MySports Today

Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals was named the 2008 National League Most Valuable Player. Pujols received 18 of the 32 1st-place votes, while Ryan Howard of the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies garnered 12 1st-place votes. Pujols topped Howard 369 points to 308 points. Milwaukee Brewers Left Fielder Ryan Braun finished well-behind in 3rd place with 139 points. Interestingly enough, Manny Ramirez, acquired in a mid-season trade by the Los Angeles Dodgers, finished 4th in NL MVP voting, while CC Sabathia, acquired in a mid-season trade by the Milwaukee Brewers, finished 6th in NL MVP voting.

It was the 2nd NL MVP Award for Albert Pujols, who also won in 2005. In 2008, Albert Pujols hit .357, with 37 home runs and 116 RBI’s. Pujols was walked 104 times during the course of the season and he led the NL in intentional walks issued. Pujols led the NL in slugging percentage and was 2nd in the NL with a .462 on-base percentage. Pujols also struck out only 54 times in 524 at-bats. Pujols was the only player on all 32 ballots of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He battled a sore right elbow for most of the season and had surgery in mid-October to address the nerve irritation in the elbow that caused numbness and pain in his forearm. Pujols received a $200,000 bonus for winning the award.

Ryan Howard got off to a slow start on the year, but rebounded in a huge way as the season progressed. Howard led all of MLB with 48 home runs and 146 RBI’s. He had a .543 slugging percentage and a .339 on-base percentage, but for the 2nd straight year, he struck out 199 times.

Sunday, Nov 16, 2008

1 2 3 4 Total Miami 27 27 24 18 96 Final Toronto 29 21 30 27 107 MIA: D. Wade 29 Pts, 3 Reb, 8 Ast TOR: C. Bosh 27 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Ast		1 2 3 4 Total Orlando 19 19 27 25 90 Final Charlotte 21 22 18 24 85 ORL: J. Nelson 15 Pts, 5 Reb, 3 Ast CHA: G. Wallace 19 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast
1 2 3 4 OT Total Dallas 26 31 32 23 12 124 Final New York 35 29 27 21 2 114 OT DAL: D. Nowitzki 39 Pts, 15 Reb, 4 Ast NY: Z. Randolph 27 Pts, 18 Reb, 2 Ast		1 2 3 4 Total Minnesota 17 23 27 17 84 Final Denver 27 17 21 25 90 MIN: A. Jefferson 20 Pts, 14 Reb, 1 Ast DEN: C. Billups 26 Pts, 5 Reb, 5 Ast
1 2 3 4 Total Detroit 23 23 21 19 86 Final Phoenix 31 30 20 23 104 DET: R. Hamilton 19 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast PHO: A. Stoudemire 29 Pts, 11 Reb, 1 Ast		1 2 3 4 Total San Antonio 15 26 27 22 90 Final Sacramento 23 19 30 16 88 SA: T. Duncan 20 Pts, 10 Reb, 4 Ast SAC: J. Salmons 31 Pts, 1 Reb, 3 Ast