BONDS WINS 7th NL MVP, 4th YEAR IN A ROW
For release Monday, Nov. 15; do not move on wires before 2 p.m., EST
San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds continued his dominance in Most Valuable Player Award balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America by winning the National League election for the seventh time, including the fourth consecutive season. No other player in either league has won the award more than three times or more than two years in a row.
Bonds, who won his second batting title and was the first player in history with an on-base percentage above .600, was listed first on 24 of the 32 ballots cast by two writers in each NL city, second on seven and third on one to total 407 points, based on a tabulation system that rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third and on down to one for 10th.
By hitting .362, Bonds raised his career batting average from .297 to .300. He scored 129 runs, the second highest total in the league, and drove in 101 while slugging 45 home runs to push his career total to 703, trailing only Henry Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) on the all-time list. Bonds' .609 on-base average broke his previous mark of .584 in 2002. He also shattered his own records for walks (232) and intentional walks (120) in a season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' Adrian Beltre, who tied Mike Schmidt's record for home runs in a season by a third baseman with 48, received six first-place votes and finished with a runner-up score of 311 points. Beltre ranked fourth in batting (.344), runs batted in (121) and slugging (.629) in helping Los Angeles win the NL West title. It was the third second-place finish for a Dodgers player since they last had an MVP with Kirk Gibson in 1988. Catcher Mike Piazza was the runner-up in 1996 and '97.
The other two first-place votes were split between two St. Louis teammates, first baseman Albert Pujols (.331, 46 HR, 123 RBI, 133 R, 389 TB) and third baseman Scott Rolen (.314, 34 HR, 124 RBI), who finished third and fourth, respectively. Pujols, who was second to Bonds in 2002 and '03, has finished fourth, second twice and third in MVP balloting in his four years in the majors.
Cardinals center fielder Jim Edmonds (.301, 42 HR, 111 RBI) was fifth in the balloting, marking the 30th time in both leagues that three players from the same team finished in the top five and the first time since the NL vote of 1993 when the Atlanta Braves had David Justice third, Fred McGriff fourth and Ron Gant fifth.
Rounding out the top 10 were Braves right fielder J.D. Drew (.305, 31 HR, 93 RBI), Houston Astros right fielder Lance Berkman (.316, 30 HR, 106 RBI), Astros pitcher Roger Clemens (18-4, 2.98 ERA, 218 K in 214 1/3 IP), San Diego Padres second baseman Mark Loretta (.335, 16 HR, 76 RBI) and Chicago Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez (.318, 36 HR, 103 RBI).
Bonds, Beltre and Pujols were the only players named to every ballot. In all, 31 players gained mention.
Bonds, who turned 40 July 24, is the oldest MVP winner. The previous oldest had been Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Willie Stargell, the co-winner in 1979 at age 39. Bonds' four victories plus the 2000 victory of second baseman Jeff Kent makes the Giants the first team to win five consecutive MVPs. The New York Yankees won four consecutive American League MVP Awards twice with Yogi Berra in 1954 and '55 and Mickey Mantle in '56 and '57 and with Roger Maris in 1960 and '61, Mantle in '62 and Elston Howard in '63.
In addition to Bonds and Kent, other Giants winners were Carl Hubbell in 1933 and '36, Willie Mays in 1954 and '65, Willie McCovey in 1969 and Kevin Mitchell in 1989. The Giants' 12 MVPs are second in the NL behind only the Cardinals' 14. The Yankees' 18 victories in the AL are the most overall.
The vote:
| Player | Club | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points |
| BARRY BONDS | San Francisco Giants | 24 | 7 | 1 | 407 | |||||||
| ADRIAN BELTRE | Los Angeles Dodgers | 6 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 311 | ||||||
| ALBERT PUJOLS | St. Louis Cardinals | 1 | 1 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 247 | ||||
| SCOTT ROLEN | St. Louis Cardinals | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 226 | ||||
| JIM EDMONDS | St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 160 | ||||
| J.D. DREW | Atlanta Braves | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 114 | ||||
| LANCE BERKMAN | Houston Astros | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 100 | ||||
| ROGER CLEMENS | Houston Astros | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 61 | |||
