ST. LOUIS — On the night Albert Pujols' home run gave the Cardinals new life in the NL championship series, he tossed and turned in bed thinking of the possibilities.

The scenario was much the same the night before he won his first National League MVP award, hoping for that congratulatory phone call. The homer turned out to be the last big hit of the year for the 100-win Cardinals, but the anticipation of personal success paid off Tuesday.

"To tell you the truth, I only slept two hours last night," a beaming Pujols said at a news conference. "I couldn't wait for this moment. It feels almost like that home run I hit against Brad Lidge, everybody was calling and saying how much I deserved this."

Pujols, 25, had his typical top-of-the-charts year with 41 homers, 117 RBIs, a league-leading 129 runs and a .330 average. After several close misses in the balloting, including a pair of runner-up finishes to Barry Bonds, it was enough to beat Andruw Jones in a close vote.

The first baseman received 18 first-place votes and 14 seconds for 378 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Jones, the Braves' center fielder, got 13 first-place votes, 17 seconds and two thirds for 351 points.

Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee, who tailed off after a strong start, got the other first-place vote and was third with 263 points.

Pujols would rather the Cardinals won the World Series. They'll be among the favorites next year.

"Now I can say I have an MVP in my house, in my trophy case," Pujols said. "I'm going to celebrate, but I still need to get that ring. I'm going to keep pushing, getting myself ready."

Pujols was among the league leaders in almost every major statistical category, tying for second in RBI and ranking second in slugging percentage and on-base percentage, and getting more walks than strikeouts for the fourth straight season. His average with runners in scoring position, though, was only .207.

Manager Tony La Russa has often said Pujols is the best player he's ever managed.

"Albert's award was well-deserved because he was the most valuable to our team across the board as soon as he showed up to the ballpark until he left," La Russa said. "His value went beyond statistics."

Pujols has put up remarkable statistics in his first five major league seasons, averaging 40 homers and 124 RBIs and batting .332. He's the first player in major league history to hit 30 homers in each of his first five seasons, was the second-fastest player to reach 200 homers, and is the first since Pete Rose in 1974-76 to lead the league in scoring three straight years.

"I just try to get better every year and never try to be satisfied," Pujols said. "I don't care how many people are comparing me with Barry Bonds and Joe DiMaggio, my goal is to try to get better."

This year, he put up similar numbers despite a major dropoff in the supporting cast. Scott Rolen missed most of the year with a shoulder injury, Jim Edmonds slumped to a .263 average and the Cardinals played much of the middle portion of the season without four injured regulars.

Pujols was third behind Bonds and Adrian Beltre in last year's MVP voting after finishing fourth as a rookie in 2001 and second to Bonds the following two seasons. Bonds missed most of this year with a knee injury after winning the award four straight times to increase his total MVPs to a record seven.

Jones led the majors in home runs for the Braves, and batted .263. He was the only Braves player with more than 21 homers or 78 RBIs on the Braves, who won their 14th straight division championship.

"I think he deserved it. The voting was the right vote. He was the right choice," Jones said. "He had the most solid season average wise, home-run wise and RBI wise."

Pujols, who gets a $200,000 bonus, won the 15th MVP award for the Cardinals and the first since Willie McGee in 1985.

By finishing third, Lee triggered a $750,000 increase in his 2006 base salary to $8.75 million.