Ryan Howard Wins NL MVP in Close Battle With Albert Pujols…
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Philadelphia is a happy town today despite the Phils not making the post-season and the bad news of Eagles having lost star Quarterback Donovan McNabb until sometime next season with a knee injury sustained in Sunday’s game vs. the Tennessee Titans.
Phillies 2nd year lefthanded slugger 1st baseman Ryan Howard was awarded the NL MVP award in balloting by a panel of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Howard won the award after leading the majors in home runs and RBIs. The balloting was close between Howard and St. Louis Cardinals 1st baseman Albert Pujols.
Howard, who was 2005 NL Rookie of the Year, clubbed 58 homers and had 149 RBIs with a .313 batting average. His 58 homers were the most in the major leagues since Barry Bonds hit a record 73 homers in 2001.
Ronald Blum, AP Baseball Writer lists some of Howard’s 2006 accomplishments;
He set Phillies records for home runs and RBIs, producing the highest totals in those categories in big league history for a second-year player. Twenty-three of Howard’s homers put the Phillies ahead and five tied games. The Phillies went 32-18 in games in which he homered.
Howard may have been helped by Philadelphia’s surprising second-half push. He hit .355 with 30 homers and 78 RBIs in second half as the Phillies fell three wins short of the NL wild-card berth.
“People were talking about the trades that were made, how we were kind of written off,” he said.
Howard beat out Albert Pujols for the MVP honors. Philly.com’s AP report relates Ryan Howard’s humility on receiving the MVP designation;
“It definitely means something special,” Howard said of beating Pujols, also on MLB.com. “He’s a great player, and to be able to get in that company, that’s a feat in itself. It’s an honor, because of what he’s done for his team and the game of baseball itself.”
For more background on how the Baseball Writers’determined their votes, click Howard or Pujols? The Writers’ Picks for MVP, by Inquirer Staff Writer Claire Smith
On Tuesday, we’ll find out the results of the apparently too-close-to-call AL MVP race.
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