chase Utley
5) Pablo Sandoval 6) Adrian Gonzalez 7) Hanley Ramirez
8) Troy Tulowitzki 9) Derrek Lee 10) Adam Dunn
Mike: 1) Albert Pujols 2) Ryan Howard 3) Hanley Ramirez 4) Troy Tulowitzki
5) Prince Fielder 6) Tim Lincecum 7) Chase Utley
8) Adam Wainwright 9) Raul Ibanez 10) Mark Reynolds
| Rk | Player | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albert Pujols | St. Louis Cardinals | 31 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 434 |
| 2 | Hanley Ramirez | Florida Marlins | - | 6 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 220 |
| 3 | Chase Utley | Philadelphia Phillies | - | 7 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 192 |
| 4 | Prince Fielder | Milwaukee Brewers | - | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 1 | - | - | - | 186 |
| 5 | Troy Tulowitzki | Colorado Rockies | - | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 134 |
| 6 | Tim Lincecum | San Francisco Giants | - | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 79 |
| 7 | Ryan Howard | Philadelphia Phillies | - | 4 | - | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 1 | 79 |
| 8 | Ryan Zimmerman | Washington Nationals | - | - | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | - | 2 | 79 |
| 9 | Adrian Gonzalez | San Diego Padres | - | - | 1 | - | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 71 |
| 10 | Pablo Sandoval | San Francisco Giants | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 57 |
| 11 | Matt Kemp | Los Angeles Dodgers | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | - | 1 | 56 |
| 12 | Ryan Braun | Milwaukee Brewers | - | - | 2 | - | - | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 39 |
| 13 | Chris Carpenter | St. Louis Cardinals | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 25 |
| 14 | Derrek Lee | Chicago Cubs | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 25 |
| 15 | Andre Ethier | Los Angeles Dodgers | - | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | 24 |
| 16 | Adam Wainwright | St. Louis Cardinals | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 23 |
| 17 | Javier Vazquez | Atlanta Braves | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 16 |
| 18 | Matt Holliday | St. Louis Cardinals | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 12 |
| 19 | Joey Votto | Cincinnati Reds | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 11 |
| 20 | Mark Reynolds | Arizona Diamondbacks | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 21 | Todd Helton | Colorado Rockies | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 |
| 22 | Jayson Werth | Philadelphia Phillies | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 23 | Adam Dunn | Washington Nationals | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 24 | Juan Pierre | Los Angeles Dodgers | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| 25 | Justin Upton | Arizona Diamondbacks | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
| 26 | Raul Ibanez | Philadelphia Phillies | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
| 27 | Ubaldo Jimenez | Colorado Rockies | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
| 28 | Brian McCann | Atlanta Braves | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | 4 |
| 29 | Dan Haren | Arizona Diamondbacks | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | 4 |
| 30 | Michael Bourn | Houston Astros | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| 31 | Yadier Molina | St. Louis Cardinals | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| 32 | Nyjer Morgan | Washington Nationals | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 33 | Yunel Escobar | Atlanta Braves | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Rk | Player | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Mauer | Minnesota Twins | 24 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 371 |
| 2 | Ben Zobrist | Tampa Bay Rays | - | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 172 |
| 3 | Mark Teixeira | New York Yankees | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | - | - | 158 |
| 4 | Derek Jeter | New York Yankees | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 157 |
| 5 | Evan Longoria | Tampa Bay Rays | - | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 106 |
| 6 | Zack Greinke | Kansas City Royals | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | - | - | - | 92 |
| 7 | Miguel Cabrera | Detroit Tigers | - | - | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | 2 | - | 5 | 74 |
| 8 | Kevin Youkilis | Boston Red Sox | - | 2 | - | - | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 1 | - | 69 |
| 9 | Chone Figgins | Los Angeles Angels | - | - | - | 3 | 4 | 1 | - | 1 | 3 | 1 | 60 |
| 10 | Jason Bay | Boston Red Sox | - | 1 | - | 4 | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | 2 | 54 |
| 11 | Kendry Morales | Los Angeles Angels | - | - | 4 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | 39 |
| 12 | Ichiro Suzuki | Seattle Mariners | - | - | 1 | - | 2 | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 37 |
| 13 | Franklin Gutierrez | Seattle Mariners | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | 1 | 2 | 34 |
| 14 | Justin Verlander | Detroit Tigers | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 32 |
| 15 | Felix Hernandez | Seattle Mariners | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | 31 |
| 16 | Jason Bartlett | Tampa Bay Rays | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 22 |
| 17 | Alex Rodriguez | New York Yankees | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 18 |
| 18 | Roy Halladay | Toronto Blue Jays | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | 16 |
| 19 | Adam Lind | Toronto Blue Jays | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | 1 | 4 | 16 |
| 20 | Dustin Pedroia | Boston Red Sox | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| 21 | Bobby Abreu | Los Angeles Angels | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 12 |
| 22 | Aaron Hill | Toronto Blue Jays | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 12 |
| 23 | Mariano Rivera | New York Yankees | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 24 | Torii Hunter | Los Angeles Angels | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| 25 | Brian Roberts | Baltimore Orioles | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 7 |
| 26 | CC Sabathia | New York Yankees | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 6 |
| 27 | Carl Crawford | Tampa Bay Rays | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 28 | J.D. Drew | Boston Red Sox | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| 29 | Jon Lester | Boston Red Sox | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| 30 | Jonathan Papelbon | Boston Red Sox | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| 31 | Robinson Cano | New York Yankees | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| 32 | Victor Martinez | Boston Red Sox | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| 33 | Michael Cuddyer | Minnesota Twins | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| 34 | Shin-Soo Choo | Cleveland Indians | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| 35 | Michael Young | Texas Rangers | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 36 | Jacoby Ellsbury | Boston Red Sox | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| 37 | Jason Kubel | Minnesota Twins | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| 38 | Alex Gonzalez | Boston Red Sox | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 39 | Nick Markakis | Baltimore Orioles | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
0 recs | 28 comments
From the picture, I thought it was Fontenot
Hey, a guy can dream, right?
