Pujols earns first MVP Award
11/15/2005
ST. LOUIS -- In finally winning the National League's Most Valuable Player Award, it may appear that Albert Pujols has reached the pinnacle. After a Rookie of the Year trophy, numerous other citations and a slew of close-but-not-quite MVP candidacies, finally he has been recognized as the man in the Senior Circuit.
To Pujols, it's just one more stepping stone to the one achievement he wants more than any other: to be a World Series champion.
"Now I can say I have an MVP in my house, in my trophy case," Pujols said Tuesday, after he was honored by the Baseball Writers Association of America. "I'm going to celebrate tonight. It's an honor. But I still need to get that ring. That's my next dream."
Choose your definition of valuable, and Pujols lived up to it in 2005. He was a dominant offensive force, ranking among the NL leaders in virtually every hitting category. He complemented his bat with solid and improving defense and success on the base paths. He came up with big hits at big times. He was the one constant threat in a Cardinals lineup ravaged by injuries. He was the best player on the best team in the league.
And so Pujols now has the one individual award that eluded him for his first four big league seasons. He had finished fourth or better in the balloting in each of his first four seasons, placing second twice. Barry Bonds won each of the previous four MVPs in the NL.
Pujols received 18 of the 32 first-place votes and 14 second-place votes for 378 points. Atlanta's Andruw Jones picked up 13 first-place votes, 17 seconds and two thirds for 351 points, while Derrek Lee finished third with one first-place vote, one second and 30 thirds for 263 points.
"Those guys had a great year," Pujols said. "Any of those guys could have won the award. I want to congratulate those guys for the great year that they had, and I want to thank the writers, who picked me [for] the 2005 MVP.
"You couldn't go wrong with any of those guys. They're great athletes. They try and do the best they can to help their team out to win. Andruw had an outstanding year ... and I look at it the last four years I finished in the top five in the voting, and this was my year. It's exciting. It's a great honor."
The top three were the only players to be named on every ballot. The 27-point margin between first and second was the closest NL MVP vote since 1991, when Terry Pendleton edged Bonds by 15 points.
Houston's Morgan Ensberg was fourth with 160 points, followed by Miguel Cabrera of the Marlins with 146. Carlos Delgado, Pat Burrell, Chris Carpenter, Brian Giles and Jimmy Rollins rounded out the top 10 finishers. Pujols, Jones and Lee were ranked 1-2-3 in some order on every ballot. A total of 32 players were named on at least one ballot.
Jones led the Majors with 51 home runs while playing for an Atlanta team that, like the Cardinals, was hit hard by injuries. Lee won the batting title and finished ahead of Pujols in batting average, slugging percentage, home runs and doubles, but toiled for a losing club.
The most complete package in voters' eyes, then, was Pujols. He led the league in runs scored with 129, finished second in batting average (.330), RBIs (117), slugging (.609), on-base percentage (.430) and total bases (360). Pujols also ranked among the leaders in hits (195, fourth), home runs (41, third), walks (sixth) and extra-base hits (third).
"Going down to Spring Training, you don't think about winning MVP," Pujols said. "All you think about is, 'What can you do to get yourself ready in Spring Training and be ready for Opening Day?' That was my goal. My goal was to make sure I was ready to go for the 2005 season and hopefully help my team out to go back to the World Series. We fell short this year, but we had a great year. My goal is to try to help my team out to win and hopefully get that ring. That's my goal."
Pujols continued to emerge as a leader on the Cardinals. He maintained the excellent durability that has marked all five seasons of his career, and played improved defense at first base. His career-high 16 stolen bases filled out the picture of a player who is becoming more complete every year.
"Albert's award was well-deserved because he was the most valuable player to our team across the board, as soon as he showed up to the ballpark until he left," manager Tony La Russa said in a statement released by the team. "His value went beyond statistics, as he was active in mentoring younger players, and always available to discuss the game of baseball."
Despite dealing with the lingering effects of plantar fasciitis, Pujols played 161 games for a team that badly needed his bat in the lineup. For a significant portion of the second half, St. Louis had to make do without four of its eight Opening Day starters. Yet Pujols churned on, putting up just the kind of numbers that have come to be expected from him.
He revealed during a conference call about the award that he has undergone additional treatment for the condition since the season ended.
"I tried to hide it," Pujols said of his plantar fasciitis, "but I couldn't. It was bad almost since the season started. That treatment that we did last offseason helped me out a lot, but I played a lot of games in Spring Training, and I work real hard in the offseason and in Spring Training to prepare myself for the season.
"But at the same time, I did it in 2004. I played with the injury. I didn't think about it. And the same thing this year. I wasn't going to think about it. when the game started, I would just leave it in the past."
Pujols is the second Cardinal to win a BBWAA award this fall, joining NL Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter. The Cardinals are the first National League team since the 1991 Braves to have both the NL MVP and Cy Young winners. The last Cardinal to garner the MVP was Willie McGee in 1985.
At 25 years and just under 10 months, Pujols is the youngest NL MVP since Ryne Sandberg in 1984. He is the 13th Cardinal to be named MVP since the BBWAA began handing out the award in 1931, joining a list that includes Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Orlando Cepeda and Stan Musial, among others.
"This is a great moment," Pujols said. "Fans and my family and friends were waiting. I'm still going to hear a lot of phone calls from friends. I still need to call some friends down in the Dominican who are just as proud as the city of St. Louis. There are some people in the Dominican that are pretty excited that I received this award."
