Great stats or a great bat on a playoff team? The voters decided the playoffs were important.
Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun was named National League Most Valuable Player on Tuesday, getting 20 of the 32 first-place votes by the baseball writers.
Braun, 28, has been a consistent bat in the Brewers' lineup since his rookie season in 2007, when he was named NL Rookie of the Year. Braun led the league in slugging (.597) and OPS (.994) in 2011 as the Brewers won the NL Central and advanced to the National League Championship Series.
He was second in the NL in batting average at .332. Braun was the first National League MVP from the Brewers - Robin Yount was the last MVP from the team, from when Milwaukee was an American League franchise.
Braun is the first former Rookie of the Year to win the honor since Ryan Howard, who was Rookie of the Year in 2005 and MVP in 2006. Howard was 10th in the voting this season.
Kemp, who finished a strong second, had his best season and was named to the NL All-Star team for the first time. He was third in the NL in hitting at .324 and led the league in homers (39) and RBI (126) while playing for a .500 team. He also stole 40 bases.
Braun teammate Prince Fielder was third, getting one first-place vote. The Brewers first baseman was also named on all ballots after hitting .299 with 38 homers and 120 RBI. Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton, who was also named on all ballots, took fourth and had one-first place vote. He hit .289 with 31 homers for the NL West champions.
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was fifth, marking the 11th consecutive season he's been in the top eight in the voting.
That's all 11 of his seasons in the majors. Last year's MVP, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, was sixth this year.
Twenty-six players were named on the writers' ballots.
The voting is a 10-through-1 system, with 10 points for a first-place vote and one for a 10th-place vote.
2011 National League MVP Voting
Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun was named National League Most Valuable Player on Tuesday, getting 20 of the 32 first-place votes by the baseball writers.
Braun, 28, has been a consistent bat in the Brewers' lineup since his rookie season in 2007, when he was named NL Rookie of the Year. Braun led the league in slugging (.597) and OPS (.994) in 2011 as the Brewers won the NL Central and advanced to the National League Championship Series.
He was second in the NL in batting average at .332. Braun was the first National League MVP from the Brewers - Robin Yount was the last MVP from the team, from when Milwaukee was an American League franchise.
Braun is the first former Rookie of the Year to win the honor since Ryan Howard, who was Rookie of the Year in 2005 and MVP in 2006. Howard was 10th in the voting this season.
Kemp, who finished a strong second, had his best season and was named to the NL All-Star team for the first time. He was third in the NL in hitting at .324 and led the league in homers (39) and RBI (126) while playing for a .500 team. He also stole 40 bases.
Braun teammate Prince Fielder was third, getting one first-place vote. The Brewers first baseman was also named on all ballots after hitting .299 with 38 homers and 120 RBI. Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton, who was also named on all ballots, took fourth and had one-first place vote. He hit .289 with 31 homers for the NL West champions.
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was fifth, marking the 11th consecutive season he's been in the top eight in the voting.
That's all 11 of his seasons in the majors. Last year's MVP, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, was sixth this year.
Twenty-six players were named on the writers' ballots.
The voting is a 10-through-1 system, with 10 points for a first-place vote and one for a 10th-place vote.
2011 National League MVP Voting
| 2011 NL MVP | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Braun, Brewers | 20 | 12 | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | 388 | |||
| Matt Kemp, Dodgers | 10 | 16 | 6 | Â | Â | Â | Â | 332 | |||
| Prince Fielder, Brewers | 1 | 4 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 3 | Â | 2 | Â | 1 | 229 |
| Justin Upton, Diamondbacks | 1 | Â | 8 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Â | 1 | 214 |
| Albert Pujols, Cardinals | Â | 1 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 4 | Â | 2 | Â | 166 | |
| Joey Votto, Reds | 4 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 135 | ||
| Lance Berkman, Cardinals | Â | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 118 | |
| Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies | Â | Â | Â | Â | Â | 3 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 69 |
| Roy Halladay, Phillies | 1 | Â | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | Â | 3 | 52 | ||
| Ryan Howard, Phillies | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Â | 1 | 3 | 39 | |||
| Jose Reyes, Mets | 1 | 1 | Â | 3 | 4 | 3 | 31 | ||||
| Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers | Â | 1 | 1 | Â | 2 | 5 | 2 | 29 | |||
| Shane Victorino, Phillies | 3 | 3 | 3 | 18 | |||||||
| Ian Kennedy, Diamondbacks | 1 | 2 | 1 | Â | Â | 16 | |||||
| Cliff Lee, Phillies | Â | 2 | 1 | Â | 1 | 12 | |||||
| Hunter Pence, Astros/Phillies | Â | 1 | 1 | 1 | Â | 10 | |||||
| Pablo Sandoval, Giants | 1 | 1 | Â | Â | 7 | ||||||
| John Axford, Brewers | 1 | 2 | Â | 7 | |||||||
| Michael Morse, Nationals | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||
| Carlos Beltran, Mets/Giants | 1 | Â | Â | 3 | |||||||
| Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks | 1 | Â | 2 | ||||||||
| Yadier Molina, Cardinals | Â | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| Starlin Castro, Cubs | Â | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Craig Kimbrel, Braves | Â | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Carlos Ruiz, Phillies | Â | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Mike Stanton, Marlins | Â | 1 | 1 |
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