NEW YORK, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has been elected player of the year in voting by Major League Baseball players.
Howard, 26, has 58 home runs and 149 runs batted in -- both MLB bests in 2006 -- while hitting .313. The announcement comes the same day Howard was selected the MVP of an all-star series in Japan, in which he hit .556 and led the Major League Baseball team to a five-game sweep.
He also was voted the National League Outstanding Player by other major league players. Chicago White Sox Jermaine Dye took the American League Outstanding Player voting.
Other top awards went to St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, who took the 2006 Players Choice Marvin Miller Man of the Year for on-field performance and community contributions; the Minnesota Twins' Johan Santana, who was voted the AL's outstanding pitcher and the St. Louis Cardinals' Chris Carpenter, who won the NL's outstanding pitcher award.