| MARK LORETTA | San Diego Padres | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 50 | ||||
| ARAMIS RAMIREZ | Chicago Cubs | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 42 | ||||
| ERIC GAGNE | Los Angeles Dodgers | 3 | 3 | 1 | 30 | |||||||
| CARLOS BELTRAN | Houston Astros | 1 | 1 | 3 | 20 | |||||||
| JEFF KENT | Houston Astros | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18 | |||||
| STEVE FINLEY | Los Angeles/Arizona | 1 | 2 | 1 | 15 | |||||||
| MOISES ALOU | Chicago Cubs | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 | |||||||
| JUAN PIERRE | Florida Marlins | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | |||||||
| TODD HELTON | Colorado Rockies | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | |||||||
| JOHNNY ESTRADA | Atlanta Braves | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||||||||
| RANDY JOHNSON | Arizona D-backs | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |||||||
| JIM THOME | Philadelphia Phillies | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||||||||
| JOHN SMOLTZ | Atlanta Braves | 1 | 6 | |||||||||
| MIGUEL CABRERA | Florida Marlins | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||||||||
| ARMANDO BENITEZ | Flo rida Marlins | 1 | 3 | |||||||||
| JEROMY BURNITZ | Colorado Rockies | 1 | 3 | |||||||||
| BOBBY ABREU | Philadelphia Phillies | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||
| VINNY CASTILLA | Colorado Rockies | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||
| ROY OSWALT | Houston Astros | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||
| ADAM DUNN | Cincinnati Reds | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| CARLOS ZAMBRANO | Chicago Cubs | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| PHIL NEVIN | San Diego Padres | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| JIMMY ROLLINS | Philadelphia Phillies | 1 | 1 |
Previous winners (*—Unanimous):
2003 BARRY BONDS, San Francisco Giants;
2002 *BARRY BONDS, San Francisco Giants;
2001 BARRY BONDS, San Francisco Giants;
2000 JEFF KENT, San Francisco Giants;
1999 CHIPPER JONES, Atlanta Braves;
1998 SAMMY SOSA, Chicago Cubs;
1997 LARRY WALKER, Colorado Rockies;
1996 *KEN CAMINITI, San Diego Padres;
1995 BARRY LARKIN, Cincinanti Reds;
1994 *JEFF BAGWELL, Houston Astros;
1993 BARRY BONDS, San Francisco Giants;
1992 BARRY BONDS, Pittsburgh Pirates;
1991 TERRY PENDLETON, Atlanta Braves;
1990 BARRY BONDS, Pittsburgh Pirates;
1989 KEVIN MITCHELL, San Francisco Giants;
1988 KIRK GIBSON, Los Angeles Dodgers;
1987 ANDRE DAWSON, Chicago Cubs;
1986 MIKE SCHMIDT, Philadelphia Phillies;
1985 WILLIE McGEE, St. Louis Cardinals;
1984 RYNE SANDBERG, Chicago Cubs;
1983 DALE MURPHY, Atlanta Braves;
1982 DALE MURPHY, Atlanta Braves;
1981 MIKE SCHMIDT, Philadelphia Phillies;
1980 *MIKE SCHMIDT, Philadelphia Phillies;
1979 (Tie) KEITH HERNANDEZ, St. Louis Cardinals, and WILLIE STARGELL, Pittsburgh Pirates;
1978 DAVE PARKER, Pittsburgh Pirates;
1977 GEORGE FOSTER, Cincinnati Reds;
1976 JOE MORGAN, Cincinnati Reds;
1975 JOE MORGAN, Cincinnati Reds;
1974 STEVE GARVEY, Los Angeles Dodgers;
1973 PETE ROSE, Cincinnati Reds;
1972 JOHNNY BENCH, Cincinnati Reds;
1971 JOE TORRE, St. Louis Cardinals;
1970 JOHNNY BENCH, Cincinnati Reds;
1969 WILLIE McCOVEY, San Francisco Giants;
1968 BOB GIBSON, St. Louis Cardinals;
1967 *ORLANDO CEPEDA, St. Louis Cardinals;
1966 ROBERTO CLEMENTE, Pittsburgh Pirates;
1965 WILLIE MAYS, San Francisco Giants;
1964 KEN BOYER, St. Louis Cardinals;
1963 SANDY KOUFAX, Los Angeles Dodgers;
1962 MAURY WILLS, Los Angeles Dodgers;
1961 FRANK ROBINSON, Cincinnati Reds;
1960 DICK GROAT, Pittsburgh Pirates;
1959 ERNIE BANKS, Chicago Cubs;
1958 ERNIE BANKS, Chicago Cubs;
1957 HENRY AARON, Milwaukee Braves;
1956 DON NEWCOMBE, Brooklyn Dodgers;
1955 ROY CAMPANELLA, Brooklyn Dodgers;
1954 WILLIE MAYS, New York Giants;
1953 ROY CAMPANELLA, Brooklyn Dodgers;
1952 HANK SAUER, Chicago Cubs;
1951 ROY CAMPANELLA, Brooklyn Dodgers;
1950 JIM KONSTANTY, Philadelphia Phillies;
1949 JACKIE ROBINSON, Brooklyn Dodgers;
1948 STAN MUSIAL, St. Louis Cardinals;
1947 BOB ELLIOT, Boston Braves;
1946 STAN MUSIAL, St. Louis Cardinals;
1945 PHIL CAVARRETTA, Chicago Cubs;
1944 MARTY MARION, St. Louis Cardinals;
1943 STAN MUSIAL, St. Louis Cardinals;
1942 MORT COOPER, St. Louis Cardinals;
1941 DOLPH CAMILLI, Brooklyn Dodgers;
1940
FRANK McCORMICK, Cincinnati Reds;
1939 BUCKY WALTERS, Cincinnati Reds;
1938 ERNIE LOMBARDI, Cincinnati Reds;
1937 JOE MEDWICK, St. Louis Cardinals;
1936 CARL HUBBELL, New York Giants;
1935 GABBY HARTNETT, Chicago Cubs;
1934 DIZZY DEAN, St. Louis Cardinals;
1933 CARL HUBBELL, New York Giants;
1932 CHUCK KLEIN, Philadelphia Phillies;
1931 FRANKIE FRISCH, St. Louis Cardinals