Delgado expected to win wide-open MVP race

Delgado was surprised that the award went to a player from a last-place team. AP

TORONTO (AP) -- Carlos Delgado thought he'd get a call Monday telling him he had won the AL MVP award.

Instead, the Toronto slugger was on the phone, explaining how he'd lost out to Alex Rodriguez.

"If they were going to pick somebody from a team that did not make it to the playoffs I think it would have given me an edge, but that's what I get for thinking, I guess," Delgado said.

"Obviously, I was expecting to get the award and that wasn't the case," he said on a conference call from Puerto Rico.

The Blue Jays first baseman finished second to Rodriguez in voting released by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Delgado hit .302 with 42 home runs and a major league-leading 145 RBIs for the third-place Blue Jays. Rodriguez had 118 RBIs, tied for the major league lead with 47 homers and hit .298 for last-place Texas.

Delgado received 213 points, 29 fewer than Rodriguez. He got five first-place votes to A-Rod's six.

Rodriguez was the only player picked on every ballot. Showing just how wide-open the race was, 10 players received first-place votes.

Delgado got two eighth-place votes and was left off the ballot by Joe Cowley of the Daily Southtown in Chicago. Cowley also left off Toronto center fielder Vernon Wells, while including Esteban Loaiza and Frank Thomas of the White Sox.

"I don't understand who they vote for," Delgado said. "What team you are watching?"

When told that he sounded bitter, Delgado said: "Bitter? Not at all. Must be the connection."

"When you been around a little bit, you understand how it works. Nothing in this game surprises me. I take it with a grain of salt. I'm not jumping for joy."