Angels center fielder Mike Trout has been selected the most valuable player of the American League, it was announced Thursday, the second such honor of his already illustrious five-year career.
The 25-year-old has finished first or second in the MVP race for five consecutive seasons.
Trout's statistics were the best in the major leagues in 2016. He hit .315, reached base at a career-high .441 percentage and slugged .550. His overall on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .991 matched his career high, set in 2015. He homered 29 times, drove in 100 runs, and scored 123 times. By advanced metrics like Wins Above Replacement, he was the most valuable player in his league by a significant margin.
Nineteen of the 30 Baseball Writers Association of America voters, two from each of the AL's markets, submitted a ballot beginning with Trout. Eight others listed him second, one third, one fifth and one seventh.
Boston right fielder Mookie Betts finished in second place. He received nine first-place votes and 17 as runner-up. Boston's David Ortiz and Texas' Adrian Beltre were the others to receive a first-place vote, but Houston's Jose Altuve finished third overall because no one ranked him worse than fifth.
Trout has carried a legitimate case for MVP candidacy after every season he's played, but voters had often opted for more traditional power hitters on playoff teams, outweighing his steady defense and base-running value. The Angels won only 74 games this season, 19 fewer than the Red Sox, but voters recognized Trout's statistics.
Asked how he felt about his chances of winning the MVP on Oct. 2, the last day of the 2016 regular season, Trout laughed.
"Obviously we'll find out in a few months," he said. "I prepared myself coming into the spring to have a good year, and it is what it is. I tell myself to be the best player in the league every year. That's one of my goals."
