Ryan Howard of Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies has been voted the National League's Most Valuable Player, beating out Saint Louis slugger Albert Pujols in a close race.
Howard received 20 of 32 first-place votes and 12 second place votes for 388 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America announced Monday. Pujols got 12 first place votes and 19 for second to total 347 votes. Lance Berkman of the Houston Astros was a distant third with 230 points.
Howard, who was also the National League's "Rookie of the Year" in 2005, led the major leagues with 58 home runs and 149 runs batted in, with a 313 batting average.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.