Blue Jays' Donaldson, Nationals' Harper Win MVP Awards
by Russell Preston, KHTK Sacramento
After two huge seasons, former Oakland Athletics third baseman (current Toronto Blue Jays third baseman) Josh Donaldson and Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper have won the American League and National League Most Valuable Player awards.
Judging by the vote tally, it wasn't even close. Harper, 23, was voted first on all 30 ballots to become the third-youngest MVP winner ever (he was still 22 years old by the time the season ended). His 420 points beat out Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (234 points) and Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds (175 points).
Donaldson, however, had a closer race than Harper over in the NL, but it was still a clear decision. His 23 first place votes gave him a 385-304 advantage over former MVP Mike Trout of the Angels. Kansas City Royals' Lorenzo Cain took third with 225 points after a breakout season.
Harper had a monster season from beginning to end. His 42 home runs tied him for most in the NL with Nolan Arenado and his .330 batting average, .460 on-base percentage, .649 slugging percentage and 1.109 OPS were nearly unbeatable (only Dee Gordon had a higher BA with .333). His 9.5 WAR - according to Fangraphs - was tops in the league, still ahead of Trout's 9.0 in the AL.
Donaldson still had a great season too, his 8.7 WAR, 41 home runs and 123 RBI were second, third and first in the AL respectively. He has been in the MVP debate for the past three years, finishing fourth in 2013, eighth in 2014 and finally taking home the hardware in 2015.