NL MVP pick: Albert Pujols to win for a second time

November 16, 9:34 AMMLB ExaminerTony DeMarco

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We're down to the final and most-important Baseball Writers Association of America awards -- the two league Most Valuable Players -- with the National League winner to be announced Monday and the American League winner on Tuesday.

 And just so you know, the process works this way: Only two writers from each league city get a ballot. That means 32 voters for the NL award, and 28 for the AL award. The ballots go 10 deep, with points awarded on this basis -- 14 points for first place, nine points for second, eight points for third, and so on down to one point for 10th place.

And remember, only regular-season play counts. With the details out of the way, here's one opinion on the NL MVP:

1) Albert Pujols, St. Louis; 2) Ryan Howard, Philadelphia; 3) Chase Utley, Philadelphia; 4) Lance Berkman, Houston; 5) Ryan Braun, Milwaukee; 6) David Wright, New York; 7) Hanley Ramirez, Florida; 8) Johan Santana, New York; 9) Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles; 10) CC Sabathia, Milwaukee

Pujols' Cardinals were relevant until mid-September, so it's not as if we're talking about an Andre Dawson-1987 scenario, when he was the NL MVP while playing for the last-place Cubs. And everything else about Pujols screams MVP -- namely, hitting .357 when only four others in the game hit better than .307. It's time for the best player in the NL to win his second MVP award.

Sorry Ryan Howard fans; 199 strikeouts and a .251 batting average can lead you to the playoffs, but they are too much to overcome in an MVP race, so the Philies' MVP streak stops at two. But it's not as if they should feel left out, as Chase Utley -- the early-season MVP, is right behind Howard, and you can make a case for Brad Lidge being in the bottom of the top 10.

There are several ways to go with the middle rung of candidates, but Berkman had the best overall offensive season other than Pujols; despite the hype, Braun's full season of contributions meant more to the Brewers' first playoff appearance in 26 years than Sabathia's 17 starts; Hanley Ramirez is the best five-tool talent on this list, and Wright and Santana almost carried the Mets to the playoffs with huge seasons.

The half-seasons of Manny Ramirez and Sabathia truly were remarkable, but putting them any higher than the last two spots in the top 10 takes away from the 150-plus-game contributions of the others. And it's tough to leave a Cub off the list, but who should be here?

UPDATE: THE FINAL VOTING RESULTS