Bryce Harper became the first player in the history of the Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos to win the National League MVP award.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America unanimously awarded the 23-year-old 30 first-place votes despite Washington finishing the season in second place and falling short of the playoffs.
Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo, Andrew McCutcheon, Jake Arrieta, and Zack Greinke all received second-place votes.
Harper hit 42 home runs, scored 118 runs, registered a .460 on-base percentage, and boasted a .649 slugging percentage. No NL player performed better in any of those categories.
The former Rookie of the Year, competing at 22 throughout the 2015 season, actually trailed this season’s NL Rookie of the Year winner Kris Benson in age. He becomes the third youngest MVP in National League history, winning the award at a slightly more advanced age than Stan Musial and Johnny Bench.
“I enjoy playing baseball out there,” Harper explained. “I enjoy putting MLB on the map and doing everything I can to further this game for young talent across the world. This game is just getting better and better with the talent and everything that’s happening in the game right now. It’s very exciting for the fans, very exciting for everybody that plays.”