IN THE NL: Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants came out on top over the other 4 final contenders: Yadier Molina, Chase Headley, Ryan Braun, and Andrew McCucthen. However, a familiar face to New York fans came out right behind those top 5: Mets 3B David Wright, who hit .306 with 21 HRs and 93 RBI and tied with Nationals' Adam Laroche for the 6 spot. NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey finished tied with Reds 1B Joey Votto for 14th on the final ballot. Congrats to Posey on an award he very much deserved, as there is no way the Giants get anywhere close to the World Series without their MVP catcher.
IN THE AL: Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers unrightfully took home the prize over Angels rookie CF Mike Trout. Surprisingly, it wasn't as close as most people thought with Cabrera taking the first-place votes 22-6 in a shock to all sabermetric fans including myself. Many voters didn't vote for Trout because he and his team failed to make the Postseason while Cabrera's team went to the World Series.
I'm going to use an example Brian Kenny used on MLB Network's Clubhouse Confidential: Many used the beginning of September, when the Angels collapsed, as a tie-breaker between the two. Kenny went back to the Angels-Tigers series in early September. In the first game, Trout went 0-2 but had 2 walks, stole 2 bases, and scored from 2nd on a wild pitch. The next night, Trout went 1-3 with a homer, a stolen base, and robbed Detroit 1B Prince Fielder of a HR to end the game. Also, Trout had the most extra bases in the AL. Obviously, Mike Trout had the better overall season and deserved this special award.
Yankees 2B Robinson Cano as well was in the Top 5, finishing 4th overall in front of Texas CF Josh Hamilton.
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