Mike Trout named AL MVP, Jose Altuve finishes 3rd

(Getty Images)

HOUSTON – Mike Trout and Kris Bryant won the American League and National League MVP awards on Thursday.

The AL MVP win was Trout's second in three years, after winning in 2014. The 25-year-old Angels outfielder has finished no lower than second in MVP voting in each year since his 2012 Rookie of the Year season.

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Trout received 19 first place votes to nine for Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts, who finished second. Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve finished in third place in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Trout batted .315 with 39 home runs, 100 RBIs and 30 steals. He led the majors in WAR at 10.6, making him the only MLB player in double digits, and also led the majors in runs scored, walks and OPB. He finished second in the AL in OPS and stolen bases, fourth in slugging and fifth in batting average.

Altuve was already named the Sporting News Player of the Year.

Bryant, 24, was nearly a unanimous pick in the National League, earning 29 out of 30 first-place votes to easily beat out Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy, who received the other first-place vote and finished second overall, and Los Angeles Dodgers rookie shortstop Corey Seager, who finished third.

The Chicago Cubs third baseman/outfielder's MVP season comes a year after he won Rookie of the Year.

Bryant hit for a .292 average with 39 home runs, 102 RBIs and a league-leading 120 runs scored. He also had an NL-best 7.2 WAR and finished third in the NL in home runs and total bases, and fourth in OPS and slugging.

While Bryant helped the Cubs to their first World Series title since 1908, the Angels finished fourth in the AL West despite Trout's performance. That makes Trout the first MVP from a losing team since Alex Rodriguez won in 2003 for the Texas Rangers.

Meanwhile, Bryant's award makes him the youngest player to win a World Series and MVP in the same season since Cal Ripken Jr. did so in 1983.