Breaking: Milwaukee Brewers Slugger Ryan Braun Named 2011 NL MVP

A wildly successful campaign for Milwaukee Brewers’ left-fielder Ryan Braun culminated in emphatic fashion on Tuesday afternoon, when the slugger officially took home the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s 2011 NL MVP award.

The 28-year-old star managed to ward off the competition by taking home 20 first-place votes and 388 total points.  Matt Kemp, who was seen as Braun’s biggest competitor vying for the award, received 10 first-place votes and 332 overall points.  Former teammate and current free-agent Prince Fielder finished third, with 229 total points.

Leading the league in slugging (.597), on-base plus slugging (.994), and extra-base hits (77) while finishing just decimal points (.332) behind Jose Reyes for the NL batting title, Braun now becomes just the third Brewer in the franchise’s 42-year history to win the coveted award.