NEW YORK — Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins is the winner of the National League most valuable player award, barely edging Canadian slugger Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds in the voting.
In the closest MVP vote since 1979, Stanton became only the sixth player to win from a losing team.
Stanton led the big leagues with 59 home runs and 132 RBIs. His homer total was the most in the majors since 2001, when Barry Bonds hit a record 73 and Sammy Sosa had 64.
Stanton got 10 first-place votes and 302 points in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Votto also got 10 firsts and had 300 points.
The award was announced Thursday on MLB Network.
Votto, from Toronto, topped the majors with a .454 on-base percentage. Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was third in the voting.
The last player from a losing team to win an MVP was Alex Rodriguez, who took the AL award in 2003 with Texas. The last NL MVP from a losing team was Andre Dawson with the 1987 Chicago Cubs.
Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros won the American League MVP award later in the day.
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