Just weeks after ending the Cubs’ 108-year championship drought, 3B Kris Bryant has won his first NL MVP award. And it wasn’t even close.
Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant has officially been named the 2016 National League MVP award winner. He was largely expected to take home the most prestigious award in the NL, but he won by an complete landslide.Your @officialBBWAA 2016 NL #MVP: @KrisBryant_23. pic.twitter.com/E9oeK649AL
— MLB (@MLB) November 17, 2016
Just weeks after he helped secure the ending to an 108-year championship drought for the Cubs, Bryant secured 29 out of 30 possible first place votes, leaving one lonely vote for the runner-up in Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy.
The win also makes Bryant just the second player ever in NL history to win an MVP award just a season after winning Rookie of the Year.
Bryant had an outstanding season for Chicago, slashing .292/.369/.488 with 121 runs scored, 39 home runs and 102 RBIs. Almost impossibly, Bryant was able to play six different positions throughout 2016, including third base, shortstop, first base, left field, center field and right field. That versatility undoubtedly helped carry him to a near unanimous MVP win.
At just 24-years-old, Bryant – paired with star first baseman Anthony Rizzo – has a chance to create a real dynasty in Chicago.
He’s been a main cog in the Cubs’ new era lineup that has turned the franchise’s fortune around, culminating in this season’s historic World Series victory over the Cleveland Indians.
