NEW YORK -- Bryce Harper has become the youngest unanimous MVP winner in baseball history, capturing the NL award during a season in which his Washington Nationals missed the playoffs.
Harper turned 23 on Oct. 16, after the postseason had already started.
Harper got all 30 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America in results announced Thursday.
The 2012 NL Rookie of the Year led the majors in slugging percentage and on-base average. The outfielder hit .330 with 42 home runs and 99 RBIs.
Harper became the first player from a Washington franchise to win an MVP - no one on the original or expansion Senators or Nats had done it.