"I'm just humbled," Pujols said.

Pujols won unanimously Tuesday, becoming the first player to repeat since Bonds won four in a row from 2001-04. Pujols, who also won in 2005, received all 32 first-place votes and 448 points in balloting announced by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He became the first unanimous MVP since Bonds in 2002.

A big part of the Cardinals' success this year was the acquisition of Matt Holliday in July. Holliday, who hit cleanup behind Pujols, helped St. Louis win the NL Central and then became a free agent.

"The whole city of St. Louis wants Matt back and myself, obviously," Pujols said. "He came at the right time, right when we needed it, right when we were struggling a little bit."

While the Cards have five division titles and six playoff appearances in nine seasons since Pujols joined the team, they have won the World Series only once, in 2006.

"I always make a joke. I got 10 fingers. I want to get nine more rings," he said. "I want to get as many as Derek Jeter has so far (five). Obviously that's hard to do."

Pujols does have one individual goal - the Hall of Fame.

"Obviously, there is still a long way to go," he said.

Pujols led the major leagues in home runs (47), runs (124), slugging percentage (.658) and intentional walks (44) and topped the NL in on-base percentage (.443). He was second in the league in doubles (45) and third in batting average (.327) and runs batted in (135).

He was especially dangerous with the bases loaded, going 10-for-17 with five grand slams, three doubles and 35 RBI.

"I think it was the most consistent year," he said. "I was pretty much hot April until almost September."