MLB NEWS

MLB Notebook: Harper, Donaldson win MVP awards

The Sports Xchange

November 19, 2015 at 5:46 pm.

Voters left no doubt about the winners of the National and American League Most Valuable Player awards.

The Nats need Bryce Harper (34) to have a big last month in order to make the postseason. (Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)

Bryce Harper (34) earned his first MVP award for his 2015 season.  (Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)

Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was the clear choice in the NL, receiving all 30 first-place votes and becoming, at age 23, the youngest unanimous MVP in history on Thursday.

The AL MVP award went to Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson, who joined George Bell as the only players in franchise history to receive the honor. Donaldson received 23 of 30 first-place votes and 385 points from the Baseball Writers’Association of America.

Harper tied for the National League lead with 42 home runs while playing in a career-high 153 games and his .330 batting average was second best in the NL. The left-handed-hitting Harper also led the majors in on-base percentage (.460), slugging (.649) and WAR (9.9).

Other finalists for the NL award were Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto. Goldschmidt received 18 second-place votes and 234 points. Votto had one second-place vote and 175 points.

Donaldson helped the Blue Jays reach the playoffs for the first time since 1993 by leading the AL in runs with 122. He was second in WAR (8.8) and tied for third in home runs with 41.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout finished a distant second in the AL voting with seven first-place votes and 304 points. Kansas City Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain was third with 225 points.

—The Milwaukee Brewers acquired infielder Jonathan Villar from the Houston Astros on in exchange for minor-league pitcher Cy Sneed.

The 24-year-old Villar’s versatility gives the Brewers some options in the field. He is primarily a shortstop but has played third base, second base and outfield.

Villar, a Dominican-born switch hitter, played in 53 games last season for he Astros and batted .284 with two home runs and 11 RBIs. In 198 games with Houston the past three years, he has a .236 average with 10 home runs, 46 RBIs and 42 stolen bases in 198 games.

The 23-year-old Sneed posted a 6-11 record with a 2.58 ERA in 26 games this past season, including 24 starts, between low Class A Wisconsin and high Class A Brevard County.

—The Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins will meet in a two-game series in San Juan, Puerto Rico as part of the festivities celebrating the late Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced at the owners meetings in Dallas.

The games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium will be played May 30-31 and counted as Marlins home games. They will be the first regular-season contests played in Puerto Rico since the Marlins and New York Mets played a three-game series in 2010.

MLB is moving up its annual Clemente Day to May 31 in conjunction with the series. Clemente played his entire 18-season career with the Pittsburgh Pirates before his tragic death in a plane crash in 1972 and was a native of Puerto Rico.

—Manfred also said baseball is planning changes in the safety netting at ballparks to help protect fans in the wake of injuries resulting from balls and bats flying into the seats.

“In addition to a recommendation on the physical location of nets, there will be a broad fan education component to the program,” Manfred said.

—ESPN will provide coverage of seven 2016 season-opening games – three on Sunday, April 3 and four on Monday, April 4.

The World Series champion Kansas City Royals will host the New York Mets in ESPN’s first Sunday night game of the season. The contest is a rematch of last season’s Fall Classic, won by the Royals in five games.

The St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates and the Toronto Blue Jays visiting the Tampa Bay Rays will also be televised on Sunday, April 3 by ESPN.

The network’s four telecasts on Monday, April 4 are: Houston Astros at New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Angels.

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