NEW YORK (AP) — For once, Clayton Kershaw was glad to see a long shutout streak end.
Kershaw became the first pitcher to win the National League MVP award since Bob Gibson in 1968, coasting to an easy victory Thursday.
“A little bit of shock, honestly,” the Dodgers ace said on a conference call. “I guess I never really anticipated to win that.”
A day after unanimously taking the NL Cy Young Award, Kershaw completed a Los Angeles sweep. A little earlier, Angels outfielder Mike Trout was a unanimous pick for the AL MVP.
Trout had been blanked in his bid the past two years, finishing second both times to Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera. The 23-year-old Trout was the youngest unanimous MVP pick in major league history.
“Just anxious throughout the day,” Trout said of the waiting period. “I knew the experience I had the last two years. It helped me with it.”
Trout, the MVP of the All-Star game in July, and Kershaw both led their teams to West division titles. In August, they finally faced each in a regular-season game — Trout singled, doubled and struck out looking at Dodger Stadium.
Someday, they hope to meet in October.
To do that, they want to improve in the playoffs. Kershaw went 0-2 with a 7.82 ERA against St. Louis in the Division Series, leaving him 1-5 with a 5.12 ERA in the postseason.
Trout went 1-for-12 in a three-game sweep by Kansas City in his first playoff try.
The awards voting was completed by the end of the regular season.
Kershaw breezed past Miami bopper Giancarlo Stanton and Pittsburgh outfielder Andrew McCutchen to become Most Valuable Player.
While Detroit pitcher Justin Verlander won the AL MVP in 2011, no one on the NL side had done it for nearly a half-century.
But the 26-year-old lefty again dominated the hitters — Kershaw led the majors in wins and ERA while going 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA and throwing a no-hitter.
Kershaw got 18 of 30 first-place votes and 355 points in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Stanton got eight first-place ballots and 298 points. McCutchen got four firsts and 271 points in his bid to win the award for the second straight year.
Trout received all 30 first-place votes and 420 points. Detroit designated hitter Victor Martinez was second with 229 points.
Cleveland outfielder Michael Brantley third with 185.