Joey Votto was named the National League Most Valuable Player today in a landslide vote, with Albert Pujols finishing second and Carlos Gonzalez third. Votto grabbed 31 of the 32 first place votes (Pujols got the other) while three Phillies finished in the Top 10.
Roy Halladay received one second place vote and three third place votes to finish sixth with 130 points. In eighth place was Jayson Werth; his highest vote was a fifth rounder. Werth had 52 points. Ryan Howard was 10th with 50 points, however, he grabbed a second place vote and a third place vote, a bit of a surprise. Catcher Carlos Ruiz even took home three votes to place 17th. Congrats to Chooch.
It’s good to see Halladay get some recognition, but you could make an argument he could have finished even higher; the next closest pitcher in the vote standings was Adam Wainwright who placed 19th. Halladay’s performance this season was MVP-worth on so many levels. He kept his team in countless games throughout the year and could have finished with more than 21 wins had his offense not let him down.
The writers got it right with Votto taking home the award, but certainly Halladay could have finished in a better spot.
