Christian Petersen
The Giants' catcher wins in a landslide
In May, 2011, it was an open question as to whether Buster Posey would ever play again. At this time last year, it was still an open question as to whether he would ever catch again. But even the most optimistic observer couldn't have predicted what happened 18 months later: Posey took the 2012 Most Valuable Player Award in the National League, winning with 27 first-place votes out of 32 ballots.
Posey batted .336/.408/.549 with 24 homers and 103 RBI for the Giants in 2012, and he did it in a season when AT&T Park was the most extreme pitchers' park in baseball. He's the third Giant to win the MVP since 2000, and the Giants have won the award for the sixth time in the last 13 years. Which sounds more impressive before you realize the first five of those were from 2000 to 2004.
Last year's winner, Ryan Braun, finished in second place, finishing with the highest OPS in the league. He hit .319/.391/.595 with a league-leading 41 home runs.
Andrew McCutchen didn't pick up a first-place vote, but he was the third-place finisher. The Pirates' center fielder was the frontrunner when his team was in contention, but as the team's fortunes fell, so did McCutchen's MVP chances. Which makes no sense. But you've read enough of those arguments, I'm sure.
The award for goofiest vote goes to Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com, who voted for Hunter Pence #10, just a spot behind Alfonso Soriano. RBI!
The full voting:
| Player, Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buster Posey, Giants | 27 | 4 | 1 | 422 | |||||||
| Ryan Braun, Brewers | 3 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 285 | ||||||
| Andrew McCutchen, Pirates | 6 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 245 | |||||
| Yadier Molina, Cardinals | 2 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 241 | ||||
| Chase Headley, Padres | 1 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 127 | ||||
| David Wright,Mets | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 86 | ||||
| Adam LaRoche, Nationals | 6 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 86 | |||||
| Craig Kimbrel, Braves | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 73 | |||
| Aramis Ramirez, Brewers | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 47 | |||||
| Jay Bruce, Reds | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 46 | |||||
| Matt Holliday, Cardinals | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 34 | ||||
| Aroldis Chapman, Reds | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 20 | |||||
| Brandon Phillips, Reds | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18 | ||||||
| Joey Votto, Reds | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 16 | ||||||
| R.A. Dickey, Mets | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 16 | ||||||
| Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers | 3 | 1 | 1 | 15 | |||||||
| Ian Desmond, Nationals | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 15 | ||||||
| Michael Bourn, Braves | 1 | 2 | 12 | ||||||||
| Allen Craig, Cardinals | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||||||||
| Gio Gonzalez, Nationals | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||||||||
| Alfonso Soriano, Cubs | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |||||||
| Kris Medlen, Braves | 2 | 8 | |||||||||
| Martin Prado, Braves | 2 | 1 | 8 | ||||||||
| Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||||||||
| Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||||||||
| Carlos Beltran, Cardinals | 1 | 6 | |||||||||
| Aaron Hill, Diamondbacks | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||||||||
| Carlos Ruiz, Phillies | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||
| Jason Heyward, Braves | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||
| Johnny Cueto, Reds | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Bryce Harper, Nationals | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Chipper Jones, Braves | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Miguel Montero, Marlins | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Angel Pagan, Giants | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Hunter Pence, Giants | 1 | 1 |
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