NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Houston second baseman Jose Altuve, who helped the Astros capture their first World Series title, joined Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton in taking a first Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player award on Thursday.
Altuve, a 27-year-old Venezuelan, was a runaway American League MVP winner in voting by a media panel while Stanton, an American who turned 28 last week, edged Cincinnati’s Joey Votto for the National League award by two votes, the fourth-closest balloting in MVP history.
“This is unbelievable,” Stanton said. “The ups and downs of my career and everything that has happened. I’m just so thankful and appreciative to everyone around me, everyone who has pushed me, everyone that has been by my side.”
Altuve had 405 total points and 27 of 30 first-place votes with New York Yankees star Aaron Judge, the AL Rookie of the Year, taking two first-place votes and 279 points as runner-up.
“I don’t know what to say,” Altuve said. “I wasn’t expecting this. This is great.”
Voters submitted ballots at the end of the regular-season so Altuve’s masterful playoff numbers were not a factor in the outcome. The South American star hit seven home runs and drove in 14 runs over 24 games.
Altuve, who made his fifth All-Star team this season, won his third career batting title and second in a row, leading the major leaguers with a .346 batting average.
Altuve led the AL with 204 hits, becoming the first major league player to lead the category outright for four consecutive seasons, and hit 24 home runs, drove in 81 runs and stole 32 bases. He led the major leagues with 59 multi-hit games and 23 games with three or more hits.
His stellar season included major-league best batting averages of .441 in late-game and clutch situations, .421 in games against National League clubs and .381 in road games.
Altuve joined slugger Jeff Bagwell, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year, as the only MVPs in the Astros’ 56-year history.
At 5-foot-6 (1.67m), Altuve matched 1950 winner Phil Rizzuto, a New York Yankees shortstop, and 1952 winner Bobby Shantz, a pitcher for the then-Philadelphia Athletics, as the shortest players to take the AL MVP award.
Stanton became the first Miami Marlins player to win an MVP award with 302 votes to 300 for Votto after each received 10 first-place ballots. Arizona slugger Paul Goldschmidt was third with 229 points and four first-place votes.
Stanton led the major leagues with 59 homers and 132 runs batted in while batting .281.
Votto, the 2010 MVP, batted .320 with 36 homers and 100 RBIs and led the National League with 134 walks.
© Agence France-Presse
