Ryan Howard Declared NL MVP [J. Mark English]

From Major League Baseball:

The sheer force of Ryan Howard's gargantuan home runs cannot accurately be measured in speed or total distance, only by the gasps from those watching such a spectacle.

The Baseball Writers Association of America collectively gasped, then stood and applauded on Monday, selecting the Phillies first baseman as the National League's Most Valuable Player.

With 20 first-place votes and 12 second-place votes, Howard defeated last year's NL MVP, the Cardinals' Albert Pujols, by a total of 388 to 347. The Astros' Lance Berkman (230) and the Mets' Carlos Beltran (211) finished third and fourth, respectively.

Howard becomes the second player in Major League Baseball history to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards in consecutive seasons, following Cal Ripken in 1982 and 1983. Fred Lynn (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001) have the even sweeter distinction of winning both awards in their first seasons.

Comment -

It seems appropriate that Howard should win this award. A friend of mine who is a Phillies fan once remarked that Howard must be seeing a chriopractor because he was carrying the full weight of the team on his back.

The Phillies are very lucky to have such a young stud like Howard. Hopefully MVP's, and HR titles are all he will win. Otherwise, the Mets may be looking up at the Phillies in the NL East for a long time to come.