Honestly, I don’t have a strong opinion on the NL MVP race, and given my intense dislike for Barry Bonds, it’s probably not wise to get in an argument about the issue. My sense is that if you just look at the numbers without context, Pujols should have had the award, because the difference in playing time makes up for Bonds’ advantage in productivity (i.e., his astronomical OBP). But Bonds’ missed time included a bunch of time following his father’s death, and he could afford to take those days off in part because he had contributed so heavily to the Giants having a big lead. I can’t really fault the voters for giving Bonds a break on that score.