Ryan Braun may lose 50 games worth of salary and a previously pristine reputation if his positive test for a banned substance is upheld by Major League Baseball.

But he won't be losing his National League Most Valuable Player Award.

Jack O'Connell, the treasurer/secretary of the Baseball Writers' Association, said in an e-mail to USA TODAY and other news media outlets that the BBWAA, which votes on the award, won't strip Braun of his award even if he ultimately serves a 5o-game suspension. However, he did leave open the notion of discussing the topic should that occur.

In the past 15 years, the BBWAA's award-winners have been laden with players who later were tied to performance-enhancing drug use. This year, Braun topped the Los Angeles Dodgers' Matt Kemp to win the award.

Wrote O'Connell:

I got the same question about Ken Caminiti after he came clean about his steroids usage and whether we should give the 1996 MVP Award instead to Mike Piazza. The answer is no. We did not strip Alex Rodriguez of the 2003 MVP when it was learned later he used PEDs while in Texas. The voters used the information they had at the time of the election. I don't see how we can change that. I am not against discussion on the topic, but I do not think we should have a rush to judgment. According to reports, the test on Braun was during the playoffs, after the MVP ballots were already submitted. I guess the question is do we want the option of conducting another election if it turns out that a candidate tested positive. And, remember, it could be any candidate, not just the winner, because we vote 1-to-10, so the points system could be affected by any one player.

In fact, a re-vote may not result in any change. In 2010, Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing, the Defensive Rookie of the Year, received a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy.

After the suspension came to light, a group of football writers and broadcasters voted again on the award. While Cushing's vote total was cut in half, he still won.

Contributing: Jorge L. Ortiz