Source: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/
ST. LOUIS -- In finally winning the National League's Most Valuable Player Award, it may appear that Albert Pujols has reached the pinnacle. After a Rookie of the Year trophy, numerous other citations and a slew of close-but-not-quite MVP candidacies, finally he has been recognized as the man in the Senior Circuit.
To Pujols, it's just one more stepping stone to the one achievement he wants more than any other: to be a World Series champion.
"Now I can say I have an MVP in my house, in my trophy case," Pujols said Tuesday, after he was honored by the Baseball Writers Association of America. "I'm going to celebrate tonight. It's an honor. But I still need to get that ring. That's my next dream."
Choose your definition of valuable, and Pujols lived up to it in 2005. He was a dominant offensive force, ranking among the NL leaders in virtually every hitting category. He complemented his bat with solid and improving defense and success on the base paths. He came up with big hits at big times. He was the one constant threat in a Cardinals lineup ravaged by injuries. He was the best player on the best team in the league.
And so Pujols now has the one individual award that eluded him for his first four big league seasons. He had finished fourth or better in the balloting in each of his first four seasons, placing second twice. Barry Bonds won each of the previous four MVPs in the NL.
Pujols received 18 of the 32 first-place votes and 14 second-place votes for 378 points. Atlanta's Andruw Jones picked up 13 first-place votes, 17 seconds and two thirds for 351 points, while Derrek Lee finished third with one first-place vote, one second and 30 thirds for 263 points.
"Those guys had a great year," Pujols said. "Any of those guys could have won the award. I want to congratulate those guys for the great year that they had, and I want to thank the writers, who picked me [for] the 2005 MVP.
"You couldn't go wrong with any of those guys. They're great athletes. They try and do the best they can to help their team out to win. Andruw had an outstanding year ... and I look at it the last four years I finished in the top five in the voting, and this was my year. It's exciting. It's a great honor."
The top three were the only players to be named on every ballot. The 27-point margin between first and second was the closest NL MVP vote since 1991, when Terry Pendleton edged Bonds by 15 points.
Houston's Morgan Ensberg was fourth with 160 points, followed by Miguel Cabrera of the Marlins with 146. Carlos Delgado, Pat Burrell, Chris Carpenter, Brian Giles and Jimmy Rollins rounded out the top 10 finishers. Pujols, Jones and Lee were ranked 1-2-3 in some order on every ballot. A total of 32 players were named on at least one ballot.
Jones led the Majors with 51 home runs while playing for an Atlanta team that, like the Cardinals, was hit hard by injuries. Lee won the batting title and finished ahead of Pujols in batting average, slugging percentage, home runs and doubles, but toiled for a losing club.
The most complete package in voters' eyes, then, was Pujols. He led the league in runs scored with 129, finished second in batting average (.330), RBIs (117), slugging (.609), on-base percentage (.430) and total bases (360). Pujols also ranked among the leaders in hits (195, fourth), home runs (41, third), walks (sixth) and extra-base hits (third).
"Going down to Spring Training, you don't think about winning MVP," Pujols said. "All you think about is, 'What can you do to get yourself ready in Spring Training and be ready for Opening Day?' That was my goal. My goal was to make sure I was ready to go for the 2005 season and hopefully help my team out to go back to the World Series. We fell short this year, but we had a great year. My goal is to try to help my team out to win and hopefully get that ring. That's my goal."
Pujols continued to emerge as a leader on the Cardinals. He maintained the excellent durability that has marked all five seasons of his career, and played improved defense at first base. His career-high 16 stolen bases filled out the picture of a player who is becoming more complete every year.
"Albert's award was well-deserved because he was the most valuable player to our team across the board, as soon as he showed up to the ballpark until he left," manager Tony La Russa said in a statement released by the team. "His value went beyond statistics, as he was active in mentoring younger players, and always available to discuss the game of baseball."
Despite dealing with the lingering effects of plantar fasciitis, Pujols played 161 games for a team that badly needed his bat in the lineup. For a significant portion of the second half, St. Louis had to make do without four of its eight Opening Day starters. Yet Pujols churned on, putting up just the kind of numbers that have come to be expected from him.
He revealed during a conference call about the award that he has undergone additional treatment for the condition since the season ended.
"I tried to hide it," Pujols said of his plantar fasciitis, "but I couldn't. It was bad almost since the season started. That treatment that we did last offseason helped me out a lot, but I played a lot of games in Spring Training, and I work real hard in the offseason and in Spring Training to prepare myself for the season.
"But at the same time, I did it in 2004. I played with the injury. I didn't think about it. And the same thing this year. I wasn't going to think about it. when the game started, I would just leave it in the past."
Pujols is the second Cardinal to win a BBWAA award this fall, joining NL Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter. The Cardinals are the first National League team since the 1991 Braves to have both the NL MVP and Cy Young winners. The last Cardinal to garner the MVP was Willie McGee in 1985.
At 25 years and just under 10 months, Pujols is the youngest NL MVP since Ryne Sandberg in 1984. He is the 13th Cardinal to be named MVP since the BBWAA began handing out the award in 1931, joining a list that includes Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Orlando Cepeda and Stan Musial, among others.
"This is a great moment," Pujols said. "Fans and my family and friends were waiting. I'm still going to hear a lot of phone calls from friends. I still need to call some friends down in the Dominican who are just as proud as the city of St. Louis. There are some people in the Dominican that are pretty excited that I received this award."
Source: http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/
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