It's pretty likely that Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez will win his third AL MVP award in the last five years Monday afternoon, but it will be interesting to see where Rays 1B Carlos Pena will figure in the voting.

Pena's season, in which he set Rays club records in homers, RBIs, total bases and slugging percentage, will be hard for the voters to ignore. And Pena's comeback season was one of the feel-good stories of the season.

Last week, Rays RF Delmon Young finished second in AL Rookies of the Year voting, but was entirely left off eight of the 28 ballots, a fact that Rays manager Joe Maddon chalked up to "personal prejudice," as we reported in today's Times.

But the AL MVP is different in a couple ways. Voters rank 10 players (as opposed to the top three in ROY balloting). And while Pena will likely be hurt by playing for a last-place team, writers know him well as one of the nicest guys in baseball, which right or wrong, could make a difference.

What do the readership think? Where will Pena fall in the MVP race?

We'll find out Monday at 2.