Albert Pujols won the NL MVP award (Image: Zuma Press)

Pujols, who won the award unanimously, had very good stats across the board. He hit .327 with an on-base percentage of .443 and an OPS of 1.101. He totaled 47 homers, 135 RBIs, 124 runs, 45 doubles and 16 stolen bases.

Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins finished second in the MVP balloting, while Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies finished third and Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers finish fourth.

The last player to unanimously win an MVP award was Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997. In the National League, it was Ken Caminiti in 1996.

If you missed it, Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins won the AL MVP.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Here are our top four MVP candidates in the National League for the 2009 season:

1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
Is there any question who is at the top of the heap? Pujols has been great all season. Currently he’s hitting .324 with 36 homers, 85 runs and 97 RBIs. If he keeps it up, the NL MVP should be his.

2. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
Playing with the Marlins, Ramirez will never get a lot of notoriety. But this kid can hit. The native of the Dominican Republic is hitting an NL-leading .344 with 16 homers, 64 runs, 70 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Ramirez has already had some great seasons but this may be the best of the best.

3. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
Can the Home Run Derby champion add the MVP trophy to his mantle? He has a chance. The 25-year-old has turned into a great hitter — .302 batting average, 26 homers, 67 runs and 95 RBIs. A strong finish to the season could have him jump up the list.

4. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
Pitchers usually don’t enter into MVP talk but Lincecum can’t be ignored. He’s almost single-handedly keeping the Giants in the playoff race. Lincecum has a record of 12-3 to go along with a 2.18 ERA and a WHIP of 1.05.

Can Prince Fielder also win the 2009 NL MVP? (Image: Newscom)

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Against the New York Mets, Pujols was 4-for-5 with two homers, three runs, five RBIs and a walk. His first homer came in the 8th inning but it was his home run in the tenth that was the story. With the bases loaded in extra inning, Pujols blasted a grand slam to put the contest out of reach.

When all was said and done, the Cardinals had a 12-7 victory over the Mets. After the Mets took a 7-4 lead in the fifth inning, the Cardinals came back to win by scoring the final eight runs of the game.

With the win, the Cardinals remain tied with the Chicago Cubs atop the NL Central. The loss dropped the Mets ten games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. It was New York’s third loss in a row.

Albert Pujols - St. Louis Cardinals (Image: Zuma Press)

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5) Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays
Although his batting average is lower than preferred (.256), Carlos Pena is off to an otherwise fantastic start for the Rays. He already has nine homers in his first 22 games, while also driving in 24 RBIs, scoring 14 runs and walking 11 times.

4) Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox
Kevin Youkilis was an MVP candidate last season. This season, he’s hitting even better. Through 21 games, the slugger is hitting .395 with five homers, 15 RBI, 20 runs and 14 walks. His on-base percentage is at an astronomical .505.

3) Jorge Cantu, Florida Marlins
Jorge Cantu has long been considered a solid prospect but he has really started off well this season. He’s hitting .365 with seven homers, 22 RBI and 15 runs. He’s on pace to shatter is already good numbers from 2008.

2) Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres
Some scouts wondered if Adrian Gonzalez could keep up his great hitting ways despite playing in a pitcher-friendly ballpark and for a bad team. So far this season, he’s proving all doubters wrong. Gonzalez is hitting .333 with nine homers, 20 RBI, 19 runs and an on-base percentage of .438.

1) Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
So far, Albert Pujols has been the most valuable hitter in all of fantasy baseball. The Cardinals first baseman tops our rankings by batting .337 with eight homers, 28 RBI, 22 runs and even four stolen bases. He has to be considered the early favorite for National League MVP.

Albert Pujols of the Cardinals (Image: Newscom)

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Pujols went 2-3 with two walks, three runs and two RBI. His big hit was a two-run shot in the bottom of the third inning off of Pirates starter Ian Snell. The Cardinals also got homers from Chris Duncan and Yadier Molina.

On the mound, the Cardinals got a good performance from starter Kyle Lohse. Over seven innings, Lohse gave up only five hits and two earned runs striking out four batters. Snell, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as impressive. In four innings, he allowed six earned runs, nine hits and three walks.

Pittsburgh actually got off to a good start when a Ryan Doumit RBI gave the team a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. But Pujols and company made that a short-lived lead.

On the season, Pujols is 5-7 with three walks.

Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Pujols finished the season with a .357 and 37 homers, 116 RBIs and 100 runs scored. Despite playing the entire season with a sore elbow, Pujols posted better stats than anyone in the league.

Howard, the first baseman for the World Series winning Philadelphia Phillies, also had quite the season. Howard had 48 homers, 146 RBI and 106 runs in the 2008 season. The difference between Pujols and Howard could be found at the batting average statistics, where Howard hit just .251.

Even though Pujols edged Howard in the MVP voting, I’m sure he’d trade in his MVP award for a World Series championship.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Albert Pujols will eventually need surgery on his troublesome elbow. Although he indicated that he might have that surgery this offseason, he has decided he’ll likely have the surgery in the fall of 2009.

Pujols has been dealing with a sore elbow for more than a year. The good news for the St. Louis Cardinals is that the injury doesn’t seem to be limiting Pujols too much. He remains one of the best, if not the best, hitters in the game of baseball.

The reason Pujols is hesitant about the surgery is that he’ll need six to eight months to recover. Even if he has the surgery early in an offseason, he’ll most likely still end up missing game action.

This season with the Cardinals, Pujols is hitting .361 and has 33 homers and 98 RBIs. While he has tough competition for the National League MVP award, Pujols has to be considered the favorite.

Photo: Newscom

Post from: Knuckle Curve

JD Drew was named the MVP of the game, in large part due to his game-tying two-run homer. Even though Albert Pujols was on his side, Brad Lidge gave up the winning sacrifice fly. Here is a video of Lidge talking about giving up the winning run:

Post from: Knuckle Curve

1. Boston Red Sox – The defending champions still the best in the business.
2. Tampa Bay Rays – The Rays are starting to look like they are for real.
3. Chicago Cubs – Could the 100-year curse finally be ready to die?
4. Los Angeles Angels – When they get hot, the Angels can beat anyone.
5. St. Louis Cardinals – With Pujols healthy, the Cardinals are good enough.
6. Chicago White Sox – The madder Ozzie Guillen gets, the better they play.
7. Philadelphia Phillies – Does any lineup in the majors have more talent?
8. New York Yankees – The Yankees have too much money to count out.
9. Minnesota Twins – The Twins are hot but it’ll be tough to keep it up.
10. Milwaukee Brewers – Braun and Fielder need to carry the load.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

After the contest, which the Cardinals topped the Cincinnati Reds 7-2, Pujols was diagnosed with a strain calf. Further tests will be performed to determine how long Pujols will be out. Initial reports indicate that St. Louis fears that Pujols will miss a significant amount of games.

Pujols is currently hitting .347 and has 16 homers and 42 RBIs. It’d be a shame if the 28-year-old slugger were to miss a lot of action because he was on pace to have one of the best seasons of his career.

When Pujols is out, the Cardinals will rely on Ryan Ludwick to keep swinging the bat well. The 29-year-old Ludwick has 15 homers, 50 RBIs and is hitting .318.

The Cardinals weren’t expected to have a good season but at 39-27, St. Louis definitely has a chance to make the postseason. That is, obviously, if Pujols can return in a reasonable amount of time.

Photo: Newscom

Post from: Knuckle Curve