As expected, Mauer wins MVP

Congratulations go out to Joe Mauer who won the American League MVP award with 27 of the 28 first place votes.

The one surprise of the voting was that Miguel Cabrera – who finished fourth overall – received the other first place vote.  I’d love to see that writer try to defend that vote.

On the Yankees’ front, Mark Teixeira finished second and Derek Jeter rounded out the top three.  Alex Rodriguez came in 10th.

Pedroia and Braun win Rookie of the Year Award

From Ian Browne:

Dustin Pedroia was listed first on 24 of the 28 ballots submitted by two writers in each league city and second on the other four to total 132 points. The Rays' Delmon Young finished second behind Pedroia with 56 points, and the Royals' Brian Bannister tallied 36 to place third in the vote. Pedroia's fellow teammates Daisuke Matsuzaka (12 points) and Hideki Okajima (3) came in fourth and sixth place, respectively. (MLB.com)

From Adam McCalvy:

Ryan Braun was listed first on 17 of 32 ballots, second on 14 and third on one for 128 points, based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system. Tulowitzki was first on 15 ballots and second on the other 17 for 126 points. The two-point differential was the closest in the NL since the current system was adopted in 1980. (MLB.com)

No arguments here.

The AL Cy Young Award will be announced tomorrow, followed by the Manager of the Year Awards on Wednesday and the NL Cy Young Award on Thursday.

The AL and NL MVP Awards will be announced on the 19th and 20th, respectively.