MAJOR LEAGUE LEADERS Albert Pujols wins NL batting title in close race

Colorado's Todd Helton was intentionally walked in his final at-bat.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Albert Pujols won the closest batting race in NL history when Todd Helton was intentionally walked in his final plate appearance.
Pujols went 2-for-5 as St. Louis beat Arizona 9-5 Sunday to win the NL title at .35871. Playing at the same time, Helton was 2-for-4 with a walk to finish at .35849 as Colorado edged San Diego 10-8.
"Can you imagine? You get 590 at-bats and it comes down to one at-bat the last day," Pujols said. "This is unbelievable."
Just after Pujols struck out in the eighth inning in Phoenix, Helton had a chance to move ahead in the eighth inning at San Diego. But with a runner on second and a 3-0 count, catcher Gary Bennett called for an intentional walk.
"Obviously, I wasn't too pleased with that last at-bat," said Helton, the 2000 batting champion. "I'm disappointed at the way it ended. Overall, it was a good year."
Bochy apologizes to Helton
San Diego manager Bruce Bochy apologized to Helton behind the dugout during the game.
"I feel terrible for him because that at-bat was the deciding factor in the batting race," Bochy said. "Nobody on this side had any idea of the magnitude of that at-bat. There's no way we would have done that had we known the situation."
Pujols, 23, is the youngest NL champion since Tommy Davis won the title at 23 for Los Angeles in 1962, and is the first right-hander to win it since Andres Galarraga in 1993.
The .00022 difference was the third-tightest in major league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
In 1945, the Yankees' Snuffy Stirnweiss beat Tony Cuccinello of the White Sox by .00009, and in 1949 Detroit's George Kell edged Boston's Ted Williams by .00016.
Previously, the closest NL race was a .00028 difference in 1931, when Chick Hafey of St. Louis beat Bill Terry of the New York Giants.
Pujols led the majors with 51 doubles, 137 runs and 293 total bases and also topped the NL with 212 hits.
Boston's Mueller tops in AL
Boston's Bill Mueller won his first AL batting title with a .326 average. He began the day one point ahead of New York's Derek Jeter (who finished at .324) and two ahead of Red Sox teammate Manny Ramirez (.325).
Texas' Alex Rodriguez and Philadelphia Jim Thome shared the major league home-run lead with 47, the lowest leading total in a non-strike season since 1993, when Barry Bonds and Juan Gonzalez each hit 46.
Toronto's Carlos Delgado hit a grand slam in his final at-bat and finished the year with a major league-leading 145 RBIs, four more than Colorado's Preston Wilson.
Toronto's Vernon Wells led the AL with 215 hits and 373 total bases, and Wells and Anaheim's Garret Anderson tied for the most doubles with 49.
Florida's Juan Pierre led the major leagues with 65 steals, and Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford led the AL with 55.
Toronto's Roy Halladay led the AL in wins with a 22-7 record, while Atlanta's Russ Ortiz led the NL at 21-7.