Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder finished third in National League MVP balloting today. Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins won the honor in a surprising upset over second-place finisher Matt Holliday of Colorado.
Of the 32 ballots submitted by two writers in each league city, Rollins was listed first on 16, second on seven, third on four, fourth on four and fifth on one for a total of 353 points, based on the tabulation system that rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third and on down to one for 10th.
Holliday's breakdown was 11 first-place votes, 18 seconds, one third, one fourth and one sixth for 336 points.
Fielder gathered the other four first-place votes and finished third with 284 points. Rollins, Holliday and Fielder were the only players on every ballot.
Rollins, 28, who batted .296 and scored 139 runs, was the first player in history with 200 hits (212) and 20 doubles (38), triples (20), home runs (30) and stolen bases (41) in one season. He set a league record for shortstops with 380 total bases, breaking by one the previous mark of the Cubs' Ernie Banks in 1958.
Holliday led the league in batting (.340), RBI (137), hits (216), total bases (386), doubles (50) and extra-base hits (92), including 36 home runs, for the wild-card Rockies, who eventually reached their first World Series. Voting is conducted prior to the start of post-season play.
The 17-point differential between Rollins and Holliday made the 2007 election the 20th closest overall and ninth in the NL since the current format was adopted by the BBWAA in 1938, seven years after taking over the awards.
Prior to then, one writer from each league city voted. The only MVP tie was in the NL in 1979 when first basemen Keith Hernandez of the St. Louis Cardinals and Willie Stargell of the Pittsburgh Pirates each received 216 points.
Fielder led the league with 50 homers and hit .288 with 119 RBI and 109 runs scored.
Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (.268, 47 HR, 136 RBI), the 2006 winner, placed fifth this time behind New York Mets third baseman David Wright (.325, 30 HR, 107 RBI, 113 R). Rounding out the top 10 were Braves third baseman Chipper Jones (.337, 29 HR, 102 RBI, 108 R), San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy (19-6, 2.54 ERA, 240 K in 223⅓ IP), Phillies second baseman Chase Utley (.332, 22 HR, 103 RBI, 104 R), Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols (.327, 32 HR, 103 RBI) and Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez (.332, 29 HR, 81 RBI, 212 H, 125 R). In all, 26 players received votes.
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
