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| FILE - In this Saturday, June 13, 2015 file photo, Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper hits an RBI single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Milwaukee. Bryce Harper has become the youngest unanimous MVP winner in baseball history, capturing the NL award during a season in which his Washington Nationals missed the playoffs. Harper got all 30 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America in results announced Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015. |
NEW YORK
(AP) -- Bryce Harper became the youngest unanimous MVP winner in
baseball history Thursday, capturing the NL award despite his Washington
Nationals missing the playoffs.
Josh
Donaldson took the AL MVP, earning the honor after helping boost the
Toronto Blue Jays back into the postseason for the first time since
1993.
Harper turned 23 on Oct. 16, after the
playoffs had already started. He got all 30 first-place votes from
members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
The
2012 NL Rookie of the Year led the majors in slugging percentage and
on-base average. The outfielder hit .330 with 42 home runs and 99 RBIs.
Harper
was the first player from a Washington franchise to win an MVP - no one
on the original or expansion Senators or Nats had done it.
Harper
was the fourth-youngest player overall to win an MVP, with Stan Musial,
Johnny Bench and Vida Blue also 22 but not quite as old.
Arizona
first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was second in the voting and Cincinnati
first baseman Joey Votto was third. Yoenis Cespedes, acquired by the
Mets from Detroit at the July 31 trade deadline, finished 13th.
Harper
put aside his injury problems from recent seasons and put up huge
numbers. The banged-up Nationals didn't do nearly so well, starting the
season as World Series favorites and finishing far out of contention.
Harper
missed a lot of games in 2013 after a pair of run-ins with walls, then
was sidelined for much of 2014 following a headfirst slide that hurt his
thumb.
This year, Harper reported to spring training with one goal - the only number he focused on was games played.
Harper
finished with a .649 slugging percentage and a .460 on-base average. He
went into the final day of the regular season with a chance to win the
NL batting title - Miami's Dee Gordon edged him - and scored a
league-leading 118 runs.
The three-time
All-Star also continued to draw fans in the Washington area and beyond.
His constantly changing hairstyles are always getting attention and the
selfie he took in the outfield before a game at Nationals Park this
season boosted his popularity even more.
His hitting, though, is what makes him so special.
"You
could see throughout the season what this guy meant to this ballclub.
And don't forget, this guy carried us throughout the whole season,"
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Wednesday.
"Every
team that we played circled his name and said, 'This guy's not going to
beat us.' And with that said, he beat a lot of teams. So it was a
remarkable season. As we said at this time last year, I thought that
'Harp' was just scratching the surface of what he can be."
Donaldson
received 23 first-place votes. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout
got the other first-place votes finished second for the third time - he
won the award last year. Kansas City outfielder Lorenzo Cain was third.
Donaldson led the AL with 123 RBIs and topped the majors by scoring 122 runs. He hit 41 home runs and batted .297.
Traded
from Oakland to Toronto last offseason, Donaldson joined a power-packed
lineup that included Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. The Blue Jays
battered their way to the AL East title and led the majors in runs and
homers, with Donaldson leading the way.
"I
feel like I was able to take advantage of the opportunities put in front
of me," Donaldson said on the MLB Network telecast of the awards.
Donaldson joined George Bell (1987) as the only Toronto players to win the MVP.
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