DOWNTOWN — Beginning what could be a week of plaudits for Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, the Major League Baseball Players Association announced Tuesday that his peers voted him the National League’s Outstanding Player.

Pujols is also a finalist for the Players Choice award for Player of the Year and for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year award, one given for work off the field as much as on the field.

This is the second time Pujols has won the league’s outstanding player of the year — which comes with $20,000 for a charity of Pujols’ choosing — and its value as an indicator of the league’s MVP award is inconsistent. Of the eight NL Outstanding Player awards given since 2000, four have gone to the eventually MVP: Barry Bonds in 2001, 2002 and 2004 and Ryan Howard in 2006. Pujols won the NL Outstanding Player award in 2003.

Pujols: Peers pick him as NL Outstanding Player

For this year’s award, Pujols edged other finalists Chipper Jones, who won the league’s batting title, and Howard, who led the league in the other triple-crown categories, homers and RBIs. Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton won the American League’s Outstanding Player of the Year award.

“I’m pretty humbled and blessed,” Pujols said in an Yahoo! Sports interview after the announcement of the award. “Obviously, it was a long year through my injuries. … It’s a really sweet award, pretty special to me.”

Pujols hit .357, second-highest in the NL, and he slugged .653. He was the only player in the majors with a slugging percentage better than .610. Pujols continued his run with his eighth consecutive season of at least 30 homers, at least 100 RBIs and at least a .300 average. He also reached the 100-walk mark for the first time in his career, and he scored more than 100 runs for the seventh time in his career.

The Cardinals’ first baseman recently had elbow surgery to transpose a nerve that had become irritated. He felt tingling in his fingers and had some difficulty with his grip strength late in the season. Pujols hit .398 in August, and he drove in 27 runs in September, his highest monthly total of the year.

The team has said he’ll be ready for spring training.

This is his fifth Players Choice award, having also previously won the Player of the Year award (2003), the Man of the Year award (2006) and the NL Outstanding Rookie (2001). The winners of the Player of the Year award and Miller award will be announced later this week.

The NL MVP, given by the Baseball Writers, will be announced in mid-November.

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