Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Pujols named NL MVP

Albert Pujols was named NL MVP for the first time in his brilliant young career Tuesday, beating out the Braves' Andruw Jones and the Cubs' Derrek Lee for the award.

The St. Louis Cardinals first baseman received 18 first-place votes and 14 seconds for 378 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Jones, the Atlanta Braves center fielder, got 13 first-place votes, 17 seconds and two thirds for 351 points.

The 25-year-old Pujols ranked in the top three in the NL in homers (41), RBI (117) and batting average (.330) and led the majors in runs (129) for the third season in a row.

Pujols has finished in the top four in MVP voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America in each of the last four campaigns, when the award went to Bonds.

Player 1st-place votes 2nd 3rd Points
Albert Pujols, Cardinals 18 14 0 378
Andruw Jones, Braves 13 17 2 351