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.

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Joe Mauer, the catcher for the Twins, didn’t catch a whole bunch of attention in 2009 but he had one of the best seasons ever for a player at his position. He hit .365, had an on-base percentage of .444, a slugging percentage of .587 and an OPS of 1.031. His more tradition stats were stout as well — 28 homers, 96 RBIs, 94 runs and 30 doubles.

The 26-year-old from St. Paul, Minnesota set career-highs in homers, RBIs, batting average, on-base percentage and OPS. The only possible case you can make against him is the fact that he missed the first month of the season due to a back injury. But game for game, there’s no one in the American League that can sniff his production.

We’ll find out if the attention that Jeter and Teixeira got this season will beat out Mauer’s true value. Hopefully not, for baseball’s sake.

Here's the 2009 AL MVP in Action (Image: Zuma Press)

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In the second inning, Carpenter came to the plate with the bases loaded. The result? Carpenter hit a grand slam to put the Cardinals up 5-0. But he wasn’t done. In the fifth inning, Carpenter hit a two-run double. He finished the contest 2-for-3 with six RBIs.

On the mound, Carpenter went five scoreless innings and gave up only three hits and one walk while striking out six batters. St. Louis ended up winning the ballgame by a final count of 13-0. Carpenter’s outing upped his record to 17-4 and lowered his ERA to 2.24.

Commented Carpenter: “That was one of the funner days I’ve ever had.”

This extra publicity might give Carpenter an edge in the NL Cy Young Award race. He currently leads the NL in ERA and his wins are second to teammate Adam Wainwright. If he wins it, it’d be the second Cy Young Award of Carpenter’s career.

Chris Carpenter - St. Louis Cardinals (Image: Zuma Press)

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In seven innings, Greinke gave up only one earned run while striking out eight batters. The win improved his record to 16-8 and lowered his ERA to 2.06. His ERA is the lowest by any starting pitcher in the majors. And his record is impressive considering that the Royals are 64-92 on the season.

In the month of September, Greinke has allowed only two earned runs in 33 innings of work. Going back to the end of August, Greinke has given up only two earned runs in his last 42 innings.

For the Twins, this was a big loss. They trail the Detroit Tigers by only two games in the AL Central. But beating Greinke — as many teams can attest — is no simple task.

Zack Greinke - 2009 American League Cy Young Award (Image: Zuma Press)

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Here are the KnuckleCurve 2009 MLB awards predictions:

Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins

American League Rookie of the Year
Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles

American League Manager of the Year
Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels

American League Cy Young
Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins

American League MVP
Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox

National League Rookie of the Year
James McDonald, Los Angeles Dodgers

National League Manager of the Year
Bob Melvin, Arizona Diamondbacks

National League Cy Young
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

National League MVP
Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

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Henderson was able to get in on his first time on the ballot, while Rice got in on his final time on the ballot. They will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame in July in Cooperstown, New York.

Here is the final voting numbers for the 2009 Hall of Fame:

Rickey Henderson – 511 votes – 94.8%
Jim Rice – 412 – 76.4%
Andre Dawson – 361 – 67.0%
Bert Blyleven – 338 – 62.7%
Lee Smith – 240 – 44.5%
Jack Morris – 237 – 44.0%
Tommy John -171 – 31.7
Tim Raines – 122 – 22.6%
Mark McGwire – 118 – 21.9%
Alan Trammell – 94 – 17.4%
Dave Parker – 81 – 15.0%
Don Mattingly – 64 – 11.9%
Dale Murphy – 62 – 11.5%
Harold Baines – 32 – 5.9%
Mark Grace – 22 – 4.1%
David Cone – 21 – 3.9%
Matt Williams – 7 – 1.3%
Mo Vaughn – 6 – 1.1%
Jay Bell – 2 – 0.4%
Jesse Orosco – 1 – 0.2%

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Players Who Will Be In The Hall
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Rickey Henderson
Tim Raines

Players Who Won’t Be In The Hall
Harold Baines
Jay Bell
David Cone
Ron Gant
Mark Grace
Tommy John
Don Mattingly
Mark McGwire
Jack Morris
Dale Murphy
Jesse Orosco
Dave Parker
Dan Plesac
Jim Rice
Lee Smith
Alan Trammell
Greg Vaughn
Mo Vaughn
Matt Williams

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Pedroia, the second baseman for the Boston Red Sox, handily won the award by beating out Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins and his teammate Kevin Youkilis. Pedroia not only was very good in the field, at the plate he was one of the most dangerous players in the AL.

He finished the season with a .326 batting average and 17 homers, 83 RBIs, 118 runs scored and 213 hits. The 25-year-old improved his numbers across the board in his second full season in the big leagues.

Morneau, the first baseman for the Minnesota Twins, also had a really good season. He finished 2008 with a .300 batting average to go with 23 homers, 129 RBIs and 97 runs scored. Fellow first baseman Youkilis had 29 homers, 115 RBI to go along with a batting average of .312.

However, when it was all said and done, the big award in the American League was won by the smallest candidate.

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When looking at Lee’s numbers, it’s difficult to keep your jaw from hitting the floor. He had a record of 22-3 to go along with a 2.54 ERA and a microscopic WHIP of 1.11. He also had 170 strikeouts and only 33 walks in 223.1 innings pitched.

The 30-year-old Lee had by far his best season in 2008. In 2007, Lee had a 6.29 ERA and a record of 5-8. In fact, in his previous four seasons, he only had one campaign with an ERA under 4.00.

Second place in the AL Cy Young Award balloting was Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Roy Halladay. Halladay, who already has a Cy Young Award to his name, finished 20-11 with a 2.78 ERA.

Lee finished with 24 first place votes, while Halladay got four. Lee joins National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.

Photo credit: Newscom

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On the season, Lincecum went 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA. He also struck out 265 batters in 227 innings pitched. Throw in a WHIP of 1.17 and it’s no wonder how Lincecum was able to win the NL Cy Young Award.

Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks finished second and Johan Santana of the New York Mets finished third, while Brad Lidge, CC Sabathia and Ryan Dempster round out the top six. Lincecum received 23 first place votes — far and away the most.

The generously listed 5-foot-11 Giants pitcher is the unquestioned ace of San Francisco’s pitching rotation and has replaced Barry Bonds as the face of the franchise.

Photo credit: Newscom

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