Albert Pujols wins NL MVP – will he return it?
Albert Pujols is your 2008 NL MVP, but as Home Run Derby points out, maybe he should return it following his comments about Ryan Howard in 2006.
In 2006, Ryan Howard won the National League Most Valuable Player Award … prompting runner-up Albert Pujols to say the following …
“I see it this way: Someone who doesn’t take his team to the playoffs doesn’t deserve to win the MVP“
Pujols had the sour grapes in 2006 after leading his St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series Championship while Howard’s Philadelphia Phillies didn’t make the playoffs.
Fast Forward to today … Albert Pujols won the 2008 NL MVP, beating out runner-up Ryan Howard. Howard’s Phillies won the World Series while Pujols’ Cardinals didn’t make the playoffs.
OOPS. You can’t write this stuff any better.
I would love to hear Pujols say “I really don’t deserve this” when he accepts the award. Even though I think Pujols is 100 times more deserving of the 2008 NL MVP than Ryan Howard.
Congratulations to Albert on a fantastic season – and for letting his words come back and bite him in the ass.
I would love to see Pujols man up and return the award. Not necessarily because he doesn’t deserve it, but simply to back up his words with some action.
Jamey you are a retard, he’s not returning his award. What you idiots don’t know is he smashed ryan coward in every statistical category except homers and rbi. He hit .357 over 100 points higher than Howard, Had a 462 obp, 660 something slug%, and fielded .998 so if you still think Howard played better all around ball your still a Douche bag. Did i mention Ryan Howard also struck out 199 times to pujols’s less than 60? Look howards not as important to his team. An rbi comes when you drive someone in. To do that you need someone on base. Look at the Phillies lineup and look at STL. It speaks for itself and its common sense. A kid in a wheelchair can play 1st in Philly!
Hey Todd, nobody here said Howard deserved the award more than Pujols; we’re just talking about AP’s claim a couple years ago that Howard didn’t deserve the award because his team didn’t make the playoffs. If that’s the case, doesn’t it stand to reason that Pujols doesn’t think he deserves the award because the Cards missed the playoffs? Obviously, nobody is expecting him to return the award, but it would be a great story if he elected to back up his words with some action. As it stands, he just looks like a hypocrite.
And thanks so much for the numbers breakdown. Any knucklehead with an internet connection has access to those stats, but we’re so grateful for your unique and insightful analysis.
You’ve got to learn how to read and interpret, Todd. The entire post is about Pujols’ comments regarding Howard and the MVP trophy a few years ago – not who deserved it more.