Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton, Astros’ Jose Altuve win MLB MVP Awards

Photos by Allen Kee / ESPN Images(NEW YORK) — One of baseball’s biggest sluggers and one of its shortest stars each claimed their first MVP Award on Thursday night.

In the National League, Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton won one of the tightest MVP races in history. Stanton held off Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto by two points. Stanton hit a league-leading 59 home runs and drove in 132 runs this season.

Stanton was just the sixth player to win the award on a team with a losing record, and the first Marlins player to ever win.

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve received 27 of the 30 first place votes, en route to winning the American League award. Altuve, just 5-feet-6 inches tall, maintained a .346 batting average along with 204 hits, 24 home runs and 81 RBI this year. His Astros won the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Altuve is the second Astros star to win the award, following in the footsteps of first baseman Jeff Bagwell in 1994.

Since 1995, only Altuve, San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant have won the MVP award in the same season their team won the World Series.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, considered the other contender for the AL award, finished in second.

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