How good was Ryan Howard this year? So good that even in a career year, Albert Pujols fell short of Howard in MVP balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. For the third time in his six-year career, Pujols finished as the runner-up for National League Most Valuable Player.
With 20 first-place votes and 12 second-place votes, Howard defeated Pujols -- last year's NL MVP -- by a total of 388 to 347. The Astros' Lance Berkman (230) and the Mets' Carlos Beltran (211) finished third and fourth, respectively.
Manager Tony La Russa expressed his support for the ultimate decision, but he couldn't hide his disappointment that another one of his Cardinals missed out on some postseason hardware.
"I would never want to disrespect players who have had outstanding seasons," said La Russa. "I'm not surprised -- not just Howard, but [Arizona Cy Young winner Brandon] Webb, I'm not surprised that they won. They both had outstanding years. But I'm disappointed, because I thought our two guys [Pujols and Chris Carpenter] ... I was hoping, and I was disappointed that they didn't get the awards."
Pujols put up career-best marks in home runs (49), RBIs (137) and slugging percentage (.671), while falling just short of a new personal best in on-base percentage (.431). He was by far the biggest offensive threat on a Cardinals team that edged out the Astros for a division title before roaring to the World Series championship in October. The St. Louis first baseman also picked up his first career Gold Glove.
Still, voters were apparently wowed by about the only two numbers where Pujols finished behind Howard.
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Pujols MVP runner-up after career year
Pujols MVP runner-up after career year
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