:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/3341663/20120921_ter_ar5_210.0.jpg)
Miguel Cabrera wins the American League Most Valuable Player award although Mike Trout was clearly the best player. Using old-school stats to define a new age player, the Baseball Writers of America continued to show how far they are stuck in the past. To drive home the point that the idiots responsible for picking the MVP are, well, idiots, one writer had Trout listed third on his ballot!
Named in the top spot on just 6 ballots, Trout finished much lower than the weeks-long debate would have indicated. Cabrera won the triple crown, something that hasn't been done since 1967, but Trout's season was one that has NEVER been accomplished in the history of baseball. No player has hit 30HR while scoring more than 125 runs and stealing more than 45 bases.
| Player, Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miguel Cabrera, Tigers | 22 | 6 | 362 | ||||||||
| Mike Trout, Angels | 6 | 21 | 1 | 281 | |||||||
| Adrian Beltre, Rangers | 1 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 210 | |||||
| Robinson Cano, Yankees | 6 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 149 | |||
| Josh Hamilton, Rangers | 3 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 127 | |||
| Adam Jones, Orioles | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 124 | |||
| Derek Jeter, Yankees | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 73 | ||
| Justin Verlander, Tigers | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 58 | ||||
| Prince Fielder, Tigers | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 56 | ||||
| Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 41 | ||||
| Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays | 2 | 5 | 6 | 33 | |||||||
| David Price, Rays | 1 | 3 | 1 | 26 | |||||||
| Fernando Rodney, Rays | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 24 | ||||||
| Jim Johnson, Orioles | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 22 | ||||||
| Alex Rios, White Sox | 1 | 5 | 1 | 17 | |||||||
| Josh Reddick, Athletics | 2 | 1 | 2 | 14 | |||||||
| Albert Pujols, Angels | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |||||||
| Ben Zobrist, Rays | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |||||||
| Joe Mauer, Twins | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||||||||
| Rafael Soriano, Yankees | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||
| Matt Wieters, Orioles | 1 | 4 | |||||||||
| Felix Hernandez, Mariners | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Jered Weaver, Angels | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Raul Ibanez, Yankees | 1 | 1 |