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Only a year after winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award, Dustin Pedroia earned even more hardware when he was named the American League Most Valuable Player. The Red Sox second baseman received 16 of 28 first-place votes, with seven going to runner-up Justin Morneau.

Below, check out the top candidates. Then see the choices of ESPN's baseball analysts and contributors, both individually and collectively. Whom did you choose?

THE TOP CANDIDATES

DUSTIN PEDROIA, 2B, BOSTON

G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
157	653	118	213	17	83	.326	.376	.493	.869

Along with leading the league in hits, runs and doubles, Pedroia was successful on 20 of 21 steal attempts.

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JOE MAUER, C, MINNESOTA

G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
146	536	98	176	9	85	.328	.413	.451	.864

Mauer took home his second AL batting title, finished second in on-base percentage and earned a Gold Glove for his defense.

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JUSTIN MORNEAU, 1B, MINNESOTA

G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
163	623	97	187	23	129	.300	.374	.499	.873

Morneau finished second in RBIs when he won the award in 2006, and the Twins' slugger was second again in 2008.

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FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ, RHP, L.A. ANGELS

G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	W-L	SV	BS	ERA
78	68.1	54	17	34	77	2-3	62	7	2.24

With his record 62 saves, K-Rod is trying to become the first pitcher to win an MVP award since Dennis Eckersley in 1992.

ESPN'S AL MVP AWARD PICKS
Jorge Arangure Jr. ESPN The Magazine Joe Mauer C, Twins	Howard Bryant ESPN.com Francisco Rodriguez RHP, Angels	Jim Caple ESPN.com/Page 2 Joe Mauer C, Twins	Jerry Crasnick ESPN.com Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox
Peter Gammons ESPN Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox	Pedro Gomez ESPN Francisco Rodriguez RHP, Angels	Orel Hershiser ESPN Justin Morneau 1B, Twins	Eric Karabell ESPN.com Fantasy Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox
Jonah Keri ESPN.com/Page 2 Cliff Lee LHP, Indians	Bob Klapisch ESPN.com contributor Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox	John Kruk ESPN Justin Morneau 1B, Twins	Tim Kurkjian ESPN The Magazine Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox
Keith Law ESPN.com/Scouts Inc. Grady Sizemore CF, Indians	Sean McAdam ESPN.com contributor Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox	Amy Nelson ESPN.com Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox	Rob Neyer ESPN.com Joe Mauer C, Twins
Buster Olney ESPN The Magazine Kevin Youkilis 1B, Red Sox	Peter Pascarelli ESPN/Baseball Today Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox	Steve Phillips ESPN Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox	Karl Ravech ESPN Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox
Phil Rogers ESPN.com contributor Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox	Enrique Rojas ESPNdeportes.com Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox	John Shea ESPN.com contributor Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox	Chris Singleton ESPN Justin Morneau 1B, Twins
Larry Stone ESPN.com contributor Joe Mauer C, Twins	Jayson Stark ESPN.com Dustin Pedroia 2B, Red Sox	Gene Wojciechowski ESPN.com Justin Morneau 1B, Twins
ESPN's choice: Dustin Pedroia (14) Honorable Mention: Joe Mauer (4); Justin Morneau (4); Francisco Rodriguez (2); Cliff Lee (1); Grady Sizemore (1); Kevin Youkilis (1)