The final pitch of the World Series was a fastball to Miguel Cabrera that settled into Buster Posey’s glove for a called third strike. It was a fitting way to end a baseball season in which both were voted their league’s most valuable player by emphatic margins.

Posey, the catcher for the San Francisco Giants, took the National League award on Thursday with 27 of 32 first-place votes from baseball writers. Cabrera, the third baseman for the Detroit Tigers, won 22 of 28 first-place votes in the American League, a somewhat surprising margin of victory over Mike Trout, the electrifying rookie outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels.