Sabermetric MVP (NL): Pujols wins, but not in a landslide
Albert Pujols is supposed to win the NL MVP award today in a landslide. Indeed, he won the Sabermetric Triple Crown and led the senior circuit in some of those "newfangled" stats like Wins Above Replacement and weighted OBA. He even gave something for dino-writers to like, leading in home runs and finishing third in batting average and runs batted in.
Given that the winner is a fait accompli, the only real drama is who will finish second and third. Perhaps our Sabermetric MVP rankings can shed some light, at least on who should be the runners up:
| Rk | Name | Team | WAR | WPA | MVP |
| 1 | Albert Pujols | Cardinals | 8.4 | 8.24 | 16.64 |
| 2 | Prince Fielder | Brewers | 6.8 | 7.79 | 14.59 |
| 3 | Tim Lincecum | Giants | 8.2 | 4.26 | 12.46 |
| 4 | Chase Utley | Phillies | 7.6 | 4.31 | 11.91 |
| 5 | Chris Carpenter | Cardinals | 5.6 | 5.41 | 11.01 |
| 6 | Ryan Howard | Phillies | 4.8 | 6.03 | 10.83 |
| 7 | Joey Votto | Reds | 4.4 | 6.35 | 10.75 |
| 8 | Adrian Gonzalez | Padres | 6.3 | 4.26 | 10.56 |
| 9 | Hanley Ramirez | Marlins | 7.3 | 3.09 | 10.39 |
| 10 | Pablo Sandoval | Giants | 5.2 | 4.71 | 9.91 |
| 11 | Ryan Zimmerman | Nationals | 7.1 | 2.41 | 9.51 |
| 12 | Adam Wainwright | Cardinals | 5.7 | 3.60 | 9.30 |
| 13 | Derrek Lee | Cubs | 5.3 | 3.86 | 9.16 |
| 14 | Dan Haren | Diamondbacks | 6.1 | 2.95 | 9.05 |
| 15 | Ryan Braun | Brewers | 4.8 | 4.23 | 9.03 |
| 16 | Javier Vazquez | Braves | 6.6 | 2.41 | 9.01 |
| 17 | Ubaldo Jimenez | Rockies | 5.7 | 3.16 | 8.86 |
| 18 | Josh Johnson | Marlins | 5.5 | 3.05 | 8.55 |
| 19 | Matt Kemp | Dodgers | 5.0 | 2.86 | 7.86 |
| 20 | Andre Ethier | Dodgers | 2.5 | 5.17 | 7.67 |
| 21 | Raul Ibanez | Phillies | 4.2 | 3.45 | 7.65 |
| 22 | Jair Jurrjens | Braves | 3.9 | 3.35 | 7.25 |
| 23 | Casey Blake | Dodgers | 4.2 | 2.95 | 7.15 |
| 24 | Clayton Kershaw | Dodgers | 4.2 | 2.94 | 7.14 |
| 25 | David Wright | Mets | 3.4 | 3.38 | 6.78 |
With Prince Fielder finishing only two points behind Pujols, perhaps “landslide” is a bit much. High Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum had the second-highest WAR among National Leaguers, but a relatively low WPA dropped him below Fielder, who impacted his team’s chances of winning more than anyone but Pujols. Chase Utley, who had the second-highest WAR of batters, was similarly subpar in WPA to Fielder. The compelling story from a Cardinals’ standpoint is that the team had three finishers in the top 12 (including, obviously, the top spot). Speaking of the Cardinals, the NL’s playoff teams — the Cardinals, Dodgers, Phillies and Rockies — accounted for 11 of the top 25.