If baseball prognosticators are to be believed, it was only a matter of time before Kris Bryant won his first of many Most Valuable Player awards.
It came sooner rather than later Thursday, when the Cubs wunderkind was named National League MVP in his second major league season by near-unanimous decision. He received 29 of 30 first-place votes by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, with Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy and Dodgers rookie shortstop Corey Seager second and third, respectively. Murphy got the remaining first-place vote.
MORE: Bryant, Murphy, Seager on SN's NL All-Star team
Bryant, 24, built off his Rookie of the Year campaign in a big way, leading the NL with 7.7 wins above replacement and 121 runs scored while helping the Cubs end their infamous 108-year World Series drought. He also ranked in the top six in OPS (.939), home runs (39) and RBIs (102).
MORE: Seager named SN's NL Rookie of the Year
The second-overall pick in the 2013 draft arrived in the majors in 2015 amid fanfare unlike any Cubs player since perhaps Sammy Sosa, whose 1998 MVP campaign is the last time the franchise claimed the award. And Bryant has made quick work in meeting the lofty expectations.
MORE: Trout named AL MVP
Bryant is the fourth player to be named Rookie of the Year and MVP in back-to-back seasons. Cal Ripken Jr., Ryan Howard and Dustin Pedroia were the others.
