First Half National League MVP
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The halfway point of the 2007 Major League Baseball season is upon us and it is now time to see who has played his way into the NL MVP award. The race for the NL MVP award is much more contested tha 
n that of the AL MVP award.
The Contenders:
Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals - One of the sad things about Pujols this season is that this is a down year. I am sure that most players would love to have a "terrible" first-half, which saw them batting .310, with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs. Sadly for Cardinals fans everyone on the team is having a down year, and not ones like Pujols. Pujols will probably always be in the debate for NL MVP every year because he is just that good. So far this year, however, he isn't good enough to win.
Pujols's NL Ranks: 10th in home runs (HR), 4th in on base percentage (OBP), 5th in walks (BB) and 11th in on-base plus slugging (OPS).
Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies - The Rockies are playing great baseball lately and have had some hot players this season. No player on the team has been better than Holliday. Holliday is batting .341 with 15 home runs and 69 RBIs. He has been a very solid player this season, but one has to wonder how much Coors Field has helped him. He has 10 of his 15 home runs at home and 40 of his 69 RBIs there. Maybe he just likes to play at home, or maybe it is the thin air. That debate may keep him from the award.
Holliday's NL Ranks: 2nd in batting average (BA), 3rd in runs batted in (RBI), 10th in OBP, 6th in OPS, 16th in HR, 9th in runs, 6th in slugging percentage (SLG)
Miguel Cabrera, Florida Marlins - One of the things working against Cabrera for this award is that Cabrera is having the kind of season everyone expects from him. He is batting .324 with 18 home runs and 61 RBIs. Cabrera is never talked about much because he is always doing the same. He does deserve to be talked about in the NL MVP race and if he keeps it up, he could win the award.
Cabrera's NL Ranks: 9th in BA, 6th in RBI, 5th in SLG, 5th in HR, 9th in OBP and 5th in OPS.
The 2007 First-Half National League MVP is:
The Contenders:
Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals - One of the sad things about Pujols this season is that this is a down year. I am sure that most players would love to have a "terrible" first-half, which saw them batting .310, with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs. Sadly for Cardinals fans everyone on the team is having a down year, and not ones like Pujols. Pujols will probably always be in the debate for NL MVP every year because he is just that good. So far this year, however, he isn't good enough to win.
Pujols's NL Ranks: 10th in home runs (HR), 4th in on base percentage (OBP), 5th in walks (BB) and 11th in on-base plus slugging (OPS).
Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies - The Rockies are playing great baseball lately and have had some hot players this season. No player on the team has been better than Holliday. Holliday is batting .341 with 15 home runs and 69 RBIs. He has been a very solid player this season, but one has to wonder how much Coors Field has helped him. He has 10 of his 15 home runs at home and 40 of his 69 RBIs there. Maybe he just likes to play at home, or maybe it is the thin air. That debate may keep him from the award.
Holliday's NL Ranks: 2nd in batting average (BA), 3rd in runs batted in (RBI), 10th in OBP, 6th in OPS, 16th in HR, 9th in runs, 6th in slugging percentage (SLG)
Miguel Cabrera, Florida Marlins - One of the things working against Cabrera for this award is that Cabrera is having the kind of season everyone expects from him. He is batting .324 with 18 home runs and 61 RBIs. Cabrera is never talked about much because he is always doing the same. He does deserve to be talked about in the NL MVP race and if he keeps it up, he could win the award.
Cabrera's NL Ranks: 9th in BA, 6th in RBI, 5th in SLG, 5th in HR, 9th in OBP and 5th in OPS.
The 2007 First-Half National League MVP is: