Pujols voted NL's most valuable

NEW YORK, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols was unanimously voted his third National League Most Valuable Player Award in five seasons, it was announced Tuesday.

Pujols, who helped the Cardinals to a 91-71 record and the NL Central Division pennant, was first on all 32 MVP ballots, easily outdistancing runner-up Hanley Ramirez of Florida and third-place finisher Ryan Howard of Philadelphia.

Pujols led the majors with 47 home runs and 124 runs. His .327 batting average was third in the National League and his 135 runs batted in was the third-best total in the majors. Most of his marks in the major categories were better than 2008, when he was also voted most valuable player.

In addition to last season, Pujols won NL MVP honors in 2005 and was the runner-up in 2002, 2003 and 2006. He is among eight players, including St. Louis legend Stan Musial, who have been their league's MVP three times. Only Barry Bonds, who was MVP seven times, has won more than three of the awards.

The award is determined by voting by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America representing each National League city.

Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer was a near-unanimous choice for the 2009 AL MVP award, which was announced Monday.