![\"\"](\"http:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/albert-pujols-268x300.jpg\" "\\"albert-pujols\\"")
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Years from now after his career is over, we will have to give serious consideration to renaming the award for the league’s best player to the Albert Pujols Award.\u00a0 Every single year, he puts up the kind of numbers you would expect for the recipient of such an award.\u00a0 Never once has he had a bad season.\u00a0 And now, for the fourth time in his career, Jackalope first baseman Albert Pujols has won the DTBL Most Valuable Player award.<\/p>\n
Has there ever been a more predictable player in terms of fantasy production?\u00a0 Every season is the same for Pujols.\u00a0 His numbers this year (.312 average, 42 home runs, 118 RBIs, 115 runs, 14 stolen bases) are basically identical to every other season of his career.\u00a0 Shockingly, that batting average was a career worst.\u00a0 Not too many guys win the MVP in their worst season in terms of batting average.\u00a0 Basically, all of his numbers were right in line with his career averages.\u00a0 Nothing spectacular, but only by his standards.\u00a0 Pujols led the DTBL in home runs and runs.\u00a0 He came in third in RBIs and tenth in batting average.\u00a0 Even the stolen base numbers were pretty respectable.<\/p>\n
This is Pujols’ fourth MVP award.\u00a0 It is the second time he has won the award in consecutive seasons.\u00a0 He did so in 2003 and 2004 and now again in 2009 and 2010.\u00a0 There were some pretty darn good seasons in between as well.\u00a0 Pujols has essentially carried the Jackalope offense ever since they made him their first round pick back in 2002.\u00a0 He is the franchise career leader in home runs (369), RBIs (1095) and runs (1069).\u00a0 He broke the 1,000 milestone in RBIs and runs this season and will reach 400 DTBL home runs sometime next season.\u00a0 It won’t be long before we see him near the top of the all-time league leaders.\u00a0 He already ranks second in career batting average (.331).<\/p>\n
Pujols did not win this award easily.\u00a0 In fact, I was a little surprised he won it at all.\u00a0 Four other players had similarly fantastic seasons and this award could have gone to any of them.\u00a0 Those players are Kings outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, Cougars outfielder Josh Hamilton and Naturals first basemen Miguel Cabrera and Joey Votto.\u00a0 Cabrera and Votto may have hurt each others chances of winning this award, although Cabrera had a slight edge on Votto in every category except stolen bases.<\/p>\n
Pujols won the award with just three of the ten first place votes.\u00a0 He placed second on four ballots and third on the other three for a total of 73 points.\u00a0 This bested Gonzalez by just six points.\u00a0 Gonzalez, the league’s Rookie of the Year, also garnered three first place votes.\u00a0 Cabrera finished third with a pair of first place votes and 47 points.\u00a0 He led the league in RBIs and also had a higher average than Pujols.\u00a0 Somehow, he did not make the top five on one ballot.\u00a0 Next came the guy who will probably beat out Pujols for the NL MVP, Joey Votto.\u00a0 The MLB team success will be the primary factor in the NL MVP vote, which doesn’t apply here, although Votto did play for the co-champion Naturals.\u00a0 He received one first place vote and 40 total points.\u00a0 Finally, Josh Hamilton finished fifth, but even he received a first place vote.\u00a0 His chances of winning this award were derailed by missing most of the final month with a rib injury though.\u00a0 These five guys had tremendous seasons in a year otherwise dominated by pitching.\u00a0 With the exception of Hamilton, the rest of them kept their DTBL teams in championship contention right until the last week of the season.<\/p>\n
So the Jackalope claimed two of the three post-season awards with the other going to the Kings.\u00a0 Neither of the co-champions had an award winner, but I’m sure the Naturals and Darkhorses prefer the championship plaque anyway.<\/p>\n