There was quite a bit of debate this year about whether Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander deserved to win the MVP award as well as the Cy Young; two days ago you learned that SB Nation voters gave him our AL Cy Young Award. Three SB Nation voters decided he did deserve it, but that was not enough for a win. The first-place voting, as you see below, was split among five players, and the Blue Jays' Jose Bautista was the winner in a close vote. Both of the top two finishers, Bautista and the Red Sox' Jacoby Ellsbury, got no votes lower than fourth place.
2011 SB Nation Awards: American League MVP
Rob Neyer cast the AL ballot for MVP, in this order:
Ellsbury, Bautista, Miguel Cabrera, Verlander, Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler, Adrian Gonzalez, Robinson Cano, Evan Longoria, Alex GordonHere’s the complete balloting:
| Rank | Name | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Bautista | 10 | 9 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 251 |
| 2 | Jacoby Ellsbury | 7 | 9 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 224 |
| 3 | Miguel Cabrera | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | 172 |
| 4 | Curtis Granderson | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 147 |
| 5 | Justin Verlander | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 142 |
| 6 | Dustin Pedroia | - | - | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | 86 |
| 7 | Ian Kinsler | - | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 74 |
| 8 | Adrian Gonzalez | - | - | - | - | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 57 |
| 9 | Evan Longoria | - | - | 2 | - | 2 | - | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | 51 |
| 10 | Alex Gordon | - | - | - | - | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 33 |
| 11 | Robinson Cano | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 32 |
| 12 | Alex Avila | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 25 |
| 13 | CC Sabathia | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 24 |
| 14 | Ben Zobrist | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 23 |
| 14 | Adrian Beltre | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 | 2 | 23 |
| 16 | Michael Young | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 14 |
| 17 | Mike Napoli | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 12 |
| 18 | Paul Konerko | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | 6 |
| 19 | Jered Weaver | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 4 |
| 20 | Elvis Andrus | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| 21 | James Shields | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| 21 | David Ortiz | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| 21 | Victor Martinez | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| 24 | Brett Gardner | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 24 | Dan Haren | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 24 | Mark Teixeira | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
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