Joey Votto wins 2010 National League MVP award
On Monday 22 November, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto was named the National League’ Most Valuable Player for 2010. The award is voted on annually by the Baseball Writers’ Association
of America (BBWA). Votto received 31 of a possible 32 first place votes for the award. Second place finisher Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals received the other first place vote.
Pujols was able to capture the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards for N.L. first basemen, but Votto’s victory prevented him from capturing his fourth N.L. MVP award.
2010 was Votto’s fourth season in Major League Baseball and his first as an All-Star, being added to the team by fan vote via MLB.com’s Final Vote balloting.
Votto’s rankings for the 2010 season were strong, but he did not rank first in any of the more visible statistics. His .324 batting average ranked second in the N.L, while his home runs
(37) and runs batted in (113) were third. He did lead the N.L. with a slugging percentage of .600 and he finished first in the major leagues with an on-base percentage of .424.
Votto talked about comparing his stats and Pujols at seasons end, "I looked at my numbers and at Albert's numbers, I thought: 'Holy cow! He's beaten me in a lot of them. He beat me in
runs, he beat me in RBIs, home runs, I think a couple others. I beat him in a few of the qualitative stats.”
An additional factor that may have come into play was the fact that Votto’s play contributed to the Reds winning the Central Division of the N.L. The first place finish put the Reds in
the postseason for the first time in 15 years, where the Philadelphia Phillies swept them in three games.
Votto earned $525,000 in 2010 and will be eligible for salary arbitration for the first time this year. He did not have an MVP bonus clause in his contract.
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