The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Miguel Tejada won his first American League Most Valuable Player award Tuesday, easily beating Alex Rodriguez in a vote that valued a winning season over superior statistics.

The shortstop for the AL West champion Oakland Athletics received 21 first-place votes, six second-place votes and one third-place vote for a total of 356 points from a Baseball Writers' Association of America panel.

Rodriguez, the shortstop for the AL West's last-place Texas Rangers, got five firsts, seven seconds, 11 thirds, four fourths and a sixth for 254 points.

New York Yankees second baseman Alfonso Soriano got the remaining two first-place votes and was third with 234 points, followed by Anaheim outfielder Garret Anderson (184) and Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi (162), the winner in 2000, when he played for the A's.

"I don't think there can be anyone on earth more happy than I am right now," Tejada said from the Dominican Republic, where he was scheduled to attend a reception in his honor at the presidential palace. "Inside, I feel fulfilled."

Tejada is the third Dominican to win the award, joining George Bell (1987) and Sammy Sosa (1998).

Tejada hit a career-high .308 with 34 homers and 131 RBI, helping the A's win the AL West title. Oakland had 103 victories, matching the Yankees for most in the majors.

During Oakland's 20-game winning streak, the longest in the major leagues in 67 years, he hit a three-run, ninth-inning homer to give the A's their 18th straight victory, then had a winning, bases-loaded single the next night.

Rodriguez hit .300 and led the major leagues in home runs (57), RBI (142) and total bases (389). But even with his outstanding season, the Rangers went 72-90, finishing 31 games behind Oakland in the division standings.

The only time a player on a last-place team won the award was 1987, when Andre Dawson of the Chicago Cubs led the National League in homers and RBI.