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I can't remember ever agonizing as much over the first three spots on my National League most valuable player ballot as I did this year.

Who should be first on my ballot? Giancarlo Stanton? Clayton Kershaw? Andrew McCutchen?

You could make strong cases for each being the 2014 NL MVP, which will be revealed in a few minutes on the MLB Network as results of the Baseball Writers Association of America balloting are announced in both leagues.

The main problem I had was that criteria I like to use in picking an MVP clashed with each other in a big way. All things being equal, I like to give extra-credit to everyday players, because I feel you make a far greater impact playing in 150 games than making 34 or so starts.

But, it ever there were a year to vote for a pitcher, this is the year. Despite missing seven or so starts at the start of the year while on the DL, Kershaw had a season to celebrate, going 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA, six complete games and 239 strikeouts in 198 1/3 innings. And, oh by the way, a no-hitter. So, you couldn't go wrong by putting him in the top spot on your ballot.

Last year I voted for McCutchen, who won the award. And he had a very similar season in 2014, even better in some categories, including a .410 OBP and .952 OPS, both leading the league. So, you couldn't go wrong by putting him in the top spot on your ballot, either.

At a time when power numbers are down in both leagues, Stanton certainly separated himself as the top slugger in the NL, leading the league with 37 homers and a .555 slugging percentage to go with other great numbers. And that was despite missing the last 2 1/2 weeks of the season after being hit in the face with a fastball from Milwaukee's Mike Fiers. Again, you couldn't go wrong by putting him in the top spot on your ballot.

Kershaw and McCutchen helped their clubs make the playoffs, which I believe counts extra. But Stanton was an absolute monster in keeping the Marlins on the fringe of the wild-card race despite losing ace Jose Fernandez early in the season with an elbow injury and having few others in the lineup (Casey McGehee was an exception) having big years.

Taking all of that information into consideration, I had three different ballots going at one time, with Kershaw on top of one, McCutchen on top of another and Stanton on top of the third. I felt both good and bad about those alignments at the same time, which solved nothing.

So, I decided to elicit advice from people I respected, including players, coaches and managers. Those folks overwhelmingly said they gave extra credit to everyday players over pitchers, no matter how great the pitcher had performed. That, of course, was assuming there were a deserving everyday player or two, which there were with Stanton and McCutchen.

I flip-flopped back and forth so much that Brewers bench coach Jerry Narron would ask me every day, "Who you got today?" He would laugh as I gave him a different answer than the day before.

I also consulted Hall of Fame baseball writers who I've known for years and respect for their expert and thorough way of assessing MVP candidates. They also leaned toward the everyday player, when there are candidates deserving of MVP consideration.

This had nothing to do with the oft-repeated argument that "pitchers have their own award -- the Cy Young." Really, nobody said Kershaw should be excluded because of that argument, because pitchers in the past have won the MVP Award and deservingly so.

So, it was time to put together my ballot and stick with it. There was much waffling in the days leading up to my final ballot, with Stanton, Kershaw and McCutchen rolling around in my head as deserving candidates. Finally, this was the ballot I turned in to the BBWAA:

1. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami

2. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles

3. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh

4. Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles

5. Jonathan Lucroy, Milwaukee

6. Anthony Rendon, Washington

7. Buster Posey, San Francisco

8. Matt Holliday, St. Louis

9. Hunter Pence, San Francisco

10. Josh Harrison, Pittsburgh

I've heard many say that Kershaw is the easy choice for MVP, but none of this seemed easy to me. And, by placing him second on my ballot, I don't think I'll cost him the award if he gets an overwhelming number of first-place votes.

I have a feeling that Mike Trout will win the AL MVP Award, and he's probably overdue for that. But I have no idea how the NL balloting will shake out because I've talked to writers who voted for Kershaw and others who voted for Stanton. I get the feeling that McCutchen will be third.

So, there you have it -- the process I used to configure my ballot and the reasoning behind it. And, since turning it in, there have been days I wished I voted for Kershaw and days I wished I voted for McCutchen. But you don't get do-overs, so I'll live with my ballot and be prepared for the criticism that comes with any ballot made public. I can say I didn't submit my ballot without considerable research, advice and soul-searching. Not to mention angst.

We'll know in a few minutes who the winner is. And I'll support whomever that might be because I know BBWAA members take this process seriously, as they should. I certainly do.