New York, NY (My Sportsbook) - St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols has been named the National League's Most Valuable Player, as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Pujols, who won this award in 2005 and is a four-time runner-up, garnered 369 points to outdistance Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard by 61 points. Pujols placed first on 18 of the 32 ballots cast by two writers from each NL city, second on 10 others, third on two, fourth on one and seventh on another.

The 28-year-old Pujols, who was named the Sporting News Player of the Year and the NL's Most Outstanding Player earlier this offseason, finished second to Atlanta's Chipper Jones in the NL batting race, hitting .357 with 37 home runs and 116 runs batted in during the 2008 season, and did so while playing with a torn ligament in his right elbow.

Pujols' 104 walks, .462 on-base percentage and 1.115 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) were all career-highs. He is also the only major leaguer to hit at least 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs in each of his first eight seasons.

This marks the 16th time a Cardinals player has been honored. Their total of MVP winners is the most in the NL and second only to the New York Yankees' 20 MVPs in the American League.

Howard picked up 12 first-place votes, eight second-place tallies, six third, one fifth, one sixth, and two seventh-place votes for a total of 308, based on a tabulation system that rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third on down to one for 10th.

Milwaukee's Ryan Braun finished third with 139 points in the voting.

Details to follow.