Mauer definitely deserves the nod in the AL. Jeter would be my number two. Excellent years for both, but take into account that Mauer missed time at the beginning of the year and doesn’t play every day. To put up those numbers is astounding
Musicdude10 - November 12, 2009
Not to mention that Mauer is a plus defensive catcher.
Al Yellon - November 12, 2009
Haven't you heard, Jeter is a Gold Glove shortstop!
groan
madcow256 - November 12, 2009
he had a good defensive year in '09 by any metric you like
cubsforever - November 14, 2009
andrus was better imo
jesus christos - November 14, 2009
Only one Cub listed (D-Lee). Guess that tells you all you need to know about how this past season went...
Zeke - November 12, 2009
Tulo...
Surprised he was so low on your ballot Al. And overall I am bit surprised he isn’t higher. He is the heart and soul of the Rockies.
By Santo's Grace - November 12, 2009
I love the guy
But I had him outside the top 10. I;m willing to bet the BBWAA has him as high as 3rd or 4th.
backtocali - November 12, 2009
I would agree
He had a monster year…I would be surprised if he doesn’t finish higher than Fielder and Utley.
By Santo's Grace - November 12, 2009
Mauer is amazing.
He still has a few years of getting better in front of him, I suspect, provided he can stay healthy.
Will the Twins be able to afford him going forward?
MN exile - November 12, 2009
When is Posada retiring?
rlpete - November 12, 2009
The Twins will re-sign Mauer.
First of all, they have already started contract extension talks. Second, “hometown discount” is a literal statement with Mauer — he grew up there and always wanted to play for his hometown team.
There’s the one guy they absolutely cannot afford to lose. With a new stadium providing some extra revenue next year, they should be able to get this done.
Al Yellon - November 13, 2009
I really hope you are right
I root for the Twins just because they are a small market team that usually does it right. If you calculated the wins per salary dollar for the last 10 seasons, I’d bet the Twins would be at the top.
rlpete - November 13, 2009
If each SBN blog got two votes and Albert was unanimous...
…how did he end up with an odd number of votes (31)?
Did someone turn in an empty ballot as protest? Has the BBWAA mentality crept down into the SBN world? Does someone’s voting privileges need to be revoked? It’s a conspiracy, I tell you, a conspiracy! I bet Bud Lite is behind it!
ballhawk - November 12, 2009
Apparently, some people didn't return their ballots.
There should have been 34 — 2 for each of the teams and 2 from “Beyond the Boxscore”.
Al Yellon - November 12, 2009
We submitted one ballot per league, fyi.
Sky Kalkman - November 16, 2009
Actually, 34 isn't right, either.
32 total ballots, 2 for each team, and 2 from Beyond the Boxscore, and if BtB returned one per league, that accounts for the 31 votes for Pujols.
Al Yellon - November 16, 2009
There are some strange votes on the NL side
Juan Pierre got one, as did Nyjer Morgan, and Michael Bourne. What up with that?
DC Cubbie - November 12, 2009
I couldn't figure those out either.
Al Yellon - November 12, 2009
Even though
He was hurt for a large part of the last two months, Im a little surprised Morgan didnt get more love. There was a time that he was top 5 I think in WAR. He was still the highest WAR guy among outfielders.
backtocali - November 12, 2009
4.9 WAR for the season
Pretty impressive considering the teams he was on.
madcow256 - November 12, 2009
The teams he was on don't make it easier or harder to accumulate WAR
WAR is quite independent of your team, no RBI or R or any of that — you might get fewer PA playing for a poor offensive squad, but the amount there is not enough to really kill your WAR.
I don’t like to take a WAR number at face value for a guy like Morgan, given that such a large component of it is UZR and UZR can fluctuate so much year-to-year. 4.9 WAR is our best estimate for Morgan’s contributions this past season, but we’ll have a better idea how good his defense really is if he gets a few more seasons of full-time starting in.
aldimond - November 13, 2009
Thanks for the info
madcow256 - November 13, 2009
Joey Votto got a 3rd place vote....
Sounds like a little homerism.
carmen_fanzone - November 12, 2009
Not entirely shocked by Zobrist...
…seeing that these votes come from people who actually follow baseball and understand players’ real value (that is to say, compared to the writers). Zobrist had the most valuable season in 2009 according to the stat “Wins Above Replacement” or WAR at 8.6, compared to Pujols’ 8.4. Sure it’s sort of a bullshit stat, but because of his outstanding defense at almost any position in the field, he’s an extremely valuable player to the Rays.
Comparing another utility guy, Mark DeRosa to Zobrist is probably more fair. To put Zobrist’s season in perspective, DeRo had a 3.8 WAR in his outstanding 2008.
IowaCubs- - November 12, 2009
Ryan Howard
I can’t agree with the second place vote for Howard. Glad to see the rest of SBN giving Utley, Ramirez and Tulo the love they deserve.
cliff - November 12, 2009
Pablo Sandoval
Quite simply, the best damned young talent in baseball that nobody ever talks about. Sandoval is a very special player in the making. I dare say he could become a reasonable fascimile of Albert Pujols some day. Watch Sandoval in 2010. You will be blown away on just how good a hitter he is. And a good 3rd baseman too.
BLou - November 12, 2009
I didn't think his defense was that good but
you can’t argue with a line of .330 / .387 / .556 from a 22 year old.
rlpete - November 12, 2009
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