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Congrats Albert !!! Its great to be a Cardnial fan :cheer:
Pujols wins MVP award
BY JOE STRAUSS
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/15/2005
National League MVP Albert Pujols connects for a grand slam in the Sept. 29 game at Busch Stadium.
(David Carson/P-D)
Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was named National League Most Valuable Player this afternoon by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
The vote rewarded Pujols for unswerving consistency over Atlanta center fielder Andruw Jones' more prolific production numbers and Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee’s batting crown.
Pujols becomes the first Cardinal to win the award since center fielder Willie McGee in 1985.
He received recognition from 32 BBWAA members after finishing fourth or better in each of his first four major-league seasons. San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds won the previous four awards.
Pujols received 18 first-place votes and 14 seconds for 378 points. Jones got 13 first-place votes, 17 seconds and two thirds for 351 points. Lee got the other first-place vote and was third with 263 points.
Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter, who last week won the NL's Cy Young Award, finished eighth in the MVP voting with 52 points. (Complete vote totals at bottom of this story.)
Pujols, 25, batted .330 with 41 home runs and 117 RBI while appearing in 161 games. Despite playing much of the second half with foot and hamstring pain related to plantar fasciitis, he ranked among the top three in all three Triple Crown categories, finishing second in batting and RBIs, third in home runs.
He also led the NL with 36 go-ahead RBIs and ranked second with 20 game-winning RBIs.
In the second season of a seven-year, $100 million contract, Pujols also earned a $200,000 bonus for capturing the writers’ award.
Though Pujols’ RBI total was the lowest of his career, he performed without the same protection afforded him in
previous seasons. Injuries to third baseman Scott Rolen, left fielder Reggie Sanders and right fielder Larry Walker led to manager Tony La Russa using 10 cleanup hitters behind Pujols, who appeared exclusively in the No. 3 spot.
Jones mashed 51 home runs and 128 RBIs but was hurt by a .263 average, which would have been the lowest ever by a position player to win the award.
Lee, who won a Silver Slugger at first base over Pujols, hit .335 and ranked ahead of Pujols in total bases, home runs and slugging percentage but was handicapped by the Cubs’ disappointing fourth-place finish.
Pujols amassed at least six home runs and 19 RBIs in each of the season’s first four months as the Cardinals took a
stranglehold on the NL Central. As teams increasingly pitched around him, Pujols’ pace slowed in August and September, costing him a second batting title and his second 200-hit season. His .430 on-base percentage ranks as the second-best of his career.
Despite his leg and foot problems, Pujols led the Cardinals with 15 stolen bases and the major leagues with 129 runs. He became only the sixth player in the game’s history to lead the majors in runs for three consecutive seasons.
Today’s announcement completes a memorable week for Pujols. Albert and his wife, Deidre, became parents of their third child, a daughter, last Saturday.
The BBWAA and the Cardinals have scheduled separate afternoon press conferences.
Pujols wins MVP award
BY JOE STRAUSS
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/15/2005
National League MVP Albert Pujols connects for a grand slam in the Sept. 29 game at Busch Stadium.
(David Carson/P-D)
Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was named National League Most Valuable Player this afternoon by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
The vote rewarded Pujols for unswerving consistency over Atlanta center fielder Andruw Jones' more prolific production numbers and Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee’s batting crown.
Pujols becomes the first Cardinal to win the award since center fielder Willie McGee in 1985.
He received recognition from 32 BBWAA members after finishing fourth or better in each of his first four major-league seasons. San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds won the previous four awards.
Pujols received 18 first-place votes and 14 seconds for 378 points. Jones got 13 first-place votes, 17 seconds and two thirds for 351 points. Lee got the other first-place vote and was third with 263 points.
Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter, who last week won the NL's Cy Young Award, finished eighth in the MVP voting with 52 points. (Complete vote totals at bottom of this story.)
Pujols, 25, batted .330 with 41 home runs and 117 RBI while appearing in 161 games. Despite playing much of the second half with foot and hamstring pain related to plantar fasciitis, he ranked among the top three in all three Triple Crown categories, finishing second in batting and RBIs, third in home runs.
He also led the NL with 36 go-ahead RBIs and ranked second with 20 game-winning RBIs.
In the second season of a seven-year, $100 million contract, Pujols also earned a $200,000 bonus for capturing the writers’ award.
Though Pujols’ RBI total was the lowest of his career, he performed without the same protection afforded him in
previous seasons. Injuries to third baseman Scott Rolen, left fielder Reggie Sanders and right fielder Larry Walker led to manager Tony La Russa using 10 cleanup hitters behind Pujols, who appeared exclusively in the No. 3 spot.
Jones mashed 51 home runs and 128 RBIs but was hurt by a .263 average, which would have been the lowest ever by a position player to win the award.
Lee, who won a Silver Slugger at first base over Pujols, hit .335 and ranked ahead of Pujols in total bases, home runs and slugging percentage but was handicapped by the Cubs’ disappointing fourth-place finish.
Pujols amassed at least six home runs and 19 RBIs in each of the season’s first four months as the Cardinals took a
stranglehold on the NL Central. As teams increasingly pitched around him, Pujols’ pace slowed in August and September, costing him a second batting title and his second 200-hit season. His .430 on-base percentage ranks as the second-best of his career.
Despite his leg and foot problems, Pujols led the Cardinals with 15 stolen bases and the major leagues with 129 runs. He became only the sixth player in the game’s history to lead the majors in runs for three consecutive seasons.
Today’s announcement completes a memorable week for Pujols. Albert and his wife, Deidre, became parents of their third child, a daughter, last Saturday.
The BBWAA and the Cardinals have scheduled separate afternoon press conferences.
