Dan Connolly

Manny Machado fifth, Zach Britton 11th in AL MVP vote

By Dan Connolly

Posted on November 17, 2016

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado finished fifth and closer Zach Britton placed 11th in the American League MVP voting that was announced Thursday.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout won for the second time in three years – he’s finished first or second in each of the past five seasons – with Boston’s Mookie Betts second, Houston’s Jose Altuve third and Toronto’s Josh Donaldson fourth.

Machado was named on all 30 ballots submitted by select members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He received five fourth-place votes, seven fifths, nine sixths, four sevenths, three eighths and one each for ninth and 10th.

It is the second highest MVP finish of his five-season career. Machado was fourth in the voting in 2015.

Britton, who finished fourth in the 2016 AL Cy Young voting, garnered six votes and 11 total points for MVP, the first time he’s ever received a MVP vote. He had one eighth-place vote, three for ninth and two for 10th. Voters must include 10 players on their ballot.

No other pitcher received more than one AL MVP vote; AL Cy Young winner Rick Porcello didn’t receive any MVP votes.

Mark Trumbo, who led the majors in home runs, wasn’t named on any ballots.

This was my first time voting for AL MVP (I was not permitted to vote in my 11 seasons as an employee of The Baltimore Sun) and it certainly wasn’t an easy one.

I’ll detail the reasoning behind each of my 10 choices tomorrow morning, but for full Orioles’ disclosure, I had Machado fifth and Britton ninth.