The MLB Most Valuable Player awards were handed out on Thursday, with Bryce Harper winning in the National League and Josh Donaldson winning the award in the American League. Harper was a unanimous winner in the NL over Paul Goldschmidt and Joey Votto, while Donaldson won over Mike Trout and Lorenzo Cain.
The Baseball Writers' Association of America announced the award winners, with Harper taking all of the first place votes in the National League. Harper took all 30 first place votes to win the award, while Donaldson had 23 first place votes to beat out Trout, who finished with the other seven. Trout put up strong numbers this season, but Donaldson beat him out with 41 home runs and 123 RBI.
Harper and Donaldson came into the offseason as the expected winners of the awards and the voting reflected that. Harper put up historic numbers for a player his age, finishing the season with 42 home runs and a .330 batting average. Harper was healthy throughout the season and set a career high with 153 games played and according to ESPN.com, he is the youngest MVP winner in the National League since Johnny Bench won it in 1970.
Donaldson became the first Blue Jays player to win the award since George Bell won the award in 1987. Donaldson was traded from the Oakland Athletics to the Blue Jays in the offseason and he helped lead Toronto to the postseason for the first time in over a decade. Donaldson ranked third in the majors in WAR and also played strong defense at third base.