No Surprise Here, Kris Bryant is Your MVP

The Nationals’ Daniel Murphy finished second in the NL, followed by the Dodgers’ Corey Seager. Bryant received 29 of a possible 30 votes.

Trout is the first player to finish in the top three in MVP voting in each of his first five full seasons in the Major Leagues. He joins teammate Albert Pujols and Barry Bonds as the only players in baseball history to finish in the top three in MVP voting in five straight years.

Trout previously was the runner-up to Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and ’13, a unanimous choice for the AL MVP Award in ’14 and the runner-up to Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson in ’15.

In 2013, Bryant was named the top college player, and he followed that by winning top Minor League player in ’14, and last year was named NL Rookie of the Year. This season, Bryant, 24, ranked among the NL leaders in home runs (39), RBIs (102), and slugging percentage (.554), and was first in runs scored (121). His 39 home runs were the most by a Cubs player since Derrek Lee belted 46 in 2005.

There were plenty of in-season highlights. On April 21 in Cincinnati, Bryant went 4-for-6 with two home runs, including a grand slam, and six RBIs. On June 27 at Great American Ball Park, he went 5-for-5 with three home runs, two doubles and six RBIs, becoming the first player in Major League history to record three home runs and two doubles in a game.

The MLB Awards — following league-specific recognition by BBWAA voters, whose ballots are based on regular-season play — include candidates from both leagues (with postseason performance taken into consideration). MLB Awards are based on votes by retired players, broadcasters/reporters, team executives, Society of American Baseball Research members and fans, with each group accounting for 20 percent of the process. Esurance MLB Awards week concludes Friday on MLB Network and MLB.com at 8 p.m. ET. MLB Awards categories include Best Major Leaguer, Hitter, Pitcher, Rookie, Executive and Manager.

MLB.com